The old fire which once burned the ears of tennis umpires the world over was reignited yesterday when John McEnroe accused Wimbledon women's champion Venus Williams of insulting him.
The pair have engaged in a long-running row since the Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, claimed they could win on the men's tennis circuit and McEnroe insisted they could not even beat a good college player. American billionaire Donald Trump last year offered a million dollars to promote a McEnroe-Williams clash but the sisters went cool.
Yesterday three-times Wimbledon champion McEnroe was anything but, as he launched a fresh attack on the Williams sisters, who he has accused of lacking humility.
"I didn't hear Marion Jones saying she could beat Maurice Greene at the 100 metres," said McEnroe.
"It only seems to happen in tennis. Why in tennis do the women think they can beat the men? If they think that they should go and play in the men's tournaments. Step up and play somebody."
McEnroe was then asked if he was issuing a challenge. "Don't put words into my mouth," barked a red-faced and angry McEnroe. "This is not John McEnroe issuing a challenge, I wouldn't waste my breath. Many times I've been asked if I'd play Steffi Graf or Martina Navratilova. It's not something that interests me.
"But it's okay for her (Williams) to insult me and call me an old man. She's too great a player to insult somebody."
McEnroe, who is 41, went on to dismiss the last so-called `battle of the sexes' - when a 55-year-old former Wimbledon champion Bobby Riggs beat Margaret Court and then himself was beaten by Billie-Jean King - as a publicity stunt, saying: "He threw the match."
Yesterday afternoon's episode might easily have fallen into the same category with the Honda Seniors Challenge starting at the Royal Albert Hall today.
Except that McEnroe, bleary-eyed and grumpy having just jetted across the Atlantic, was clearly serious about his outburst as he sat alongside Bjorn Borg, the five times Wimbledon champion. The pair are scheduled to meet on Friday afternoon in what could well be their final encounter on British soil.
Borg has decided this week's Honda challenge will be his last, though he still expects to play exhibitions and special events.
"I still enjoy the game but I'm not going to travel that much any more," said Borg, who intends to play the pre-Wimbledon charity event at Hurlingham next year.
"It's still special to see John on the other side of the net and our matches are always going to be special in my heart and my mind. We remember every game and every set of our matches and it is a big thrill to play John again."
