BGod
G.O.A.T.
A sequel 26 years in the making.
Some background
The first two battles took place against Bobby Riggs in 1973 without any handicaps. The first against Court ended 6-2, 6-1 which was followed by a Best of 5 against King. Riggs lost the match in straights 4-6, 3-6, 3-6. Pancho Segura challenged King but was refused. Then in 1992 we had the Connors vs. Navratilova match. The age gap was small as Connors was 40 and Martina was 35. This match saw handicaps for Navratilova, allowing her to hit into half of the doubles court and Jimmy had single serves. He won 7-5, 6-2.
So how would part IV go down if it ever did?
I certainly think handicaps would have to be part of it but I don't like more court surface for one player as it's a tad confusing and gimmicky. The man would get only 1 serve and start every game down 0-15. I think that's fair. In terms of format I think you go Best of 3 for obvious reasons but what the NextGen does with best of 7 sets with tiebreak at 3-3 could be considered or a super tiebreak in a 3rd set.
Now in terms of players, for the women it has to be Serena Williams but the men gets tricky. Name recognition is important but can't be an active star player. I know Johnny Mac has offered up himself and even said Trump considered a match but as much as I like McEnroe's commenting I think Agassi at 48 now would be a really good call. Although 47 year old Sampras with an outdated style might make a more competitive match.
Some background
The first two battles took place against Bobby Riggs in 1973 without any handicaps. The first against Court ended 6-2, 6-1 which was followed by a Best of 5 against King. Riggs lost the match in straights 4-6, 3-6, 3-6. Pancho Segura challenged King but was refused. Then in 1992 we had the Connors vs. Navratilova match. The age gap was small as Connors was 40 and Martina was 35. This match saw handicaps for Navratilova, allowing her to hit into half of the doubles court and Jimmy had single serves. He won 7-5, 6-2.
So how would part IV go down if it ever did?
I certainly think handicaps would have to be part of it but I don't like more court surface for one player as it's a tad confusing and gimmicky. The man would get only 1 serve and start every game down 0-15. I think that's fair. In terms of format I think you go Best of 3 for obvious reasons but what the NextGen does with best of 7 sets with tiebreak at 3-3 could be considered or a super tiebreak in a 3rd set.
Now in terms of players, for the women it has to be Serena Williams but the men gets tricky. Name recognition is important but can't be an active star player. I know Johnny Mac has offered up himself and even said Trump considered a match but as much as I like McEnroe's commenting I think Agassi at 48 now would be a really good call. Although 47 year old Sampras with an outdated style might make a more competitive match.
