McEnroe says he can beat Serena, irks doubles players

Ever one to stir the pot, John McEnroe visited Jimmy Kimmel's late-night TV show stateside Wednesday evening. Serena Williams' chase of the calendar-year Grand Slam quickly came up, a sight unseen in tennis since Steffi Graf's 1988 triumph. "I believe that I could still take her," McEnroe said of Serena at Kimmel's prodding. "She's got a lot to lose by losing to an old fart like myself. And I've got a lot to lose because if I lose to, God forbid, a woman, I'm not allowed in any men's locker room for the next 15 years, or possibly until the end of my life."

McEnroe noted that Donald Trump had previously proposed appearance fees to both him and Serena if they were to put on a Battle of the Sexes match akin to the most (in)famous event of that ilk, Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs' 1973 showdown. McEnroe quipped that Trump "seems to be in the news a little bit," and Kimmel didn't skip a beat: "He's going to be our president soon."

McEnroe dished that Trump skimped on his prize money for such a contest, and that he would prefer a payout similar to the $200 million that Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, Jr., split and (sort of) sparred over earlier this year in an overhyped boxing match that proved to be a universal dud.

One thing McEnroe did admit: "I don't think I could take [Serena] in the ring."

The posts below might properly synthesize most of the reactions on Twitter to McEnroe's Serena statements:

Elsewhere in his spot alongside Kimmel, McEnroe critiqued today's pro doubles game. "Doubles don't count as much because they're not as good as the singles players. They're sort of like the slower version of the singles guys."

Kimmel, seemingly intrigued by the prospect of playing both singles and doubles in major tournaments, pressed McEnroe further. "I wanted to be a little bit like a rock-star tennis player," said the winner of seven singles titles, nine doubles crowns, and a mixed-doubles championship at the majors. "Could you possibly be No. 1 and to some degree burn the candle at both ends? The answer was yes for a while, but that caught up to me eventually."

The verdict is still out on whether his latest round of comments will catch up to him. At press time, Serena hadn't publicly responded.

Follow Jon on Twitter @jonscott9. News tips gladly accepted. Just don't tell him how to serve.