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Jimmy Connors began
playing tennis when he
was three years old,
under the tutelage of
his mother Gloria, a
teaching professional.
When he was a young
teen-ager, the family
moved to California so
he could receive
advanced training from
Pancho Gonzales and
Pancho Segura...Book
Jimmy Connors for Your Event
After winning NCAA
singles title as a
student at UCLA in 1971,
Jimmy Connors left
school to turn
professional in 1972. He
won the U. S. pro
championship the
following year.
A left-hander who uses
the two-handed backhand,
Jimmy Connors was
deprived of a shot at
the grand slam in 1974.
He won the Australian
and U. S. Opens and the
Wimbledon singles
championship, but was
banned from the French
Open because he played
in the World Team Tennis
league. He won the U. S.
Open again in 1976,
1978, 1982, and 1983,
and he took his second
Wimbledon title in 1982.
One of his opponents
said of Connors,
"Playing him is like
fighting Joe Frazier.
The guy's always coming
at you. He never lets
up." During the early
part of his career, his
personality matched his
style of play. Connors
had frequent clashes
with judges and umpires,
the players' union,
Davis Cup officials, and
other players.
Later, he became
mellower. After his
first Wimbledon victory,
he declined to accept
the commemorative medal
emblematic of the
championship. After his
second, eight years
later, he accepted it
graciously and won over
many British fans who
had previously disliked
him.
Ranked first in the
world five years in a
row, from 1974 through
1978, Connors had to
yield that position to
Bjorn Borg, John
McEnroe, and Ivan Lendl
for the rest of his
career. Yet he gained
popularity with American
crowds. It reached a
peak in 1989, when he
played in his twentieth
U. S. Open at the age of
thirty-seven. Connors
ignited the crowd with a
fourth-round upset of
Stefan Edberg before
losing in the
quarter-finals.
Jimmy Connors is the
all-time leader with 109
tournament victories and
he ranks fifteenth in
money won with
$8,641,040.
>>> Book Jimmy Connors for Your Event
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