John McEnroe has launched a defence of Serena Williams and claimed she has nothing to apologise for after her meltdown in the US Open final.
Citing some of his own antics, fellow American and seven-time grand-slam champion McEnroe also defended Williams' claim during the final three months ago that men have got away with far worse.
Williams was given a game penalty after calling umpire Carlos Ramos "a liar" and "a thief" in the second set of her straight-sets defeat to Naomi Osaka. During the tirade, Williams also suggested Ramos was sexist because he would not have treated a male player so harshly.
At the Royal Albert Hall where he is competing at the veterans' Champions Tennis event, McEnroe said criticism of Williams was wide of the mark.
In McEnroe's eyes, Williams and Ramos were both to blame for the way the incident unfolded. He suggested that in such a big match, Ramos should not have been so officious in giving Williams the initial code violation warning for on-court coaching.
"She was wrong and so was the umpire," said McEnroe. "They are both wrong. We all know that people coach all the time, right? This guy suddenly decides to call her on it in the final of the US Open. Really? She was upset about it, and then she went after the guy later in the set and obviously was venting.
"I think he was wrong not to say: 'If you say anything else, it is a game penalty'. I am not even sure she knew it was a game penalty. That just threw the whole thing. He became part of the whole thing."
Williams will have to address the incident at the Australian Open next month, but McEnroe believes she will not be bothered. "I doubt that's her major concern right now," he said. "I think people would actually be behind her because she's still playing."
Should Williams win the title in Melbourne, she will draw level with Margaret Court's record of 24 singles grand-slam titles...