'I'd hope to beat Serena Williams,' says World No 701 Dmitry Tursunov

World No 701 Dmitry Tursunov hopes he would be able to beat Serena Williams in a head-to-head match.

Tursunov, once ranked inside the top 20 in the world, weighed into the row that has ensued since John McEnroe's comments about the gap between the men's and women's game.

McEnroe said earlier this week that Williams, who is now No 4 in the women's game while she takes a break to have her first child, would be ranked around 700 if she played on the men's circuit.

Williams disputed that claim on Tuesday but, in an interview with BBC World Service Sport, Tursunov said he had to agree with McEnroe.

The 34-year-old, who did not feel McEnroe was talking down the women's game, said: "I would hope that I would win against Serena.

"It would be a similar argument to who would run faster, the fastest woman or the fastest man? Tennis is becoming more and more a physical sport, so it's going to be hard for a woman to beat the men.

"It's not black and white, there are lots of factors to take into account. Physically I might not be in the best shape of my life but as an overall package I'm much better than my ranking would suggest.

"I've never heard John say anything absolutely stupid - he knows his stuff. What he said about her being an incredible player is correct - explosive, powerful and she puts in a lot of work. But I would hope that I would win."

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