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by Christopher Gerby 48-year-old legend Jimmy Connors makes his return to competitive tennis this month, representing the Philadelphia Freedoms in World Team Tennis. Connors begins his campaign on July 24th in a road match against the New York Buzz, which On The Line will be covering. "I still enjoy playing the tennis, there's no doubt," said Connors when asked about why he's making this latest quasi-comeback. He also cited his "friendship and loyalty" to league co-founder Billie Jean King and CEO Ilana Kloss, who asked him to play ten years ago when his arm was still in a cast following reconstructive wrist surgery. "Any time I get a call from Billie Jean or Ilana to play tennis, that's a pleasure." Connors has competed sparingly in the past couple years, but insists that he "should be pretty comfortable" next week. "Playing tennis for me is like riding a bike. My game is the type that never wanders very far." One match which should bring back some good memories for Connors is his date against Patrick McEnroe's New York Hamptons on July 28th, almost exactly a decade after Jimmy rallied from two sets down to defeat Patrick in a classic US Open encounter. That match "started an 11-day frenzy for me that was the most exciting of my career," Connors recalled. "It got me off on the right foot. If I lose that match, nothing happens after that." Although not generally given to dwelling on his glory days, Connors is glad people still ask him about that particular match, which he considers even more important than his epic win over Aaron Krickstein three rounds later. "Just that they remember is quite an honor." While Connors responds affably to most questions, his old "man against the world" persona still flares up when asked about the current state of the game and his role in it. "My position in tennis is non-existent. I'm not around tennis, I don't show up at tournaments, I don't do commentary. That's by design and by choice... I don't think I've watched five minutes worth of tennis in ten years." While not going into detail about the "long story" behind his clean break from the sport, Connors did say "the game is I'm sure changing on a monthly basis... I think a lot of knowing how to play has been lost. The equipment has certainly changed the game to where it's become a straightforward power game." How the classic Connors brand of play stacks up against those hard-hitting youngsters will be one of the intriguing subplots as he takes his racquet back into battle. However, Jimmy is loathe to make too much out of this endeavor, simply stating "I play Team Tennis because I enjoy it." |