I would rather this kind of debate happens on a liberal blog instead of only right wing sites as I want to show the world that we have our diversity of opinions on such matters.
Mcenroe made some common sense statements that should not have put him on the spot. Now he is being asked to apologize? for what? for an opinion?
now ranking her the equivalent of 700 on the men’s tour can be debatable considering her serve and shot power. Would top 300 be more suitable? if tennis boiled down to a best of 3, could she crack the top 250? Who knows? But this is where the social debate veered into politically correct territory and what prompted the diary. Some seem more outraged that McEnroe wasn’t anointing her best of all time instead of debating the 700 in the world remark. .Self righteous comments on public that corrected him that he needs to acknowledge serena as the best tennis player of all time and not just best female tennis player.
Even if one has to , with great difficulty ignore the fact that any of the top 5 men will beat her 100 out of 100 times, there are other factors to consider. federer-nadal has no equivalence on the women’s side. The williams sisters contests come close but still not quite. Federer Nadal have been so good that even a great player like djokovic’s legacy won’t go down as an all time great. That depth of competiion is simply not there on the women’s side. People need to stop being politically correct and celebrate Serena for what she is — the greatest female tennis player of all time, and probably the greatest or one of the greatest tennis figures in history.
Keep in mind that Mcenroe even conceded that he could be beaten by serena and didnt dare her to a one on one matchup Bobby Riggs style.
Full mcenroe interview here :
McEnroe: Best female player ever — no question.
Garcia-Navarro: Some wouldn’t qualify it, some would say she’s the best player in the world. Why qualify it?
McEnroe: Oh! Uh, she’s not, you mean, the best player in the world, period?
Garcia-Navarro: Yeah, the best tennis player in the world. You know, why say female player?
McEnroe: Well because if she was in, if she played the men’s circuit she’d be like 700 in the world.
Garcia-Navarro: You think so?
McEnroe: Yeah. That doesn’t mean I don’t think Serena is an incredible player. I do, but the reality of what would happen would be I think something that perhaps it’d be a little higher, perhaps it’d be a little lower. And on a given day, Serena could beat some players. I believe because she’s so incredibly strong mentally that she could overcome some situations where players would choke ’cause she’s been in it so many times, so many situations at Wimbledon, The U.S. Open, etc. But if she had to just play the circuit — the men’s circuit — that would be an entirely different story.
Here is an article in the dailybeast that I dsiagree with. Who cares if Serena is dominant among women? What if a guy was dominant in the INdian or Chinese version of the NFL, were the leagues to be started? Would that overwhelming dominance be proof that he is the best football player of all time? Wouldn’t that be part indictment of the level of tennis in the women’s side as much as a validation of Serena’s greatness when Serena is singularly at the top of the women’s field?