Mayor Anthony A. Williams isn’t taking any chances in his upcoming benefit tennis match against Ward 8 Councilmember Marion S. Barry Jr.

The mayor used his weekly press conference yesterday to announce that he and Barry will play during the Recreation Wish List Committee’s Saturday fundraising event at the Southeast Tennis and Learning Center.

The image of Williams and the 70-year-old former mayor on the court was enough to illicit chuckles from the press corps. But the mayor decided the center-court showdown needed some more hype.

“We will have EMS on call for him,” the mayor said about Barry.

He quickly added that the reference to the delicate condition of the 70-year-old former mayor was “just trash talk.”