John McEnroe claims ‘he could take’ Serena Williams in tennis match, not in boxing ring

Serena Williams has been nearly invincible with a 43-2 win loss record this season. However, John McEnroe said that he thinks he could beat Williams if they play a serious tennis match.

The four-time US Open champion appeared on Wednesday’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live where he talked about his previous US Open success. The US Open is the last grand slam tournament of the year and Williams is looking to complete the Calendar Slam, winning all four major titles in one tennis season. Kimmel asked McEnroe about who he thinks will win between him and Williams.

McEnroe said his daughters would likely choose him to go down to Williams, but the former World No. 1 reckons that he could defeat the top-ranked female tennis player. “I believe I that I could still take her,” McEnroe told Kimmel.

McEnroe revealed that Donald Trump once made an offer to get him and Williams on the court together and later on compared the tennis match to the Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. bout. Kimmel thought a “great” double billing of the rematch between two of the greatest welterweight fighters and a tennis match between McEnroe and Williams. The 56-year-old misheard Kimmel saying that the late night talk show host would like to see a boxing bout between him and Williams and immediately replied, “I don’t think I could take her in the ring.”

Williams is on a quest of winning all four slams this season after claiming the previous three majors, Australian Open (def. Maria Sharapova 6-3 7-6), French Open (def. Lucie Safarova 6-3 6-7 6-2), and Wimbledon (def. Garbine Muguruza). If she wins the US Open, which begins on Aug. 31, Williams will not only make history by winning a Calendar Slam, but also the 33-year-old American will match Steffi Graf’s record of 22 major titles. Graf also won a Calendar Slam in 1988.

Williams is currently competing at the 2015 Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati. She cruised past the early rounds to book a place in the quarterfinals where she will face Serbian tennis ace Ana Ivanovic, who trails in their head-to-head series 1-8. The match will be a repeat of their only previous encounter at the Cincinnati Masters during last year’s final where Williams won 6-4 6-1.

Video courtesy: YouTube/ Jimmy Kimmel Live

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