Jimmy Connors

Jimmy Connors is an absolute tennis legend. One of the greatest players ever. He played in so many memorable matches and had some great tournament victories. This hub has more about Jimmy Connors and his tennis career.

Jimmy Connors played his first international match in 1970 and recorded his first significant victory in the first round of the Pacific Southwest Open in Los Angeles, defeating Roy Emerson. In 1971, Connors won the NCAA singles title while attending the University of California, Los Angeles. He also won his first international tournament in Jacksonville, Florida, as an amateur. He turned professional in 1972 and won the Jacksonville tournament again.

In 1974, The French Open was the only Grand Slam singles tournament that Connors did not win. He won the Australian Open, defeating Phil Dent in four sets in the final. Connors then beat Ken Rosewall in straight sets in the finals of both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. His exclusion from the French Open possibly prevented him from becoming the first male player since Rod Laver to win all four Grand Slam singles titles in one year. Although he reached the semifinals four times, Connors never won the French Open, failing to achieve a Career Grand Slam.

Connors reached the World No. 1 ranking on July 29, 1974, and held it for 160 consecutive weeks, which was the record until Roger Federer beat it on 26 February 2007. Connors held the World No. 1 ranking for a total of 268 weeks during his career.

In 1975, Connors was the runner-up in the three Grand Slam singles tournaments he had won the year before. The 1975 Wimbledon final was a duel between lawsuit opponents, as Connors lost to Ashe in what most consider to have been a great upset. Shortly thereafter, Connors dropped the lawsuits and parted with Riordan.