“A real run at Wimbledon or US Open” John McEnroe expects Serena Williams to smash Margaret Court’s Grand Slam record
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Serena Williams and John McEnroe
Serena Williams has been absent from a tennis court for more than 6 months now and tennis fans are desperate to see the former World No. 1 return to action. Serena had injured her leg in the opening round of the 2021 Wimbledon Championships and since then is on the recovery to return to the Tour.
Many expected her to return for the Australian Open in the 2022 season but acting upon the advice of her medical team, she chose to skip the Grand Slam where she is a 7-time single and 4-time doubles champion. Serena’s last slam title also came at the Australian Open in 2017, her 23rd major but the American has failed to add to her tally despite reaching 4 more finals since then.
With Serena just one title short of matching Margaret Court‘s record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles, the 40-year old is in a race against time to come back for yet another Slam and if not break Court’s record, she certainly deserves to match it given her dominance of more than 2 decades.
“She seems very motivated still and I anticipate her coming back and making a real run at Wimbledon or trying to do one more US Open. She is desperate for one more even though it doesn’t change anything in my book. She is one of the greatest athletes, male or female, that has played the sport.
“So of course, we would like to see her play again, but she is also 40 and doesn’t have the fear factor that she once had amongst the younger players, so that makes it more difficult,” said former World No. 1 John McEnroe speaking with Eurosport, giving his opinions on when and where can Serena clinch her record-breaking major.
John McEnroe compares Roger Federer and Serena Williams
With Roger Federer and Serena both absent from action since Wimbledon and nursing their respective injuries, McEnroe also pointed out how different is the situation of the two players who are both 1 major away from creating history given Federer is in a 3-way tie with Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal on 20 Slams each.
“She has the slight advantage over Roger that the length of the matches are shorter in the women’s game. There is an opportunity to recover whereas it’s more difficult if you get stuck in a couple of five-setters at the Grand Slams. Those are the tournaments the players care most about,” added McEnroe who hopes Federer wins at Wimbledon.
While Federer has already hinted towards a long absence that could see him miss the season till Wimbledon, Serena might return to action soon but will be selective about her tournaments and might avoid playing on Clay which could be a risk to her injury as well given the challenge of the surface.
Also Read: “She went too far!” Roger Federer after Serena Williams’ outburst at the 2018 US Open Finals!
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Sarthak Shitole
(3462 Articles Published)