Jimmy Connors (Tennis Player) - Pics, Videos, Dating, & News
Jimmy Connors
Tennis Player
Male
James Scott "Jimmy" Connors is a former world number one tennis player from the United States. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time. Connors won eight Grand Slam singles titles and two Grand Slam doubles titles with Ilie NÄstase.…  Read More
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Connors A Kyrgios Choice As Coach For Hothead Talent
Yahoo News - Oct 20, 2016
' By Ian Ransom MELBOURNE (Reuters) - American tennis great <mark>Jimmy Connors</mark> has put his hand up for one of the toughest coaching assignments in the world by offering to mentor Australia\'s wayward talent Nick Kyrgios. The 64-year-old Connors, a famous firebrand through a long career boasting eight grand slam titles, fittingly made his approach on Twitter, a medium favoured highly by the moody 21-year-old, recently banned from the tour for two months. \"Kyrgios-- you want to be the ...
That Place Is Gonna Rock And Roll
ABC News - Aug 24, 2016
'               var specialURLinexplicable =  \'\';   if (window.location.hash != \'\') {     specialURLinexplicable = window.location.hash;     window.location.hash = \'\';   }                                                     T     ime doesn\'t wait. It didn\'t wait for Bjorn Borg, who first quit tennis at 26, nor did it for John McEnroe, who never won a Grand Slam after age 25. In 1990, a year before his remarkable US Open run, it did not wait for <mark>Jimmy Connors</mark>, the Open era...
Tennis Fathers Who Have Won Grand Slam Titles
Yahoo News - Jul 10, 2016
'LONDON, July 10 (Reuters) - Following Andy Murray\'s triumph in the men\'s singles at Wimbledon on Sunday, this is a list of men who have won grand slam singles titles since 1980 after becoming fathers: Player Majors won after becoming a father <mark>Jimmy Connors</mark> (U.S.) Wimbledon (1982) U.S. Open (1982, 1983) Pat Cash (Australia) Wimbledon (1987) Andres Gomez (Ecuador) French Open (1990) Boris Becker (Germany) Australian Open (1996) Petr Korda (Czech Republic) Australian Open (1998) ...
Tennis   Federer Sights New Record And Wimbledon Semi Finals
Yahoo News - Jul 06, 2016
' - Seven-time champion Roger Federer can reach an 11th Wimbledon semi-final on Wednesday and become the most successful Grand Slam match winner when he tackles Croatia\'s Marin Cilic. The 17-time major champion can also go level with <mark>Jimmy Connors</mark>\' Wimbledon record of 84 wins if he beats Cilic for the sixth time in seven meetings. Federer, 34, has a 306-50 win-loss record in Grand Slam matches and is currently joint top of the list with Martina Navratilova (306-49) and ahead of...
Learn about the memorable moments in the evolution of Jimmy Connors.
CHILDHOOD
1952 Birth Born on September 2, 1952.
1961 8 Years Old Connors grew up in East St. Louis, Illinois, across the Mississippi River from St. Louis. He played in his first U.S. Championship, the U.S. boys' 11-and-under of 1961, when he was nine years old.
TEENAGE
1968 15 Years Old Connors' mother, Gloria, took him to Southern California to be coached by Pancho Segura, starting at age 16, in 1968. … Read More
He won the Junior Orange Bowl in both the 12- and the 14-year categories, and is one of only nine tennis players to win the Junior Orange Bowl championship twice in its 70-year history, which list includes Andy Murray, Jennifer Capriati, Monica Seles, and Yishai Oliel. Read Less
1970 17 Years Old In 1970, Connors recorded his first victory in the first round of the Pacific Southwest Open in Los Angeles, defeating Roy Emerson.
1971 18 Years Old In 1971, Connors won the NCAA singles title as a Freshman while attending the University of California, Los Angeles, and attaining All-American status.
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He turned professional in 1972 and won his first tournament, the Jacksonville Open.
Connors was acquiring a reputation as a maverick in 1972 when he refused to join the newly formed Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), the union that was embraced by most male professional players, in order to play in and dominate a series of smaller tournaments organized by Bill Riordan, his manager.
TWENTIES
However, Connors played in other tournaments and won the 1973 US Pro Singles, his first significant title, toppling Arthur Ashe in a five-set final, 6â3, 4â6, 6â4, 3â6, 6â2.
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Borg won only four of those meetings, but two of those wins were in the Wimbledon finals of 1977 and 1978. Connors lost his stranglehold on the top ranking to Borg in early 1979 and wound up with an official tour record of 8â15 against Borg. Although Borg is four years younger and won the last ten times they met, Connors won most exhibitions and senior tour matches against Borg, putting Connors "unofficially" ahead of Borg in overall wins (see Borg-Connors rivalry). Head to head in major championship finals, they split their four meetings, Borg winning two Wimbledons (1977 & 1978) and Connors winning two US Opens (1976 & 1978). <br /><br />Nastase was another rival in Connors' prime. Though six years older than Connors, Nastase won ten of their first 11 meetings. However, Connors won eleven of their final fourteen meetings. Read Less
The two would team up to win the doubles championships at the 1973 Wimbledon and the 1975 US Open. … Read More
Orantes upset Connors in the final of the 1975 US Open, but Connors is 11â3 overall against Orantes in tour events. On the other hand, Vilas wore down Connors in the final of the 1977 US Open and was much more competitive in all of their meetings. Connors was only able to manage a 5â4 record against Vilas in tour events.<br /><br /> In 1975, Connors won two highly touted "Challenge Matches", both arranged by the Riordan company and televised nationally by CBS Sports from Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. Connors won that match, 6â4, 6â2, 3â6, 7â5. In April, Connors met Newcombe in a match billed as a $250,000 winner-takes-all. Connors won the match, 6â3, 4â6, 6â2, 6â4. Read Less
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Connors won eight Grand Slam singles championships: five US Opens, two Wimbledons, and one Australian Open. He did not participate in the French Open during his peak years (1974â78) and only played in two Australian Opens in his entire career, winning it in 1974 and reaching the final in 1975.
In 1974, Connors was the dominant player. … Read More
He had a 99â4 record that year and won 15 tournaments, including three of the four Grand Slam singles titles. The French Open did not allow Connors to participate due to his association with World Team Tennis (WTT). However, he won the Australian Open, defeating Phil Dent in four sets. He also beat Ken Rosewall in straight sets in the finals of both Wimbledon and the US Open. His exclusion from the French Open denied him the opportunity to become the first male player since Rod Laver to win all four Major singles titles in a calendar year. Read Less
Connors reached the final of the US Open in five straight years from 1974 through 1978, winning three times with each win being on a different surface (1974 on grass, 1976 on clay and 1978 on hard). … Read More
He reached the final of Wimbledon four out of five years during his peak (1974, 1975, 1977 and 1978). Despite not being allowed to play in the French Open for a number of years, he was still able to reach the semifinals four times in his career.<br /><br /> In the open era, Connors is one of only six men to win three or more Grand Slam singles titles in a calendar year. Others include: Rod Laver who won the Grand Slam in 1969; Mats Wilander won the Australian, French and US Open in 1988; Roger Federer won the Australian, Wimbledon and US Open in 2004, 2006 and 2007; Rafael Nadal won the French, Wimbledon, and US Open in 2010; and Novak Djokovic won the Australian, Wimbledon, and US Open in 2011 and 2015. Read Less
Connors reached the ATP world No. 1 ranking on July 29, 1974 and held it for 160 consecutive weeks, a record until it was surpassed by Roger Federer on February 26, 2007.
He was the ATP year-end no. 1 player from 1974 through 1978 and held the world No. 1 ranking for a total of 268 weeks during his career. … Read More
Prominent contemporary players with Connors included Phil Dent, Brian Gottfried, Raul RamÃ­rez, Harold Solomon, Dick Stockton, Roscoe Tanner, and Guillermo Vilas. His older rivals included Arthur Ashe, Rod Laver, Ilie NÄstase, John Newcombe, Manuel Orantes, Ken Rosewall, and Stan Smith. His prominent younger opponents included BjÃ¶rn Borg, Vitas Gerulaitis, Ivan Lendl, and John McEnroe. Read Less
During his best years of 1974 through 1978, Connors was challenged the most by Borg, with twelve matches on tour during that time frame.
In 1974, Connors and Riordan began filing lawsuits, amounting to $10 million, against the ATP and its president, Arthur Ashe, for allegedly restricting his freedom in the game.
The lawsuits stemmed from the French Open banning Connors in 1974 after he had signed a contract to play World Team Tennis (WTT) for the Baltimore Banners.
Connors was seeking to enter the French Open, but the ATP and French officials opposed WTT because of scheduling conflicts, so the entries of WTT players were refused between 1974 and 1978.
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Connors explained that this necessitated his rushing to meet the doctor at the entrance to the grounds, and then convincing Nastase to help him try out the splint on a practice court. By Connors' account, he then rushed to Centre Court for the parade, but was too late. He was booed when he played his first round match the next day. Reaching the final, he lost in five sets to Borg, who a month later was able briefly to interrupt Connors's long hold on the world No. 1 ranking. Read Less
Connors also irritated sponsors and tennis officials by shunning the end-of-year Masters championship from 1974 through 1976.
Connors was engaged to fellow tennis pro Chris Evert, and they each triumphed in the singles events at the 1974 Wimbledon Championships; a feat labelled "The Lovebird Double" by the media. Their engagement was broken off shortly before the 1975 Wimbledon championship.
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Connors ended his business relationship with Riordan later in 1975. … Read More
Connors played Newcombe in four tour events, with Newcombe winning the first two meetings on grass (1973 US Open quarterfinal and 1975 Australian Open final) and Connors winning the last two on hard courts (1978 Sydney Indoor quarterfinal and 1979 Hong Kong round of 16). Connors won all three meetings with Rod Laver in tour events. Read Less
Connors dropped Riordan and eventually the lawsuits after losing to Ashe in the 1975 Wimbledon final (according to the official film produced by Wimbledon 1975, his $2 million suit against Ashe was still outstanding when the two met in the 1975 Wimbledon final).
At Wimbledon in 1977, he refused to participate in a parade of former champions to celebrate the tournament's centenary, choosing instead to practice in the grounds with Ilie Nastase while the parade took place.
However, he entered this round-robin competition in 1977 when it moved to New York City. … Read More
Although Connors lost a celebrated late-night match to Vilas, 4â6, 6â3, 5â7, he took the title by defeating Borg in the final, 6â4, 1â6, 6â4.<br /><br /> Connors had shining moments against John McEnroe and Ivan Lendl, both of whom rose to prominence after Connors peaked in the mid-1970s. He would continue to compete against much younger players and had one of the most remarkable comebacks for any athlete when he reached the semifinals of the 1991 US Open at the age of 39. Read Less
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It is difficult to say which was more instrumental in Connors becoming a champion.... Though smaller than most of his competitors, Connors didn't let it bother him, making up for a lack of size with determination." Of his own competitive nature Connors has said, "There's always somebody out there who's willing to push it that extra inch, or mile, and that was me. (Laughter) I didn't care if it took me 30 minutes or five hours. If you beat me, you had to be the best, or the best you had that day. But that was my passion for the game. If I won, I won, and if I lost, well, I didn't take it so well." <br /><br />His on-court antics, designed to get the crowd involved, both helped and hurt his play. Schwartz said, "While tennis fans enjoyed Connors' gritty style and his never-say-die attitude, they often were shocked by his antics. His sometimes vulgar on-court behaviorâlike giving the finger to a linesman after disagreeing with a call or strutting about the court with the tennis racket handle between his legs; sometimes he would yank on the handle in a grotesque manner and his fans would go wild or groan in disapprovalâdid not help his approval rating. During the early part of his career, Connors frequently argued with umpires, linesmen, the players union, Davis Cup officials and other players. Read Less
He was even booed at Wimbledon â a rare show of disapproval thereâfor snubbing the Parade of Champions on the first day of the Centenary in 1977." … Read More
His brash behavior both on and off the court earned him a reputation as the brat of the tennis world. Tennis commentator Bud Collins nicknamed Connors the "Brash Basher of Belleville" after the St Louis suburb where he grew up. But Connors himself thrived on the energy of the crowd, positive or negative, and manipulated and exploited it to his advantage in many of the greatest matches of his career.<br /><br /> Connors was taught to hit the ball on the rise by his teaching-pro mother, Gloria Connors, a technique he used to defeat the opposition in the early years of his career. Gloria sent her son to Southern California to work with Pancho Segura at the age of 16. Segura advanced Connors' game of hitting the ball on the rise which enabled Connors to reflect the power and velocity of his opponents back at them. Segura was the master strategist in developing Jimmy's complete game. In the 1975 Wimbledon final, Arthur Ashe countered this strategy by taking the pace off the ball, giving Connors only soft junk shots (dinks, drop shots, and lobs) to hit. Read Less
Former Miss World Marjorie Wallace was engaged to Connors in 1977, but in 1979 Connors married Playboy model Patti McGuire. … Read More
They have two children, and live in the Santa Barbara, California area.<br /><br /> In the fall of 1988, Connors auditioned to host the NBC daytime version of Wheel of Fortune, a show he and his wife "never missed an episode" of. However, the job went to Rolf Benirschke. According to show creator Merv Griffin, many news outlets tried to get their hands on Connors' audition tape, but Griffin refused to release it because he said "it wouldn't have been fair to Jimmy".<br /><br /> In the 1990s he joined his brother John Connors as investors in the Argosy Gaming Company which owned riverboat casinos on the Mississippi River. The two owned 19 percent of the company which was headquartered in the St. Louis metropolitan area of East Alton, Illinois. Argosy narrowly averted bankruptcy in the late 1990s and Connors' brother John personally sought Chapter 7 bankruptcy. In the liquidation, Connors, through his company, Smooth Swing, acquired the Alystra Casino in Henderson, Nevada, for $1.9 million from Union Planters Bank, which had foreclosed on John. John had opened the casino in 1995 with announced plans to include a Jimmy Connors theme area. It was shuttered in 1998 and became a magnet for homeless and thieves who stripped its copper piping. The casino never reopened under Connors' ownership and it was destroyed in a May 2008 fire. Read Less
1980 27 Years Old In the 1980 WCT Finals, Connors defeated the defending champion, John McEnroe. … Read More
McEnroe and Borg were battling for the top spot in those years, while Connors played the role of the spoiler. Read Less