John McEnroe hails retiring ‘icon’ Serena Williams as ‘the greatest player who ever lived’ ahead of US Open

John McEnroe has hailed the retiring Serena Williams as “the greatest player who ever lived” ahead of the 2022 US Open.

It will bring to a close a glittering career that has included 23 major singles titles, a record in the Open Era, and 14 Grand Slam doubles triumphs.

Describing Williams as an “icon” and “global superstar”, McEnroe compared the 40-year-old’s impact on tennis to that of Tiger Woods on golf, and believes that her story will continue to inspire and show that anyone can make it to the top.

“You can look at the accomplishments, she has the Grand Slam victories,” McEnroe said of his fellow American’s career. “The way that she moves the needle when she plays, it’s like Tiger Woods and golf. When she plays, it’s a whole different story.

“Off the court, I don’t know [her] as well, I know that she’s had a lot of difficulties in her life that she talks about in her own documentaries, but she has come out the other end as this icon, global superstar.

“Her story alone, what she represents as someone who’s an African-American girl who came from a tough situation, and became the greatest player that ever lived.

“What that represents for us, and maybe around the world, is an opportunity that it can happen to anyone potentially.”

Williams needs one more Grand Slam crown to draw level with Margaret Court on 24 titles, though the Australian claimed 13 of her major wins before the Open Era of professional tennis.

While a first major triumph since the 2017 Australian Open would appear unlikely, McEnroe would like to see the 40-year-old go deep into the tournament.

“Hopefully she’ll enjoy it. Serena is like Roger [Federer] – she’s not going there to lose first round,” McEnroe predicted.

“I think that she realised, ‘look, I’ve got to get out in the court, feel it, go through those emotions that you feel on a court so that by the time I get to New York, I’ll be at least somewhat comfortable with where I’m at, and I can do my thing’.

“The younger players are sticking with her now thinking ‘maybe she’s not moving quite as well, now the pressure is not quite the same’. So that’s something she’s going to have to overcome as well as being consistently in points.

“But the bottom line is that people are going to be pulling for her big time. She will be in the night matches and should probably play night every time as long as she’s in the tournament – it would be nice to see her make some type of nice run.”

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