John McEnroe sets record straight on meeting Serena, Venus Williams for first time
John McEnroe has just one bone to pick with the retiring Serena Williams. He didn’t like the way he was portrayed in the 2021 award-winning movie about her father, “King Richard.”
Otherwise, McEnroe — and Chris Evert — had nothing but platitudes regarding Williams, who will play her final tournament at the U.S. Open, which will begin next week, before she retires at age 40.
McEnroe called her “an icon of icons’’ with “the greatest serve ever, better than a lot of guys.” Evert said she “revolutionized tennis” because of her power.
About that movie, however, on which Williams was an executive producer …
In the film, McEnroe was shown blowing off meeting Serena and her sister, Venus, when Serena was 8 years old.
McEnroe wanted to set the record straight during a conference call, when he made his first remarks about Williams’ Open farewell.
“It wasn’t accurately totally portrayed in the movie, [but it was] a great movie,’’ McEnroe said. “When she was brought to the court I was practicing on, I was being told by my then-coach Paul Cohen and Richard Williams that her and Venus were going to be the two best players in the world. It was like, ‘Call me in 10 years, we’ll see what’s happening.’ ”
It wasn’t the nicest sentiment, but the movie toughened it up.
“I didn’t walk away in disgust, refuse to see Serena,” McEnroe said. “I was there. Saw them. Why would I walk away after being told that I’m going to see two kids, 8 and 9, that are going to be future No. 1s? I refuse to see these kids for what? Because I’m a hothead? Not correct.’’
The prediction proved correct, however, and McEnroe spoke glowingly of Williams’ career, in which she has amassed 23 Grand Slam titles. Barring a miracle in Flushing, she will retire one short of the all-time record, set by Margaret Court.
“That all you need to say about Serena is that she’s put herself in that pantheon of GOATs,’’ McEnroe said. “She’s up there with Billie Jean King. You mentioned Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan, Tom Brady. That’s where Serena is.’’
Despite Williams’ many blowups at the Open, Evert sees her as a spectacular role model.
“She’s been very inspirational off the court.’’ Evert said. “On the court, it’s obvious. Her record, her power, her mental toughness. But the intangibles — the fearlessness in her has really impressed me. The fact that she’s never set any limits in tennis or life.
“And she really has spoken her mind. We haven’t always agreed with her. But for the most part, I think the good has definitely outweighed the bad. She has so many platforms, from body shaming, to working moms, to women of color, and just empowering women.’’
Expectations are low for Williams, who sat out a year with injuries, returned to lose in the first round at Wimbledon, the second round in Toronto and first round in Cincinnati.
“Could be first round, or she could actually make a run,’’ McEnroe said. “Depends on the crowd. Sometimes when you’re not playing well you sort of feel like the crowd doesn’t get you’re struggling. It depends on how she reacts to that if things aren’t going well or the way she anticipates.”
Williams is unseeded and could face anybody in the first round. The draw will be announced Thursday. The USTA is mulling keeping Williams off the opening-night card to build suspense.
“It obviously depends on who she’s playing,’’ McEnroe said. “Anything could happen. It’s so wide open. At the moment, obviously we know she can hit shots but it’s going to be how well can she play some defense, recover and move. That’s the part that gets tougher as you get older.’’
Evert said Williams is “not playing that badly’’ but added, “I think it’s going to be tough for her to get into the second week because you just have more ups and downs when you’re not match tough.’’
