Jimmy Connors: Tennis' Greatest Players A-Z, Vol. C

This article first appeared at Tennis Now.

Eight times, Jimmy Connors was the No. 1 player in the world, for a combined 238 weeks all time—160 of those in a row between 1974-77.

A devastating lefty, Connors racked up a gaudy career record of 1,241-277, and won eight Grand Slams, failing only to win the French in his bid for a career Grand Slam.

His failure to win Roland Garros was less to do with skill and more to do with Connors’ association with World Team Tennis, which he played instead of joining the ATP in 1972.

The WTT schedule conflicted with that of the French Open, and Roland Garros opposed the WTT, banning all WTT players from participating between 1974-78.

He made up for it with his play particularly at the US Open, which he first won in 1974 and took the crown four more times—the only man to capture the American title on hard, clay and grass courts.

He also took the Wimbledon and Australian Open titles that season, with the French ban possibly keeping him from joining Rod Laver as the only Open Era single-season Grand Slam winners. 

Tennis Now