59-yr-old John McEnroe says he can still beat Serena Williams

The Overexplainer wrote:

I live across the country from him and that is why I forgot.

Huh? Your memory works based on proximity?

YMMV wrote:

ketchup wrote:

The men's WC for age 60 is 53.88 and 11.7 for the 100m.

Tennis is a technique-driven sport, more like golf. He would still have to do the same roids as Serena to have a chance though.

PEDs don't enhance so-called technique.

i don't have a dog in this fight, but I did watch McEnroe play in the master series a few months ago. I was shocked out how good he was at that age. he absolutely worked jim courier around the court and courier is a decade younger. he is an extremely smart tennis player and knows exactly where to place it. it was something else.

Johnny Mac has great Natural Talent. It's not something that goes away with Age.

ketchup wrote:

The men's WC for the 400m is 53.88 and 11.7 for the 100m.

Would these times be quite a lot faster if Masters athletes were paid as full time professional as athletes like the women are?

Jon Mac is effectively a professional masters tennis player who does a bit of commentating/TV interviews on the side.

Serena would double bagel McEnroe. Not even close. I was McEnroe play a seniors match about ten years ago. He has no power. It was surprising how little pace he put on the ball. His touch is still excellent as that was always his greatest asset. But Serena hits the ball very hard and McEnroe would just be holding on for dear life the entire match.

From 2015:

A few years back, Serena Williams told David Letterman that if she were to play an exhibition against the then-reigning Wimbledon champion Andy Murray, she’d lose 6-0, 6-0 in a few minutes and doubted she’d win a point. Though the scoreline sounds reasonable, in our mind, Serena underestimated her ability to win points off her serve or just by waiting for Murray to hit unforced errors. Maybe she was simply being modest.

This time, 56-year-old John McEnroe said he could beat Serena, even at his current age, but definitely 15 years ago which is when he claimed that presidential-favorite-in-his-own-mind Donald Trump offered the two some money to play a match.

neat

this illustrates the big divide between the male and female (at least in the traditional way) games

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HLNIbgt6gJc

Please do wrote:

I would love t see it. She claims she wants equal pay but she doesn’t play men.

Can you name a bigger draw than Serena, male or female, in the game right now?

El Keniano wrote:

Please do wrote:

I would love t see it. She claims she wants equal pay but she doesn’t play men.

Can you name a bigger draw than Serena, male or female, in the game right now?

Anna K

He just might be able to wrote:

this illustrates the big divide between the male and female (at least in the traditional way) games

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HLNIbgt6gJc

Most of those serves would have been aces against men. When either of the Bryan brothers or John Isner serve out wide, it is almost always an ace. It just gets worse when you put a 5'8" woman on the other end who is 10-12 inches shorter. McEnroe is 5'11". Serena is 5'9". So, there is no height advatage.

Most women on the tour serve in the 100-110s. The heavy hitters can get up to 120 fairly consistently. McEnroe is lucky to get his serve up over 100 mph today. But the real advantage is fitness. Serena can play 30-40 shot rallies over and over again. McEnroe cannot keep that up for even a two set match.

They actually set up a match years ago but there was no umpire willing to work the match.

Precious Roy wrote:

Serena would double bagel McEnroe. Not even close. I was McEnroe play a seniors match about ten years ago. He has no power. It was surprising how little pace he put on the ball. His touch is still excellent as that was always his greatest asset. But Serena hits the ball very hard and McEnroe would just be holding on for dear life the entire match.

Not so fast, my Hill Country friend. Serena hasn't played the likes of McEnroe either. He takes pace off the ball when he returns it. Could take some adjusting to his unique style. In the Powershares Legends his serve still has zip....and placement.

El Keniano wrote:

Please do wrote:

I would love t see it. She claims she wants equal pay but she doesn’t play men.

Can you name a bigger draw than Serena, male or female, in the game right now?

Federer, Nadal and Djokovic to name three.

My name is........hepcat wrote:

Precious Roy wrote:

Serena would double bagel McEnroe. Not even close. I was McEnroe play a seniors match about ten years ago. He has no power. It was surprising how little pace he put on the ball. His touch is still excellent as that was always his greatest asset. But Serena hits the ball very hard and McEnroe would just be holding on for dear life the entire match.

Not so fast, my Hill Country friend. Serena hasn't played the likes of McEnroe either. He takes pace off the ball when he returns it. Could take some adjusting to his unique style. In the Powershares Legends his serve still has zip....and placement.

Exactly. Even though McEnroe is old, he can still move way better than big fat Serena. She can probably out hit him but that wouldn't matter if she can't get to the ball. I've said this a million times before, and you lovers of big butts always disagree, but if there were more athletic women playing tennis, Serena would rarely win.