age
72 years
02/09/1952
born at
Ostrava (Czech Republic)
PRO CAREER
1972 - 1996
24 years
Main hand
left
Two-handed backhand
age
72 years
02/09/1952
born at
Ostrava (Czech Republic)
PRO CAREER
1972 - 1996
24 years
Main hand
left
Two-handed backhand
Jimmy Connors almost never showed any weakness during his 25 years playing at the highest level. Moulded by his teacher mother to be a tiger, the American's career is peppered with unexpected and provocative statements, such as "The crowd wants to see blood; that's what they'll get". Armed with his mythical steel racquet, Connors overwhelmed the tour with his uncommon return and take-no-prisoners backhand with a single goal: to write his name into the sport's history. Despised by many players – starting with his fellow countrymen McEnroe and Ashe – the American displayed an exaggerated egotism. But he won, ushering in his successful run at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 1974. Small Slam. That year he racked up 94 victories against just 4 losses. Beastly. It was the beginning of a long, successful run that would last nearly 20 years. Toward the end of his career, when he had somewhat smoothed over his image (he even earned a standing ovation for his final appearance at Roland-Garros), Connors enjoyed one final moment of glory. At the 1991 U.S. Open, the one-time fiancé of Chris Evert reached the semifinals, 17 years after his first Grand Slam title. Having fallen to 174 in the rankings after a nearly win-less season in 1990, he lost to Jim Courier. Still, he had 11 days of public affirmation and reconciliation. The greatest days of his career.
Television commentator, former coach (Andy Roddick, Maria Sharapova)
Titles
109
Finals
55
Higher ranking
1
ATP Singles, 29/07/1974