Jimmy Connors

James Scott "Jimmy" Connors was born September 2, 1952, in East St. Louis, Illinois, also known as "Jimbo" he is a former World No. 1. Connors is considered to be one of the greatest tennis players of all time. He held the top ranking for 160 consecutive weeks from July 29, 1974, through August 29, 1977, and an additional eight times during his career (a total of 268 weeks). He won eight Grand Slam singles titles and two Grand Slam doubles titles with Ilie Nastase and was the mixed doubles runner-up with Chris Evert at the 1974 US Open. He is a former coach of Andy Roddick, the winner of the 2003 US Open.

Although Connors never won the French Open, his victory at the 1976 US Open came during the brief period (1975-77) when that tournament was held on clay courts. Connors is, therefore, one of only five men (Mats Wilander, Andre Agassi, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are the others) to have won a Grand Slam singles title on grass courts, hard courts, and clay courts.

Connors also won the U.S. Open singles championship itself on grass courts, hard courts, and clay courts, the only man to accomplish that trio of wins.

In 1970, Connors played his first international matches 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 turned professional in 1972 and won his first tournament at Jacksonville.

Connors's last Grand Slam final came at Wimbledon in 1984, where again he faced McEnroe. This time, McEnroe won easily 6–1, 6–1, 6–2. Though beaten, Connors's competitive fire was undampened.