McEnroe’s unforced error hangs over him
Tennis legend dogged by his Serena remarks
Man vs. woman is an obsession that seems as old as time, and tennis hasn’t been immune to the conversation through the years.
The latest version of the discourse was raised recently by John McEnroe during an NPR interview where he was promoting his new book, But Seriously. McEnroe suggested that if Serena Williams, arguably the best woman to ever play the game, plied her trade on the men’s tour she would weigh in at a journeyman’s No. 700 in the world rankings.
Since that interview, during which McEnroe felt he was pushed for a reaction, he has been fielding constant questions about his comments and says he’s surprised at the firestorm he has created.
He did so again Wednesday on a conference call for ESPN Wimbledon commentators.
“This is not something that is earth shattering, that I think there’s a difference in the level of the men and the women,” McEnroe said. “I was trying to say how great Serena is and how good she’s been for American tennis.”
The argument as to how she’d stand against the men is one Williams, off the tour awaiting the birth of her first child at the end of the summer, prefers not to join.
And she declines with experience from her youth. As a 16year-old neophyte, playing her first Australian Open in 1998, she and sister Venus challenged then 200th-ranked Karsten Braasch to a Battle of the Sexes — Braasch beat Serena 6-1 and Venus 6-2 in the one set he played against each sister.
En route to winning the Australian Open in January — her 23rd Grand Slam tournament singles title — Serena Williams feigned a memory lapse when asked about the Braasch encounter. Today, she’s a savvier, smarter, more accomplished player who would undoubtedly showcase better weaponry if matched against a male colleague.
Nevertheless, Williams shut down McEnroe with these Twitter remarks:
“Dear John, I adore and respect you but please keep me out of your statements that are not factually based.”
“I’ve never played anyone ranked “there” nor do I have time. Respect me and my privacy as I’m trying to have a baby. Good day sir.”
During an ESPN conference call Tuesday, former player-TV personality Chris Evert reduced the whole controversy to being a rather pointless discussion.
“I feel like it’s irrelevant,” Evert said of McEnroe’s pronouncement. “I feel like we’ve been through this story before with Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf. They were questioned, too, where would they be in the men’s ranking. It doesn’t mean anything.
“I also feel if, and I hate to say it, but if Serena Williams played the No. 200 male player, she might beat him,” Evert added. “If she played the No. 500 man, she might lose to him. It depends on their styles, how the games match up. So that’s my answer. My first answer is, who cares, it’s irrelevant, we’ve been through it before.”
Brad Gilbert, who was also on the call with Evert, agreed that the topic has little value for the sport.
“I will tell you (Serena) is the greatest female athlete in any sport ever, and maybe Steffi Graf is the second-best athlete,” Gilbert said. “Let’s say a 130-pound boxer might be the best ever. You don’t ask if he could beat a heavyweight.
“I thought Serena had a 6-1, 6-1 beat-down on her tweet to John,” Gilbert added.
Even McEnroe admits the subject of Williams vs. the men bears no importance.
“I don’t think it’s relevant, and that’s part of the frustration I’m having, that people keep talking about it,” he said. “It doesn’t seem like we hear about it in other sports. I continue not to understand why it’s such a topic of conversation.
“I’m sure, perhaps, it would be better to have said she’s a great player and it’s like comparing apples and oranges,” he added.