Serena Williams and Venus Williams have gone down in history for their tennis exploits, having pushed each other all the way for several years.
Madison Keys is emulating Serena Williams at Indian Wells, with the former into the semi-finals this week in California.
Venus Williams refused an Indian Wells wildcard, but is clearly still being sought after by the WTA Tour thanks to her stunning success.
Venus won seven Grand Slam titles between 2000 and 2008, with her sister Serena winning 23 from 1999 to 2017.
They did, of course, meet several times over the years thanks to their brilliant performances at various competitions.
When John McEnroe reaffirmed his belief of being able to beat Serena and Venus Williams
And one such meeting arrived in the 2002 French Open final, where Serena edged out Venus 7-5, 6-3 for her second Grand Slam title.
Shortly after, however, they were presented with comments from ATP star John McEnroe on the Today show from the day before, who shortly before that claimed that “any respectable male player – senior, college level, pro – could beat either of the Williams sisters”.
Asked if he could “beat them now” after that French Open final, he told the Today show in 2002: “I would like to think so. Although as I start to age I am starting to wonder!”
Then asked if realistically he still thinks he would have a shot against either sister, he replied: “The way you ask that question makes me worry about you but I still believe it’s a good probability.”
Serena and Venus Williams ‘never’ had interest in playing John McEnroe
The stunning duo had only just made history in Paris, becoming the first sisters ever to claim the top two spots in the world rankings.
Despite the loss, it was Venus, the eldest of the siblings, who took first place, closely followed by newly-crowned champion Serena.
But rather than focusing largely on that success, they were asked for their thoughts on the claim from their fellow American, with McEnroe retiring shortly after his 1992 US Open exit.
“I just think that right now on the women’s tour I am doing the best I can, and hopefully I will get another match against Serena. That’s what I am looking for next. We just never had an interest [in facing McEnroe].”
Concurring with her sister, Serena said: “Never. We are really into [the fact] we are playing each other on the ladies’ tour and focusing on our game pretty much. We have too much going on right now, we are playing tennis and tournaments it’s a lot!”
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