I believe John McEnroe believes he could beat Serena

True this, and his serve would be bad for her-- lefty with a crapload of slice. Not what she's used to seeing from the women on tour.

I have a friend who was hired by Richard Williams to spar with the girls back in the day.

I'm always asking him, "Could Serena beat that guy? Would Serena get a set off of X ?"

His answer is always, "Please be real."

 

John McEnroe is 56 years old.

 

So was Riggs when he walloped the No. 1 women's player.

 

I'm with BTE. I was flipping channels and saw Mac giving Jim Courier quite a match. I think Courier ended up winning but it was close. The guy is still in great shape.

I have a friend Bob who is a 65-year-old World Champion. Senior Davis Cup. We go to these tennis events and these 35-year-old 4.5 level men see Bob hit and think they'll beat him easy. Bob is in fantastic shape and gets everything back. The 35-year-olds walk away humbled when Bob bests them 6-1, 6-1.

 

I would take Serena over Bob in a third-set tiebreaker.

 

Serena might beat Bob. I'll have to ask him !

Serena would kill the 4.5 men.

Division 1 college guys would beat Serena.

Division 2 college guys ? Hmmm ... Now we've got a match.

 

McEnroe is in serious shape, or at least he was. This story is from 2008:

The World's Healthiest 75-Year-Old Man

 

At 33, Serena is way past her physical peak too. Male athletic performance peaks at 28 but females usually at about 25-26.

 

31 years later, I still can't get over how fast McEnroe lost "it". That final in the French where he lost to Lendl. He won Wimbledon the next year but was never dominant after that.

 

Didn't tennis equipment dramatically change back then? Borg used a wooden racket IIRC, and Lendl was using an oversized racket with the sweet spot the size of lower Manhattan.

 

Buttermaker's daughter robbed us of McEnroe winning from 1985 on.