Fiery Jimmy Connors Returns To World Team Tennis
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."
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The views expressed by the authors do not necessarily reflect those of this magazine.
http://tennis-ontheline.com/01wttjc.htm © 2025
Last updated 26 September 2015
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