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Jimmy Connors
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Jimmy Connors

James Scott "Jimmy" Connors (born September 2, 1952, in East St. Louis, Illinois, also known as "Jimbo"[1]) is a former World No. 1 American tennis player. 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 N?stase and was the mixed doubles runner-up with Chris Evert at the 1974 US Open. He is considered to be one of the top male tennis players of all time.[2] 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 period (1975 through 1977) when that tournament was held on clay courts. Connors is, therefore, one of only three men (Mats Wilander and Andre Agassi are the others) to have won a Grand Slam singles title on grass, hard, and clay courts.

Contents

Career

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.

Maverick

Connors acquired 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. He avoided the mainstream of professional tennis to play in, and dominate, a series of smaller tournaments organized by Bill Riordan, his manager and a promoter.

In 1974, Connors and Riordan began filing lawsuits, eventually amounting to US$10 million, against the ATP and its president Arthur Ashe for allegedly restricting Connors's freedom in the game. It started when Connors was banned from the French Open in 1974 after he had signed a contract to play World Team Tennis (WTT) for Baltimore. The ATP and the French Tennis Federation opposed WTT because it conflicted with the French Open; therefore, all entries to the French Open from WTT players were refused.

Grand Slam tournaments

The French Open was the only Grand Slam singles tournament that Connors did not win in 1974. 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 US 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.

Challenge Matches

In 1975, Connors won two highly-touted "Challenge Matches," both arranged by Riordan and televised nationally by CBS Sports from Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. The first match, in February and billed as US$100,000 winner-takes-all, was against Rod Laver, fourteen years Connors's senior at age 36. Connors won that match 6?4, 6?2, 3?6, 7?5. In April, Connors played the man who had beaten him in the Australian Open final, John Newcombe, in a match billed as a U.S. $250,000 winner-takes-all. Connors won the match in four sets.

Björn Borg

In 1976, Connors played Björn Borg, the new Wimbledon champion, in the final of the US Open, which now was being played on clay. Connors saved four set points in a third-set tiebreak to beat the Swede 6?4, 3?6, 7?6(9), 6?4. Connors finished 1976 as the top ranked player for the third consecutive year.

In early 1977, Connors won his first World Championship Tennis (WCT) Finals, the championship tournament of the WCT tour.

Despite his success, Connors remained an independent character. At Wimbledon in 1977, he refused to participate in a parade of former champions to celebrate the tournament's centenary and was booed when he played in the final the following day. 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. Connors then lost in the final of the US Open to Guillermo Vilas.

Having irritated sponsors and tennis officials by shunning the end-of-year Masters championships for the previous three years, Connors entered the competition for the first time in January 1978. In the round-robin portion of the tournament, which had just moved to New York City, Connors lost a celebrated late-night match to Vilas 6?4, 3?6, 7?5 but took the title by defeating Borg in the final 6?4, 1?6, 6?4.

Borg beat Connors comfortably in the 1978 Wimbledon final, but Connors defeated the Swede 6?4, 6?2, 6?2 in the final of the 1978 US Open, which was held for the first time at the Flushing Meadows venue.

Connors lost his stranglehold on the top ranking to Borg in early 1979. He returned to the French Open in May, losing in a semifinal. He also lost in the semifinals at Wimbledon and the US Open, repeating those results in 1980 and 1981. His best win during these years was in 1980, when he took his second WCT Finals by defeating the defending champion, John McEnroe.

Later years

In 1982, at age 30, Connors was back in the Wimbledon singles final, where he faced John McEnroe, who by then was established firmly as the world's top player. Connors recovered from being three points away from defeat in a fourth-set tie-break to win the match 3?6, 6?3, 6?7, 7?6, 6?4 and claim his second Wimbledon title, eight years after his first.

Connors then defeated another of the next generation of tennis stars, Ivan Lendl, in the US Open final and soon regained the World No. 1 ranking. He beat Lendl again in the 1983 US Open final.

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. Asked afterwards if he now admitted his rival was the better player, he simply replied, "Never."

A low point in Connors's career occurred on February 21, 1986, when he was defaulted in the fifth set of a semifinal match against Lendl at the Lipton International Players Championships in Boca Raton, Florida after being angered by the officiating. He paid a US$20,000 fine and accepted a ten-week suspension from the professional tour, starting March 30. He was forced to miss the French Open, marking the first time that any player had missed a Grand Slam tournament due to suspension. He subsequently lost in the first round at Wimbledon and the third round at the US Open, a tournament where he had reached at least the semifinals for twelve consecutive years.

Connors gradually transformed himself into a respected elder of the tennis world in the later years of his career. He continued to compete forcefully against much younger men until he was well into his 41st year. In the fourth round of the 1987 Wimbledon Championships, Connors defeated Mikael Pernfors, ten years his junior, 1?6, 1?6, 7?5, 6?4, 6?2 after having trailed 4?1 in the third set and 3?0 in the fourth set. In July 1988, Connors ended a four-year title drought by winning the Sovran Bank Tennis Classic in Washington, D.C. It was the 106th title of his career. Connors had played in 56 tournaments and 12 finals since his previous victory in the Tokyo Indoors against Lendl in October 1984.

At the 1989 US Open, Connors defeated the third seed (and future two-time champion), Stefan Edberg, in straight sets in the fourth round and pushed sixth-seeded Andre Agassi to five sets in a quarterfinal. The defining moment of Connors's later career came in 1991. His career had seemed to be at an end in 1990, when he played only three tournament matches (and lost all three), dropping to No. 936 in the world rankings.

But after surgery on his deteriorating left wrist, he came back to play 14 tournaments in 1991. An ailing back forced him to retire from a five-sets match in the third round of the French Open against Michael Chang, the 1989 champion. But Connors made an improbable run to the US Open semifinals at the age of 39. On his birthday, he defeated 24-year-old Aaron Krickstein 3?6, 7?6(8), 1?6, 6?3, 7?6(4) in 4 hours and 41 minutes, coming back from a 2?5 deficit in the final set. Connors then was defeated in a semifinal by the reigning French Open champion, Jim Courier.

Connors won a record 109 men's singles titles. He also won 15 doubles titles (including the men's doubles titles at Wimbledon in 1973 and the US Open in 1975).

Distinctions and honors

In his 1979 autobiography, Jack Kramer, the long-time tennis promoter and great player himself, ranked Connors as one of the 21 best players of all time.[3]

Connors played more tournaments (401) and won more matches (1,337) than any other male professional tennis player in the open era. His career win-loss record was 1,337-285 for a winning percentage of 82.4.[4]

Connors was the only player to win the US Open on three different surfaces: grass, clay, and hard. Connors was also the first male tennis player to win Grand Slam singles titles on three different surfaces: grass (1974), clay (1976), and hard (1978).

Connors was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1998.

Style of play

Larry Schwartz on ESPN.com said about Connors, "His biggest weapons were an indomitable spirit, a two-handed backhand and the best service return in the game. 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."[5] He refused to accept that he was beaten and gave everything on every point of every game, no matter how apparently hopeless the cause. Of his own competitive nature Connors has said, "[T]here'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."[1]

His on-court antics, designed to get the crowd involved, both helped and hurt his play. He once said, "I want to bring the crowd into the match; in short, turn it into a football game." 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 behavior -- like giving the finger to a linesman after disagreeing with a call -- did 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. He was even booed at Wimbledon -- a rare show of disapproval there -- for snubbing the Parade of Champions on the first day of the Centenary in 1977."[5] 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.[6] 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.

Connors was taught to hit the ball on the rise by his teaching-pro mother, a technique he used to defeat the opposition in the early years of his career. Hitting the ball on the rise enabled Connors to reflect the power and velocity of his opponents back at them. In the 1975 Wimbledon final, Arthur Ashe was the first to determine how to counter this strategy. Ashe took the pace off the ball, giving Connors only soft junk shots (dinks, drop shots, and lobs) to hit.

In an era where serve and volley was the norm, Bjorn Borg excepted, Connors was one of the few players to hit the ball flat, low, and predominantly from the baseline. Connors hit his forehand with a continental grip and with little net clearance. Some considered his forehand to be his greatest weakness, especially on extreme pressure points, as it lacked the safety margin of hard forehands hit with topspin. His serve, while accurate and capable, was never a great weapon for him as it did not reach the velocity and power of his opponents.

His lack of a dominating serve and net game, combined with his individualist style and maverick tendencies, meant that he was not as successful in doubles as he was in singles, although he did win Grand Slam titles with Ilie Nastase and Chris Evert and amassed 15 doubles titles during his career.

Racket evolution

At a time when most other tennis pros played with wooden rackets, Connors pioneered the Wilson T2000 steel racket, which utilized a method for stringing devised and patented by Lacoste in 1953.[7] "The T2000 set the wood racquet traditionalists on their ears with its lightweight steel construction. It didn't need a racket-press (it didn't warp), and its slender framework meant less wind resistance."[8]

He played with this chrome tubular steel racket until 1984, when most other pros had shifted to new racket technologies, materials, and designs. The T2000 in the eighties "had the aura of a dinosaur - it had been introduced in 1968."[8]

In 1984, Connors switched to the new Wilson ProStaff that had been designed especially for him. But 1985 again found Connors playing with the T2000. Not until 1987 did he finally switch to a graphite racket when he contracted with Slazenger to play their Panther Pro Ceramic. In 1990 Connors signed with Estusa.[8].

Connors experimented with lead tape which he would wind around the racquet head to provide the proper "feel" for his style of game.

Commentating

Connors commentates for the BBC during Wimbledon. This often coincides with John McEnroe's own stints as an analyst and commentator, often leading to much banter between the two former arch-rivals.

Coaching

On July 24, 2006, at the start of the Countrywide Classic tournament in Los Angeles, American tennis player Andy Roddick formally announced his partnership with Connors as his coach. On March 6, 2008, Roddick announced the end of that 19-month relationship.

Personal life

Connors and Chris Evert had planned to marry in October 1973, but it was called off.

In 1980, Connors married Playboy model Patti McGuire. They have two children and live in the Santa Barbara, California area.

In the spring of 2006, Connors had successful hip-replacement surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.[9]

On January 8, 2007, Connors's mother and long-time coach, Gloria, died at the age of 82.[10]

Grand Slam singles finals

Wins (8)

Year Championship Opponent in Final Score in Final
1974 Australian Open Phil Dent 7?6, 6?4, 4?6, 6?3
1974 Wimbledon Ken Rosewall 6?1, 6?1, 6?4
1974 US Open Ken Rosewall 6?1, 6?0, 6?1
1976 US Open (2) Björn Borg 6?4, 3?6, 7?6, 6?4
1978 US Open (3) Björn Borg 6?4, 6?2, 6?2
1982 Wimbledon (2) John McEnroe 3?6, 6?3, 6?7, 7?6, 6?4
1982 US Open (4) Ivan Lendl 6?3, 6?2, 4?6, 6?4
1983 US Open (5) Ivan Lendl 6?3, 6?7, 7?5, 6?0

Runner-ups (7)

Year Championship Opponent in Final Score in Final
1975 Australian Open John Newcombe 7?5, 3?6, 6?4, 7?5
1975 Wimbledon Arthur Ashe 6?1, 6?1, 5?7, 6?4
1975 US Open Manuel Orantes 6?4, 6?3, 6?3
1977 Wimbledon (2) Björn Borg 3?6, 6?2, 6?1, 5?7, 6?4
1977 US Open (2) Guillermo Vilas 2?6, 6?3, 7?5, 6?0
1978 Wimbledon (3) Björn Borg 6?2, 6?2, 6?3
1984 Wimbledon (4) John McEnroe 6?1, 6?1, 6?2

Grand Slam men's doubles finals (3)

Wins (2)

Year Championship Partnering Opponents in Final Score in Final
1973 Wimbledon Ilie N?stase John Cooper
Neale Fraser 		3?6, 6?3, 6?4, 8?9 (3), 6?1
1975 US Open Ilie N?stase Tom Okker
Marty Riessen 		6?4, 7?6

Runner-up (1)

Year Championship Partnering Opponents in Final Score in Final
1973 French Open Ilie N?stase John Newcombe
Tom Okker 		6?1, 3?6, 6?3, 5?7, 6?4

Grand Slam mixed doubles final (1)

Runner-up (1)

Year Championship Partnering Opponents in Final Score in Final
1974 US Open Chris Evert Pam Teeguarden
Geoff Masters 		6?1, 7?6

Grand Slam results

  • Wimbledon
    • Singles champion: 1974, 1982
    • Singles runner-up: 1975, 1977, 1978, 1984
    • Men's Doubles champion: 1973 (with N?stase)
  • US Open
    • Singles champion: 1974, 1976, 1978, 1982, 1983
    • Singles runner-up: 1975, 1977
    • Men's Doubles champion: 1975 (with N?stase)
    • Mixed Doubles runner-up: 1974 (with Evert)

Singles record

  • 1241-277 (record of ATP events Singles wins) #1 most all-time in ATP Wins (= 81.752%, second highest winning percentage of all players more than 1000 games played).

Singles performance timeline

Tournament 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 Career SR
Australian Open A A A A W F A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A 1 / 2
French Open A A 2R 1R A A A A A SF SF QF QF QF SF SF A QF A 2R A 3R 1R 0 / 13
Wimbledon A 1R QF QF W F QF F F SF SF SF W 4R F SF 1R SF 4R 2R A 3R 1R 2 / 21
US Open 1R 2R 1R QF W F W F W SF SF SF W W SF SF 3R SF QF QF A SF 2R 5 / 22
Grand Slam SR 0 / 1 0 / 2 0 / 3 0 / 3 3 / 3 0 / 3 1 / 2 0 / 2 1 / 2 0 / 3 0 / 3 0 / 3 2 / 3 1 / 3 0 / 3 0 / 3 0 / 2 0 / 3 0 / 2 0 / 3 0 / 0 0 / 3 0 / 3 8 / 58
The Masters A A SF SF A A A A W RR SF SF RR SF SF SF A RR A A A A A 1 / 11
won 236/lost 50

NH = tournament not held.

A = did not participate in the tournament.

SR = the ratio of the number of singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played.

Career singles titles (148) and runner-ups (54)

106 titles are registered in the ATP Web site, 3 titles in the ATP Players' Guide, and 30 are not listed in any ATP Statistics

Singles titles listed by the Association of Tennis Professionals--ATP (109), 106 in the Web site and 3 others in the Players' Guide

    • ATP Web site non-listed tournaments
No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent in the final Score
1. 1972 Jacksonville, U.S. Hard (i) Clark Graebner 7?5, 6?4
2. 1972 Hard (i) Vladimír Zedník 6?4, 7?6
3. 1972 London/Queen's Club, United Kingdom Grass John Paish 6?2, 6?3
4. 1972 Columbus, U.S. Hard Andrew Pattison 7?5, 6?3, 7?5
5. 1972 Cincinnati, U.S. Clay Guillermo Vilas 6?3, 6?3
6. 1972 Albany, U.S. Carpet Roscoe Tanner 6?2, 7?6
7. 1973 Baltimore, U.S. Hard (i) Sandy Mayer 6?4, 7?5
8. 1973 Roanoke, U.S. Hard (i) Ian Fletcher 6?2, 6?3
9. 1973 Salt Lake City, U.S. Hard (i) Paul Gerken 6?1, 6?2
10. 1973 Salisbury, U.S. Hard (i) Karl Meiler 7?6, 7?6, 6?3
11. 1973 Hampton, U.S. Hard (i) Ilie N?stase 4?6, 6?3, 7?5, 6?3
12. 1973 Paramus, U.S. Hard (i) Clark Graebner 6?1, 6?2
13. 1973 Boston, U.S. Hard Arthur Ashe 6?3, 4?6, 6?4, 3?6, 6?2
14. 1973 Columbus, U.S. Hard Charlie Pasarell 3?6, 6?3, 6?3
15. 1973 Los Angeles, U.S. Hard Tom Okker 7?5, 7?6
16. 1973 Quebec, Canada Carpet Marty Riessen 6?1, 6?4, 6?7, 6?0
17. 1973 Johannesburg, South Africa Hard Arthur Ashe 6?4, 7?6, 6?3
18. 1974 Australian Open Grass Phil Dent 7?6, 6?4, 4?6, 6?3
19. 1974 Roanoke, U.S. Hard (i) Karl Meiler 6?4, 6?3
20. 1974 Little Rock, U.S. Carpet Karl Meiler 6?2, 6?1
21. 1974 Birmingham, U.S. Carpet Sandy Mayer 7?5, 6?3
22. 1974 Salisbury, U.S. Carpet Frew McMillan 6?4, 7?5, 6?3
23. 1974 Hampton, U.S. Carpet Ilie N?stase 6?4, 6?4
24. 1974 Salt Lake City, U.S. Carpet Vitas Gerulaitis 4?6, 7?6, 6?3
25. 1974 Tempe, U.S. Hard Vijay Amritraj 6?2, 6?3
26. 1974 Grass Mike Collins 13?11, 6?2
27. 1974 Wimbledon Grass Ken Rosewall 6?1, 6?1, 6?4
28. 1974 Indianapolis, U.S. Clay Björn Borg 5?7, 6?3, 6?4
29. 1974 US Open Grass Ken Rosewall 6?1, 6?0, 6?1
30. 1974 Los Angeles, U.S. Hard Harold Solomon 6?3, 6?1
31. 1974 London - Dewar Cup, United Kingdom Carpet Brian Gottfried 6?2, 7?6
32. 1974 Johannesburg, South Africa Hard Arthur Ashe 7?6, 6?3, 6?1
33. 1975 Nassau, Bahamas Hard Karl Meiler 6?0, 6?2
34. 1975 Birmingham, U.S. Carpet Billy Martin 6?4, 6?3
35. 1975 Salisbury, U.S. Carpet Vitas Gerulaitis 5?7, 7?5, 6?1, 3?6, 6?0
36. 1975 Boca Raton, U.S. Hard Jürgen Fassbender 6?4, 6?2
37. 1975 Hampton, U.S. Carpet Jan Kode? 3?6, 6?3, 6?0
38. 1975 Denver WCT, U.S. Carpet Brian Gottfried 6?3, 6?4
39. 1975 North Conway, U.S. Clay Ken Rosewall 6?2, 6?2
40. 1975 Hamilton, Bermuda Clay Vitas Gerulaitis 6?1, 6?4
41. 1975 Maui, U.S. Hard Sandy Mayer 6?1, 6?0
42. 1976 Birmingham, U.S. Carpet Roscoe Tanner 6?4, 3?6, 6?1
43. 1976 Philadelphia WCT, U.S. Carpet Björn Borg 7?6, 6?4, 6?0
44. 1976 Hampton, U.S. Carpet Ilie N?stase 6?2, 6?2, 6?2
45. 1976 Palm Springs, U.S. Hard Roscoe Tanner 6?4, 6?4
46. 1976 Denver WCT, U.S. Carpet Ross Case 7?6, 6?2
47. 1976 Las Vegas, U.S. Hard Ken Rosewall 6?1, 6?3
48. 1976 Washington D.C., U.S. Clay Raúl Ramírez 6?2, 6?4
49. 1976 North Conway, U.S. Clay Raúl Ramírez 7?6, 4?6, 6?3
50. 1976 Indianapolis, U.S. Clay Wojtek Fibak 6?2, 6?4
51. 1976 US Open Clay Björn Borg 6?4, 3?6, 7?6, 6?4
52. 1976 Cologne, West Germany Carpet Frew McMillan 6?2, 6?3
53. 1976 Wembley, United Kingdom Carpet Roscoe Tanner 3?6, 7?6, 6?4
54. 1977 Birmingham WCT, U.S. Carpet Bill Scanlon 6?3, 6?3
55. 1977 St. Louis WCT, U.S. Carpet John Alexander 7?6, 6?2
56. 1977 Las Vegas, U.S. Hard Raúl Ramírez 6?4, 5?7, 6?2
57. 1977 Dallas WCT Finals, U.S. Carpet Dick Stockton 6?7, 6?1, 6?4, 6?3
58. 1977 Maui, U.S. Hard Brian Gottfried 6?2, 6?0
59. 1977 Sydney Indoor, Australia Hard (i) Ken Rosewall 7?5, 6?4, 6?2
60. 1977 Las Vegas - WCT Challenge Cup , U.S. Carpet Roscoe Tanner 6?2, 5?6, 3?6, 6?2, 6?5
61. 1977 Colgate Masters, New York City Carpet Björn Borg 6?4, 1?6, 6?4
62. 1978 Philadelphia WCT, U.S. Carpet Roscoe Tanner 6?2, 6?4, 6?3
63. 1978 Denver, U.S. Carpet Stan Smith 6?2, 7?6
64. 1978 Memphis, U.S. Carpet Tim Gullikson 7?6, 6?3
65. 1978 Rotterdam WCT, Netherlands Carpet Raúl Ramírez 7?5, 7?5
66. 1978 Birmingham, United Kingdom Grass Raúl Ramírez 6?3, 6?1, 6?2
67. 1978 Washington D.C., U.S. Clay Eddie Dibbs 7?5, 7?5
68. 1978 Indianapolis, U.S. Clay José Higueras 7?5, 6?1
69. 1978 Stowe, U.S. Hard Tim Gullikson 6?2, 6?3
70. 1978 US Open Hard Björn Borg 6?4, 6?2, 6?2
71. 1978 Sydney Indoor, Australia Hard (i) Geoff Masters 6?0, 6?0, 6?4
72. 1979 Birmingham, U.S. Carpet Eddie Dibbs 6?2, 3?6, 7?5
73. 1979 Philadelphia, U.S. Carpet Arthur Ashe 6?3, 6?4, 6?1
74. 1979 Hard Vitas Gerulaitis 6?5, 6?0, 6?4
75. 1979 Memphis, U.S. Carpet Arthur Ashe 6?4, 5?7, 6?3
76. 1979 Tulsa, U.S. Hard (i) Eddie Dibbs 6?7, 7?5, 6?1
77. 1979 Indianapolis, U.S. Clay Guillermo Vilas 6?1, 2?6, 6?4
78. 1979 Stowe, U.S. Hard Mike Cahill 6?0, 6?1
79. 1979 Hong Kong Hard Pat Du Pré 7?5, 6?3, 6?1
80. 1980 Birmingham, U.S. Carpet Eliot Teltscher 6?3, 6?2
81. 1980 Philadelphia, U.S. Carpet John McEnroe 6?3, 2?6, 6?3, 3?6, 6?4
82. 1980 Dallas WCT Finals, U.S. Carpet John McEnroe 2?6, 7?6, 6?1, 6?2
83. 1980 North Conway, U.S. Clay Eddie Dibbs 6?3, 5?7, 6?1
84. 1980 Canton, Republic of China Carpet Eliot Teltscher 6?2, 6?4
85. 1980 Tokyo Indoor, Japan Carpet Tom Gullikson 6?1, 6?2
86. 1981 La Quinta, U.S. Hard Ivan Lendl 6?3, 7?6
87. 1981 Brussels, Belgium Carpet Brian Gottfried 6?2, 6?4, 6?3
88. 1981 Rotterdam, Netherlands Carpet Gene Mayer 6?1, 2?6, 6?2
89. 1981 Wembley, United Kingdom Carpet John McEnroe 3?6, 2?6, 6?3, 6?4, 6?2
90. 1982 Monterrey, Mexico Carpet Johan Kriek 6?2, 3?6, 6?3
91. 1982 Los Angeles, U.S. Hard Mel Purcell 6?2, 6?1
92. 1982 Las Vegas, U.S. Hard Gene Mayer 5?2, ret.
93. 1982 London/Queen's Club, United Kingdom Grass John McEnroe 7?5, 6?3
94. 1982 Wimbledon Grass John McEnroe 3?6, 6?3, 6?7, 7?6, 6?4
95. 1982 Columbus, U.S. Hard Brian Gottfried 7?5, 6?0
96. 1982 US Open Hard Ivan Lendl 6?3, 6?2, 4?6, 6?4
97. 1983 Memphis, U.S. Carpet Gene Mayer 7?5, 6?0
98. 1983 Las Vegas, U.S. Hard Mark Edmondson 7?6, 6?1
99. 1983 London/Queen's Club, United Kingdom Grass John McEnroe 6?3, 6?3
100. 1983 US Open Hard Ivan Lendl 6?3, 6?7, 7?5, 6?0
101. 1984 Memphis, U.S. Carpet Henri Leconte 6?3, 4?6, 7?5
102. 1984 La Quinta, U.S. Hard Yannick Noah 6?2, 6?7, 6?3
103. 1984 Boca West, U.S. Hard Johan Kriek 7?5, 6?4
104. 1984 Los Angeles, U.S. Hard Eliot Teltscher 6?4, 4?6, 6?4
105. 1984 Tokyo Indoor, Japan Carpet Ivan Lendl 6?4, 3?6, 6?0
106. 1988 Washington D.C., U.S. Hard Andrés Gómez 6?1, 6?4
107. 1988 Toulouse, France Carpet Andrei Chesnokov 6?2, 6?0
108. 1989 Toulouse, France Carpet John McEnroe 6?3, 6?3
109. 1989 Tel Aviv, Israel Hard Gilad Bloom 2?6, 6?2, 6?1

Singles runner-ups (54), only 51 are listed by the Association of Tennis Professionals

    • - ATP non-listed tournaments
      • - Four-men invitational tournament not bringing ATP-ranking points, usually considered exhibition, and not counted as official by the ATP but so-called "Pepsi Grand Slam" is in ATP statistic included in the titles and runner-up listings (it was an ITF tournament)
No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent in the final Score
1. 1971 Columbus, U.S. Hard Tom Gorman 6?7, 7?6, 4?6, 7?6, 6?3
2. 1971 Los Angeles, U.S. Hard Richard Pancho Gonzales 3?6, 6?3, 6?3
3. 1972 Baltimore, U.S. Hard Ilie N?stase 1?6, 6?4, 7?6
4. 1972 Washington D.C., U.S. Carpet Stan Smith 4?6, 6?1, 6?3, 4?6, 6?1
5. 1972 Indianapolis, U.S. Clay Bob Hewitt 7?6, 6?1, 6?2
6. 1973 Omaha, U.S. Hard (i) Ilie N?stase 5?0, ret.
7. 1973 Bretton Woods, U.S. Clay Vijay Amritraj 7?5, 2?6, 7?5
8. 1974 Omaha, U.S. Other Karl Meiler 6?3, 1?6, 6?3
9. 1974 South Orange, U.S. Hard Alex Metreveli DEF
10. 1975 Australian Open, Melbourne Grass John Newcombe 7?5, 3?6, 6?4, 7?6
11. 1975 New York City, U.S. Indoor Vitas Gerulaitis DEF
12. 1975 Wimbledon, London Grass Arthur Ashe 6?1, 6?1, 5?7, 6?4
13. 1975 US Open, New York City Clay Manuel Orantes 6?4, 6?3, 6?3
14. 1975 Stockholm, Sweden Hard (i) Adriano Panatta 6?4, 6?3
15. 1975 London, United Kingdom Carpet Eddie Dibbs 1?6, 6?1, 7?5
16. 1976 Salisbury, U.S. Carpet Ilie N?stase 6?2, 6?3, 7?6
17. 1976 La Costa, U.S. Hard Ilie N?stase 4?6, 6?0, 6?1
18. 1976 Grass Ilie N?stase div'd (weather)
19. 1976 Las Vegas, U.S. - WCT Challenge Cup Carpet Ilie N?stase 3?6, 7?6, 6?4, 7?5
20. 1977 Philadelphia WCT, U.S. Carpet Dick Stockton 3?6, 6?4, 3?6, 6?1, 6?2
21. 1977 Toronto Indoor WCT, Canada Carpet Dick Stockton 5?6, ret.
22. 1977 Wimbledon, London Grass Björn Borg 3?6, 6?2, 6?1, 5?7, 6?4
23. 1977 Clay Björn Borg 6?4, 5?7, 6?3
24. 1977 Indianapolis, U.S. Clay Manuel Orantes 6?1, 6?3
25. 1977 US Open, New York City Clay Guillermo Vilas 2?6, 6?3, 7?6, 6?0
26. 1978 Clay Björn Borg 7?6, 3?6, 6?1
27. 1978 Wimbledon, London Grass Björn Borg 6?2, 6?2, 6?3
28. 1979 Hard Björn Borg 6?2, 6?3
29. 1979 Las Vegas, U.S. Hard Björn Borg 6?3, 6?2
30. 1979 Tokyo Indoor, Japan Carpet Björn Borg 6?2, 6?2
31. 1979 Montreal, Canada - WCT Challenge Cup Carpet Björn Borg 6?4, 6?2, 2?6, 6?4
32. 1980 Memphis, U.S. Carpet John McEnroe 7?6, 7?6
33. 1980 San José, Costa Rica Hard José Luis Clerc 4?6, 2?6, ret.
34. 1981 Clay Guillermo Vilas div'd (weather)
35. 1981 Hamburg, Germany Clay Peter McNamara 7?6, 6?1, 4?6, 6?4
36. 1982 Philadelphia, U.S. Carpet John McEnroe 6?3, 6?3, 6?1
37. 1982 Rotterdam, Netherlands Carpet Guillermo Vilas 0?6, 6?2, 6?4
38. 1982 Milan, Italy Carpet Guillermo Vilas 6?3, 6?3
39. 1982 San Francisco, U.S. Carpet John McEnroe 6?1, 6?3
40. 1983 Wembley, United Kingdom Carpet John McEnroe 7?5, 6?1, 6?4
41. 1984 Carpet Ivan Lendl 6?0, 1?0 div'd - match cancelled (bomb threat)
42. 1984 Dallas WCT, U.S. Carpet John McEnroe 6?1, 6?2, 6?3
43. 1984 Wimbledon, London Grass John McEnroe 6?1, 6?1, 6?2
44. 1985 Ft. Myers, U.S. Hard Ivan Lendl 6?3, 6?2
45. 1985 Chicago, U.S. Carpet John McEnroe walkover
46. 1986 Ft. Myers, U.S. Hard Ivan Lendl 6?2, 6?0
47. 1986 London/Queen's Club, United Kingdom Grass Tim Mayotte 6?4, 2?1, ret.
48. 1986 Cincinnati, U.S. Hard Mats Wilander 6?4, 6?1
49. 1986 San Francisco, U.S. Carpet John McEnroe 7?6, 6?3
50. 1987 Memphis, U.S. Hard (i) Stefan Edberg 6?3, 2?1, ret.
51. 1987 Orlando, U.S. Hard Christo Van Rensburg 6?3, 3?6, 6?1
52. 1987 London/Queen's Club, United Kingdom Grass Boris Becker 6?7, 6?3, 6?4
53. 1988 Milan, Italy Carpet Yannick Noah 4?4, ret.
54. 1988 Key Biscayne, U.S. Hard Mats Wilander 6?4, 4?6, 6?4, 6?4

Other (non-ATP, exhibition/invitational and special events) singles titles - draw at least eight players (24)

Here are Connors's tournament titles that are not included in the statistics on the Association of Tennis Professionals Web site. These mainly are special events like invitational tournaments and exhibitions.

Year Date Tournament Surface Prize Money Final Opponent Final Result Winners Prize
1972 August 14?20 Ocean City Hard ? Herb Fitzgibbon 6?3 6?2
1978 June 5?10 Beckenham - Kentish Times Tennis Week Grass Stan Smith 9?8 6?3
1978 November 23?26 Kobe & Tokyo - Gunze Invitational Carpet Ilie Nastase 6?2 6?4
1978 December 5-8 Lucerne Lucerne Invitational Carpet Tom Okker 6-1 6-1
1979 September 28?30 Asuncion - Boqueron International Clay Guillermo Vilas 7?5 6?3
1980 May 15-18 Louisville International Classic ? Eddie Dibbs 6-2 6-3
1980 August 4?10 Frejus - 8-men Round Robin Hard Roscoe Tanner 6?0 6?7 6?4
1980 October 8?12 Melbourne - Mazda Challenge Carpet Gene Mayer 1?6 6?2 6?0 7?5
1982 January 6?11 Rosemont - Michelob Light Challenge of Champions Carpet $310,000 John McEnroe 6?7 7?5 6?7 7?5 6?4
1982 September 29-October 3 Montreal - Molson Light Challenge Cup Hard $250,000 Bjorn Borg 6?4 6?3 $80,000
1982 December 17?19 North Miami Beach - Nastase-Hamptons Invitational Hard $305,000 Brian Teacher 6?2 6?2 $80,000
1983 February 8?13 Toronto - Molson Challenge Carpet Jose Higueras 6?2 6?0 5?7 6?0
1983 May 12-15 Tulsa Bank of Oklahoma Tennis Classic Hard Roscoe Tanner 6-4 6-3
1983 July 28?31 Beaver Creek - Vail Beaver Creek Classic Hard Mats Wilander 7?6 6?2
1983 August 3?7 Newport Beach - High Stakes Hard $300,000 Tim Mayotte 6?3 6?4 6?2
1983 October 5-9 Vancouver Labbat's Invitational Carpet Bill Scanlon 6-1 6-2 6-2
1983 December 14?20 North Miami Beach - Nastase-Hamptons Invitational Hard $305,000 Ivan Lendl 6?3 7?6 6?1 $90,000
1984 January 3?8 Rosemont - Lite Challenge of Champions Carpet $250,000 Andres Gomez 6?3 6?2 6?1
1985 April 25-28 Tulsa Bank of Oklahoma Tennis Classic Hard Yannick Noah 6-4 6-4
1985 July 26-29 Beaver Creek Kiva Tennis Classic Hard Mats Wilander 6-4 6-4
1985 July 30-August 4 Stowe Head Cup Hard Gene Mayer 2?6 6?3 6?4
1986 April 24-27 Tulsa Bank of Oklahoma Tennis Classic Hard Kevin Curren 6?3 6?2
1986 September 11-14 Amelia Island Dupont All American Hard Aaron Krickstein 4-6 6-2 6-0
1987 July 16-19 Beaver Creek Vail Tennis Classic Hard Tim Mayotte 1-6 6-3 7-6

Other (non-ATP, exhibition/invitational and special events) singles titles - draw less than eight players (15)

Year Date Tournament Surface Final Opponent Final Result Winners Prize
1972 June 8-11 Nottingham - 4-men invitational Round Robin Grass Colin Dibley 4-6 7-6 7-5
1978 September 22?24 Buenos Aires - 4-men invitational Clay Bjorn Borg 5?7 6?3 6?3
1979 July 27?28 Montpellier Invitational Tennis Tournament - 4-men invitational Hard John McEnroe 7?6 2?6 7?5
1979 September 15?16 Rio de Janeiro - 4-men invitational Clay Guillermo Vilas 6?3 6?4 6?3
1979 October 3-5 Buenos Aires Indoor Round Robin Carpet Victor Pecci 6-2 1-6 6-2
1980 March 6?7 Munich - 4-men invitational Carpet Vitas Gerulaitis 6?1 6?7 6?4
1980 April 26-28 Vienna Austria Invitational Carpet Peter Feigl 7-6 2-6 6-3
1980 April 7?8 Tokyo - Suntory Cup Carpet John McEnroe 7?5 6?3
1981 April 11?12 Tokyo - Suntory Cup Carpet John McEnroe 6?4 7?6
1982 July 22?24 Industry Hills - $100,000 4-men invitational Hard Bjorn Borg 5?7 6?2 6?2 6?7 6?2 $50,000
1983 April 10?11 Tokyo - Suntory Cup Carpet Bjorn Borg 6?3 6?4
1983 July 8?10 Sun City - Round Robin Bophuthatswana Hard Ivan Lendl 7?5 7?6 $400,000
1983 October 15-16 Atlantic City Jimmy Connors Invitational ? Gene Mayer 7-6 6-4
1986 April 19?20 Tokyo - Suntory Cup Carpet Mats Wilander 6?4 6?0
1989 May 5?7 Nîmes Clay Anders Jarryd 6?2 6?3

Sources

The following are the sources for the information that is not on the Association of Tennis Professionals Web site:

  • Michel Sutter, Vainqueurs Winners 1946-2003, Paris 2003. Sutter has attempted to list all tournaments meeting his criteria for selection beginning with 1946 and ending in the fall of 1991. For each tournament, he has indicated the city, the date of the final, the winner, the runner-up, and the score of the final. A tournament is included in his list if: (1), the draw for the tournament included at least eight players (with a few exceptions, such as the Pepsi Grand Slam tournaments in the second half of the 1970s); and (2), the level of the tournaments was at least equal to the present-day challenger tournaments. Sutter's book probably is the most exhaustive source of tennis tournament information since World War II, even though some professional tournaments held before the start of the open era are missing. Later, Sutter issued a second edition of his book, with only the players, their wins, and years for the period of 1946 through April 27, 2003.
  • John Barrett, editor, World of Tennis Yearbooks, London from 1976 through 1983.

Doubles titles (15)

No. Date Tournament Surface Partnering Opponent in the final Score
1. 1972 Columbus, U.S. Hard Pancho Gonzales Robert McKinley
Dick Stockton		 6?3, 7?5
2. 1972 Los Angeles WCT, U.S. Hard Pancho Gonzales Ismail El Shafei
Brian Fairlie		 6?3, 4?6, 7?6
3. 1973 Baltimore, U.S. Hard (i) Clark Graebner Paul Gerken
Sandy Mayer		 3?6, 6?2, 6?3
4. 1973 Wimbledon, London Grass Ilie N?stase John Cooper
Neale Fraser		 3?6, 6?3, 6?4, 8?9, 6?1
5. 1973 South Orange, U.S. Hard Ilie N?stase Richard Panch