Jimmy Connors

James Scott Connors (Jimmy Connors) was born on September 2, 1952 in St. Louis, Illinois. He took tennis lessons from his mother who was a former pro. He is a left-handler who used his intense two handed backhand stroke to triumph in Grand Slam tournaments eight times. He ended his career with a men's record of 109 singles and 1,337 conquests.
Connors trained with Pancho Segura at the age of 16, enrolled at the University of California Laos Angeles and won the NCAA singles title. He then dropped out to turn pro. He developed a reputation as a maverick and refused to join the Association of Tennis Professionals. He played in independent tournaments organized by his manager Bill Riordan. He became known for shocking players and spectators with his crude language.
He could pulverize a tennis ball with a steel racket. Connors bested Wimbledon champion Arthur Ashe in five set s to win the U.S. Singles title in 1973. He won three Grand Slam tournaments in 1974 and accumulated an overall 99-4 record in match play. He was tennis' #1 ranked male play for 159 weeks.
The next ten years saw Connors dominate opponents with his service return and two-handed backhand. He won 4 more U.S. Open singles titles as well as the 1982 Wimbledon men's championship. He won winner take all matches against Ilie Nastase and Rod Laver. Connor's final tournament victory came in 1989 at the Tel Aviv Open. He then played in 1991 in the U.S. Open. He beat Patrick McEnroe, Aaron Krickstein and fell to Jim Courier in the semifinals.
Connors was engaged to Chris Evert in the early 1970s, but they never married. He is married to Patti McGuire and they have two children. He was elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1998. In 2013 Connors released his autobiography, The Outside: A Memoir. He detailed his battles with obsessive-compulsive disorder and gambling.