John McEnroe offers solution to battle of the sexes after Serena Williams row

John McEnroe has proposed joint-sex tennis could work and feels no need to apologise for ranking Serena Williams "700th" in the men's game.

Former world No 1 Williams, who has taken time off from the game to have a baby, reacted swiftly to McEnroe's comments on Twitter by asking for "respect".

McEnroe reiterated Williams is for him "the greatest female player that ever lived", but would not retract his statement on where the 23-time grand slam champion would rank among men, and proposed an alternative solution to the ongoing debate.

Asked if he would apologise to Williams, McEnroe told a US chat show: "No. The offer is this…because it seems in tennis, unlike other sports, they're always asking about women, about how I would do, how would this old bag John McEnroe do against Serena... so why don't you combine.

"Just solve the problem, and I'm sure the men would be all for this, that men and women play together. Then we don't have to guess."

McEnroe did insist he did not mean to cause offence to Williams with his initial comments and played down a feud between the pair.

"Serena has a way with words," he added. "I don't want to upset her or whatever it was. She was doing it tongue-in-cheek as well, and I think deep down I can't believe we're even talking about it.

"I would be happy to apologise to Serena if that makes you feel better, I think Serena is incredible."

For those on the move, we will have Wimbledon covered via our website skysports.com/tennis, our app for mobile devices and iPad, or follow our Twitter account @SkySportsTennis to join in the conversation. Who will win the All England Club title this summer? Have your say...