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Andy Murray says he'd take on Serena Williams

Andy Murray is No. 2 in the world and said he'd be up for taking on Serena Williams. (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

British tennis star Andy Murray during a second-round match at Wimbledon. Murray is ranked No. 2 in the world and said in a recent column he'd be up for taking on women's star Serena Williams. (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

Olympic gold medalist and world No. 2 Andy Murray, said he'd be up for a match against Serena Williams in a column he's writing for BBC Sport.

The topic came up when he was discussing the challenge of Grand Slam tournaments and the difference between playing five-set and three-set matches. From the column:

Playing at Grand Slams takes its toll because of the five-set matches; you have to do more training to play for five sets, which then shortens your career.

Playing for three sets requires a different sort of fitness -- you don't really need the endurance, you just need to be quick and explosive for two or two and a half hours, whereas the endurance aspect comes into it in the best-of-five-set matches.

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Murray continued on to explain that he wasn't trying to make a point about men's versus women's tennis, and brought up a potential match against Serena saying he thought it could be a good way to garner more interest in the sport. From the BBC Sport column:

That isn't an argument about men's and women's tennis, by the way, although I have been challenged by someone on Twitter to taking on Serena Williams. I'd be up for it, why not?

I've never hit with her but she's obviously an incredible player and I think people would be interested to see the men play against the women to see how the styles match up. It's happened in the past with Jimmy Connors and Martina Navratilova. How about Las Vegas as a venue?

Murray is currently trying to become the first British player to win Wimbledon since 1936 when Fred Perry won. Williams, a 16-time Grand Slam champion, is favored to win Wimbledon and defeated Caroline Garcia on Thursday to advance to the third round.

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