Jimmy Connors

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Jimmy Connors

Jimmy Connors
Country  United States
Residence Santa Barbara, California
Born September 2, 1952 (1952-09-02) (age 59)
East St. Louis, Illinois
Height 5 ft 9 1⁄2 in (1.77 m)
Turned pro 1972, international debut in 1970
Retired 1996
Plays Left-handed (two-handed backhand)
Career prize money US$8,641,040
Int. Tennis HOF 1998 (member page)
Singles
Career record 1241–277 (81.75% at ATP Tour, Grand Prix tour, WCT tour, and Grand Slam level, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles 148 including 109 listed by the ATP Players' Guide
Highest ranking No. 1 (July 29, 1974)
Grand Slam results
Australian Open W (1974)
French Open SF (1979, 1980, 1984, 1985)
Wimbledon W (1974, 1982)
US Open W (1974, 1976, 1978, 1982, 1983)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals W (1977) WCT Finals (1977,1980)
Doubles
Career record 173–78 (68.9% at ATP Tour, Grand Prix tour, WCT tour, and Grand Slam level, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles 15
Highest ranking No. 370 (March 1, 1993)
Grand Slam Doubles results
French Open F (1973)
Wimbledon W (1973)
US Open W (1975)
Last updated on: August 28, 2007.

James Scott "Jimmy" Connors (born September 2, 1952, in East St. Louis, Illinois, also known as "Jimbo") is an American and former World No. 1 tennis player.

Connors held the top ranking for 160 consecutive weeks from July 29, 1974 to August 22, 1977 (record at that time) 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 Năstase. He was also a runner-up seven times in Grand Slam singles, a doubles runner-up with Nastase at the 1973 French Open, and a mixed doubles runner-up with Chris Evert at the 1974 US Open.

In 1974, Connors became the second male in the open era to win three or more Grand Slam singles titles in a calendar year (Rod Laver being the first in 1969 and having been joined since by Mats Wilander, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic). Connors' victory at the 1976 US Open came during the brief period (1975–77) when that tournament was held on clay courts, which makes him one of only five men (along with Wilander, Andre Agassi, Federer, and Nadal) to have won Grand Slam singles titles on all surfaces. Connors is also the only man to win U.S. Open singles championships on grass, clay, and hard courts, which is a feat that will never be duplicated.

Connors won three year-end championship titles, including two WCT Finals and one Masters Grand Prix. He also won 18 Championship Series titles (1973–1984).

Connors is the first male player to rank No. 1 for more than 200 weeks in total and the first male player to be No. 1 for more than 5 years (268 weeks) in total. He is the only male player to win more than 100 singles titles during his career. He is also the only male player to reach 31 Grand Slam semifinals and 41 Grand Slam quarterfinals in his career.

Connors is cited as one of the greatest male tennis players of all time.

Contents

Career

Early years

Connors grew up in Belleville, Illinois, across the Mississippi River from St. Louis. He played in his first U.S. Championship, the U.S. boys' 11-and-under of 1961, when he was only eight years old. Connors was coached by Pancho Segura when he was age 16.

In 1970, Connors 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 and attaining All-American status. He turned professional in 1972 and won his first tournament at Jacksonville.

Connors was acquiring 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, in order to play in and dominate a series of smaller tournaments organized by Bill Riordan, his manager and a clever promoter. However, Connors played in other tournaments and made his first big splash by winning the 1973 U.S. Pro Singles, his first significant title, toppling Arthur Ashe, in a five-set final, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 3-6. 6-2.

Peak years

Connors won eight Grand Slam singles championships: 5 U.S. Opens, 2 Wimbledons, 1 Australian Open. He did not participate in the French Open during his peak years (1974-78) and only played in two Australian Opens in his entire career, winning it in 1974 and reaching the final in 1975.

Connors reached the finals of the U.S. Open in five straight years from 1974 through 1978, winning three times with each win being on a different surface (1974 on grass, 1976 on clay, and 1978 on hard). He reached the finals of Wimbledon four out of five years during his peak (1974, 1975, 1977, and 1978). Despite not being allowed to play in the French Open in his prime, he was still able to reach the semifinals four times in his later years.

In 1974, Connors was by far the most dominant player. He had a stunning 99-4 record that year and won 15 tournaments, including all the Grand Slam singles titles except for the French Open. The French Open did not allow Connors to participate due to his association with World Team Tennis (WTT). However, he won the Australian Open, defeating Phil Dent in four sets. He also beat Ken Rosewall in straight sets in the finals of both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. His exclusion from the French Open most likely prevented him from becoming the first male player since Rod Laver to win all four Grand Slam singles titles in a calendar year.

In the open era, Connors is one of only six men to win three or more Grand Slam singles titles in a calendar year. Others include: Rod Laver won the Grand Slam in 1969; Mats Wilander won the Australian, French, & U.S. Open in 1988; Roger Federer won the Australian, Wimbledon, & U.S. Open in 2004, 2006, & 2007; Rafael Nadal won the French, Wimbledon, & U.S. Open in 2010; and Novak Djokovic won the Australian, Wimbledon, & U.S. Open in 2011.

Connors reached the World No. 1 ranking on July 29, 1974, and held it for 160 consecutive weeks (a record until it was surpassed by Roger Federer on February 26, 2007). He was considered the year-end #1 player from 1974 through 1978 and held the World No. 1 ranking for a total of 268 weeks during his career.

Contemporaries and rivalries

Contemporaries included Eddie Dibbs, Brian Gottfried, Raul Ramirez, Harold Soloman, Dick Stockton, Roscoe Tanner, and Guillermo Vilas. Older rivals included Arthur Ashe, Phil Dent, Rod Laver, Ilie Nastase, John Newcombe, Manuel Orantes, Ken Rosewall, and Stan Smith. Younger opponents included Björn Borg, Vitas Gerulaitis, Ivan Lendl, and John McEnroe.

Björn Borg

During his best years of 1974 through 1978, Connors was challenged the most by Borg, with twelve matches on tour during that timeframe. Borg only won four of those meetings, but two of those wins were in the Wimbledon finals of 1977 and 1978. Connors lost his stranglehold on the top ranking to Borg in early 1979 and eventually ended up with a tour record of 8-15 against Borg. However, Borg is four years younger than Connors and had a losing record against Connors until Borg won the last ten times they met. Head to head in major championship finals, they split their four meetings, Borg winning two Wimbledons (1977 & 1978) and Connors winning two U.S. Opens (1976 & 1978).

Ilie Nastase

Nastase was another rival in Connors' prime, with Connors winning five of their eight meetings from 1974 through 1978. Interestingly, they only met once in 1974, which was Connors' best year. The two would team up to win the doubles championships at the 1973 Wimbledon and the 1975 U.S. Open.

Manuel Orantes and Guillermo Vilas

As the World No. 1, Connors went 7-2 against Orantes, but Orantes beat Connors in the final of the 1975 U.S. Open. Connors was 2-2 against Vilas during those years, but Vilas won the 1977 U.S. Open final against Connors.

Rod Laver and John Newcombe

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. The first match, in February and billed as $100,000 ($408,065 today) winner-takes-all, was against Laver. Connors won that match 6–4, 6–2, 3–6, 7–5. In April, Connors met Newcombe in a match billed as a $250,000 winner-takes-all. Connors won the match 6–3, 4–6, 6–2, 6–4. Connors would end his business relationship with Riordan later in 1975.

Connors played Newcombe in only two tour events from 1974 to 1978, with Newcombe winning the 1975 Australian Open and Connors taking the 1978 Sydney Indoor. Connors won all three meetings with Rod Laver in tour events.

Maverick

In 1974, Connors and Riordan began filing lawsuits, amounting to $10 million, against the ATP and its president, Arthur Ashe, for allegedly restricting his freedom in the game. The lawsuits stemmed from the French Open banning Connors in 1974 after he had signed a contract to play World Team Tennis (WTT) for the Baltimore Banners. Connors was seeking to enter the French Open, but the ATP and French officials opposed WTT because of scheduling conflicts, so the entries of WTT players were refused between 1974 and 1978, ironically Connors' best years. Interestingly, Ashe's only victory against Connors came at the 1975 Wimbledon final when they met as opposing litigants on Centre Court. Ashe was able to beat Connors 6-1, 6-1, 5-7, 6-4 that day, which may have prompted Connors to drop Riordan and the lawsuits shortly thereafter.

Despite this turnabout, 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 also irritated sponsors and tennis officials by shunning the end-of-year Masters championship from 1974 through 1976. However, he entered this round-robin competition in 1977 when it moved to New York City. Although Connors lost a celebrated late-night match to Vilas 6–4, 3–6, 7–5, he took the title by defeating Borg in the final 6–4, 1–6, 6–4.

Later years

Connors had shining moments against John McEnroe and Ivan Lendl, both of whom rose to prominence after Connors peaked in the mid 1970s. He would continue to compete against much younger players and had one of the most remarkable comebacks for any athlete when he reached the semifinals of the 1991 US Open at the age of 39.

John McEnroe

Connors' best win during 1979-81 was the 1980 WCT Finals when he defeated the defending champion, John McEnroe. McEnroe and Borg were battling for the top spot in those years, while Connors played the role of the spoiler. However, in 1982, at age 29, Connors was back in the Wimbledon singles final, where he faced 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 (at 3–4) to win the match 3–6, 6–3, 6–7(2), 7–6(5), 6–4 and claim his second Wimbledon title, eight years after his first. Although Connors' tour record against McEnroe is 14-20, McEnroe is six years younger than Connors and had a losing record against Connors until he won 12 out of their last 14 meetings. Head to head in major championship finals, they split their two meetings, Connors winning the 1982 Wimbledon and McEnroe winning the 1984 Wimbledon.

Ivan Lendl

Connors defeated another of the next generation of tennis stars, Ivan Lendl, in the 1982 U.S. Open final and soon regained the World No. 1 ranking. Connors has a tour record of 13-22 against Lendl, but Lendl is seven years younger than Connors and had a losing record against Connors until he won their last seventeen matches from 1984 through 1992, well after Connors' prime. Head to head in major championship finals, Connors took both meetings, winning the 1982 and 1983 U.S. Opens.

A low point in Connors' 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 $20,000 fine and accepted a ten-week suspension from the professional tour, starting March 30. He was forced to miss the French Open. 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.

Respected elder

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.

His career 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. However, 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 fifth round of the French Open against Michael Chang, the 1989 champion. Ironically, Connors walked off the court after hitting a winner against Chang.

The defining moment of Connors' later career came when he made an improbable run to the 1991 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 Jim Courier.

Connors participated in his last major tournament in the 1992 US Open where he beat Jaime Oncins 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 in round one, before losing to Lendl (then ranked 7th) 6-3, 3-6, 2-6, 0-6 in round two.

In September 1992, Connors played Martina Navratilova in the third Battle of the Sexes tennis match at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. Connors was allowed only one serve per point and Navratilova was allowed to hit into half the doubles court. Connors won 7–5, 6–2.

However, this would not be the end of his playing career. As late as June 1995, three months shy of his 43rd birthday Connors beat Sebastien Lareau 6-4, 7-6 and Martin Sinner 7-6, 6-0 to progress to the quarter-final of the Halle event in Germany. Connors would lose this quarterfinal 6-7, 3-6 to Marc Rosset. Connors' last ever match on the main ATP tour came in April 1996 when he lost 2-6, 6-3, 1-6 to Richey Reneberg in Atlanta.

Distinctions and honors

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

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.

Connors 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. He played 401 tournaments and through many years it was a record until Fabrice Santoro overcame it in 2008.

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 reached the semifinals or better of Grand Slam Men's Singles events a total of 31 times, an all time record. This achievement is particularly remarkable considering that he entered the Australian Open Men's Singles only twice and that he did not enter the French Open Men's Singles for five of his peak career years. Roger Federer holds the record for most consecutive semifinal appearances at these events, but he falls short of Connors' total career number in this category.

Connors was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1998 and Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Hall of Fame in 1986.

Playing style

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." 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."

His on-court antics, designed to get the crowd involved, both helped and hurt his play. 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 or strutting about the court with the tennis racket handle between his legs; sometimes he would yank on the handle in a grotesque manner and his fans would go wild or groan in disapproval—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." 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. 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, Gloria Connors, a technique he used to defeat the opposition in the early years of his career. Gloria sent her son to Southern California to work with Pancho Segura at age 16. Segura advanced Connors' game of hitting the ball on the rise which enabled Connors to reflect the power and velocity of his opponents back at them. Segura was the master strategist in developing Jimmy's complete game. In the 1975 Wimbledon final, Arthur Ashe countered this strategy by taking the pace off the ball, giving Connors only soft junk shots (dinks, drop shots, and lobs) to hit.

Ashe and Connors did not get along, as Ashe frequently criticized Connors for playing in lucrative exhibitions instead of representing his country in Davis Cup competition. Connors' racial insensitivity also played a role; while playing Ashe in an exhibition in South Africa, he derisively complained that the pro-Ashe crowd reminded him of Harlem. When Connors had three legs of the grand slam in hand, he was denied the opportunity to play the French Open and sued Ashe, et al., due to Ashe's role in the ban. They settled out of court after Ashe defeated Connors in the 1975 Wimbledon final. The enmity Connors held for Ashe continued even after Ashe's death, as Connors refused to attend the US Open Champions Ceremony during the christening of Arthur Ashe Stadium in 1997.

In an era where serve and volley was the norm, Björn 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 Western 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 Năstase 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. "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."

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."

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.

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

Commentating

Connors did commentary with NBC in 1990 and 1991, during their coverage of the French Open and Wimbledon tournaments. During the Wimbledon tournaments of 2005, 2006 and 2007, Connors commentated for the BBC alongside John McEnroe (among others), providing moments of heated discussion between two former arch-rivals. Connors has also served as a commentator and analyst for the Tennis Channel since the 2009 US Open tournament.

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

In 1968, Connors' mother Gloria sent her son to work with Pancho Segura in Southern California. Segura refined his game, mentored him, and provided the court strategy that made Jimmy great.

Connors and Chris Evert had planned to marry in November 1974, but it was called off. In 1979, Connors married Playboy model Patti McGuire. They have two children and live in the Santa Barbara, California area.

In the 1990s he joined his brother John Connors as investors in the Argosy Gaming Company which owned riverboat casinos on the Mississippi River. The two owned 19 percent of the company which was headquartered in the St. Louis suburb of East Alton, Illinois. Argosy narrowly averted bankruptcy in the late 1990s and Jimmy's brother John personally sought Chapter 7 bankruptcy. In the liquidation, Jimmy, through his company Smooth Swing, acquired the Alystra Casino in Henderson, Nevada from Union Planters Bank for $1.9 million in 2000 which had foreclosed on John. John had opened the casino in 1995 with announced plans to include a Jimmy Connors theme area. It was shuttered in 1998 and became a magnet for homeless and thieves who stripped its copper piping. The casino never reopened under Jimmy's ownership and it was destroyed in a May 2008 fire.

In October 2005, Connors had successful hip-replacement surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

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

On November 21, 2008, Connors was arrested outside an NCAA Basketball game between the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and University of California at Santa Barbara after refusing to comply with an order to leave an area near the entrance to the stadium. The charges were dismissed by a judge on February 10, 2009.

In December 2010, Douglas Henderson Jr., a long-time Connors associate and close friend, published Endeavor to Persevere, his book detailing his relationship with Connors and Arthur Ashe.[1]

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 15 finals (8 titles, 7 runner-ups)

Outcome Year Championship Surface Opponent in the final Score in the final
Winner 1974 Australian Open Grass Australia Phil Dent 7–6(7), 6–4, 4–6, 6–3
Winner 1974 Wimbledon Grass Australia Ken Rosewall 6–1, 6–1, 6–4
Winner 1974 US Open Grass Australia Ken Rosewall 6–1, 6–0, 6–1
Runner-up 1975 Australian Open Grass Australia John Newcombe 7–5, 3–6, 6–4, 7–6(7)
Runner-up 1975 Wimbledon Grass United States Arthur Ashe 6–1, 6–1, 5–7, 6–4
Runner-up 1975 US Open Clay Spain Manuel Orantes 6–4, 6–3, 6–3
Winner 1976 US Open (2) Clay Sweden Björn Borg 6–4, 3–6, 7–6(9), 6–4
Runner-up 1977 Wimbledon (2) Grass Sweden Björn Borg 3–6, 6–2, 6–1, 5–7, 6–4
Runner-up 1977 US Open (2) Clay Argentina Guillermo Vilas 2–6, 6–3, 7–6(4), 6–0
Runner-up 1978 Wimbledon (3) Grass Sweden Björn Borg 6–2, 6–2, 6–3
Winner 1978 US Open (3) Hard Sweden Björn Borg 6–4, 6–2, 6–2
Winner 1982 Wimbledon (2) Grass United States John McEnroe 3–6, 6–3, 6–7(2), 7–6(5), 6–4
Winner 1982 US Open (4) Hard Czechoslovakia Ivan Lendl 6–3, 6–2, 4–6, 6–4
Winner 1983 US Open (5) Hard Czechoslovakia Ivan Lendl 6–3, 6–7(2), 7–5, 6–0
Runner-up 1984 Wimbledon (4) Grass United States John McEnroe 6–1, 6–1, 6–2

Doubles: 3 finals (2 titles, 1 runner-up)

Outcome Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents in the final Score in the final
Runner-up 1973 French Open Clay Romania Ilie Năstase Australia John Newcombe
Netherlands Tom Okker		 6–1, 3–6, 6–3, 5–7, 6–4
Winner 1973 Wimbledon Grass Romania Ilie Năstase Australia John Cooper
Australia Neale Fraser		 3–6, 6–3, 6–4, 8–9(3), 6–1
Winner 1975 US Open Clay Romania Ilie Năstase Netherlands Tom Okker
United States Marty Riessen		 6–4, 7–6

Mixed doubles: 1 final (1 runner-up)

Outcome Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents in the final Score in the final
Runner-up 1974 US Open Grass United States Chris Evert United States Pam Teeguarden
Australia Geoff Masters		 6–1, 7–6

Grand Prix year-end championships singles finals: 1 finals (1 titles)

Outcome Year Championship Surface Opponent in the final Score in the final
Winner 1977 New York Hard (i) Sweden Björn Borg 6–4, 1–6, 6–4

WCT year end championship singles finals: 3 finals (2 title, 1 runner-ups)

Outcome Year Championship Surface Opponent in the final Score in the final
Winner 1977 Dallas Carpet (i) United States Dick Stockton 6–7(5), 6–1, 6–4, 6–3
Winner 1980 Dallas Carpet (i) United States John McEnroe 2–6, 7–6(4), 6–1, 6–2
Runner-up 1984 Dallas Carpet (i) United States John McEnroe 1–6, 2–6, 3–6

Grand Prix Championship Series finals

Singles: 29 (18 titles, 11 runner-ups)

Outcome Year Championship Surface Opponent in the final Score in the final
Runner-up 1971 Los Angeles Hard United States Pancho Gonzales 6-3,3-6, 3-6
Winner 1973 Johannesburg Grass United States Arthur Ashe 6-4, 7-6, 6-3
Winner 1973 Los Angeles Hard Netherlands Tom Okker 7-5, 7-6
Winner 1973 Boston Hard United States Arthur Ashe 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2
Winner 1974 Johannesburg Grass United States Arthur Ashe 7-6, 6-3, 6-1
Winner 1974 Indianapolis Clay Sweden Björn Borg 5-7, 6-3, 6-4
Winner 1974 London Carpet United States Brian Gottfried 6-2, 7-6
Runner-up 1975 London Carpet United States Eddie Dibbs 6-1, 1-6, 5-7
Runner-up 1975 Stockholm Hard Italy Adriano Panatta 4-6, 3-6
Winner 1976 Washington Clay Mexico Raúl Ramírez 6-2, 6-4
Winner 1976 Indianapolis Clay Poland Wojtek Fibak 6-2, 6-4
Winner 1976 London Carpet United States Roscoe Tanner 3-6, 7-6, 6-4
Winner 1976 Philadelphia Carpet Sweden Björn Borg 7-6, 6-4, 6-0
Winner 1976 Las Vegas Hard Australia Ken Rosewall 6-1, 6-3
Runner-up 1977 Indianapolis Clay Spain Manuel Orantes 1-6, 3-6
Runner-up 1977 Philadelphia Carpet United States Dick Stockton 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 1-6, 2-6
Winner 1977 Las Vegas Hard Mexico Raul Ramirez 6-4, 5-7, 6-2
Runner-up 1979 Tokyo Carpet Sweden Björn Borg 2-6, 2-6
Winner 1979 Philadelphia Carpet United States Arthur Ashe 6-3, 6-4, 6-1
Runner-up 1979 Las Vegas Hard Sweden Björn Borg 2-6, 2-6
Winner 1980 Tokyo Carpet United States Tim Gullikson 6-1, 6-2
Winner 1980 Philadelphia Carpet United States John McEnroe 6-3, 2-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4
Winner 1981 Monte Carlo Clay Argentina Guillermo Vilas 5-5 uf
Runner-up 1981 Hamburg Clay Australia Peter McNamara 6-7, 6-4, 4-6
Winner 1981 London Carpet United States John McEnroe 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2
Runner-up 1982 Philadelphia Carpet United States John McEnroe 3-6, 3-6, 1-6
Runner-up 1983 London Carpet United States John McEnroe 5-7, 2-6, 1-6
Winner 1984 Tokyo Carpet Czechoslovakia Ivan Lendl 6-4, 3-6, 6-0
Runner-up 1986 Cincinnati Hard Sweden Mats Wilander 4-6, 1-6
  • Note: before the ATP took over running the men's professional tour in 1990 the Grand Prix Tour had a series of events that were precursors to the Masters Series known as the Grand Prix Tennis Championship Series.

Singles performance timeline

Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# A P Z# PO SF-B F NMS

Won tournament, or reached Final, Semifinal, Quarterfinal, Round 4, 3, 2, 1, lost in Qualification Round 3, Round 2, Round 1 or Round Robin, Absent from a tournament or Participated in a team event, played in a Davis Cup Zonal Group (with its number indication) or Play-Off, won a bronze or silver match at the Olympics. The last is for a Masters Series/1000 tournament that was relegated (Not a Masters Series).

Qualifying matches and Walkovers are neither official match wins nor losses.

Tournament 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 SR W-L Win %
Australian Open W F NH 1 / 2 11–1 91.66
French Open 2R 1R SF SF QF QF QF SF SF QF 2R 3R 1R 0 / 13 40–13 75.47
Wimbledon 1R QF QF W F QF F F SF SF SF W 4R F SF 1R SF 4R 2R 3R 1R 2 / 21 84–18 82.35
US Open 1R 2R 1R QF W F W F W SF SF SF W W SF SF 3R SF QF QF SF 2R 5 / 22 98–17 85.22
Win-Loss 0–1 1–1 5–3 8–3 20–0 16–3 11–1 12–2 13–1 15–3 15–3 14–3 18–1 14–2 16–3 15–3 2–2 14–3 7–2 6–3 0–0 9–3 1–3 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 8 / 58 232–49 82.56
Davis Cup P W F 1 / 3 8–3 72.73
The Masters SF SF W RR SF SF RR SF SF SF RR 1 / 11 18–17 51.43
Tournaments 4 12 28 24 21 19 22 21 16 19 21 16 18 15 18 16 15 17 13 15 3 14 16 5 3 2 1 Career total: 394
Titles–Finals 0–0 0–2 5–8 11–13 15–17 9–15 12–16 8–14 10–12 7–11 6–8 4–6 7–11 4–5 5–8 0–2 0–4 0–3 2–4 2–2 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 107 / 394 107–161 67.72
Overall W-L 5–4 20–11 71–24 81–14 93–4 79–8 91–7 67–11 66–6 73–12 73–15 61–12 78–10 52–11 74–14 48–14 45–15 52–19 40–10 31–13 0–3 19–14 17–15 3–5 1–3 2–2 0–1 107 / 394 1242–277 81.76
Y-E Ranking – – – 3 1 1 1 1 1 2 3 3 2 3 2 4 8 4 7 14 936 48 84 370 672 419 1300 Career money: $8,641,040

Career singles titles (149) and runner-ups (54)

107 titles are registered in the ATP Web site, 2 titles in the ATP Players' Guide, and 40 are not listed in any ATP Statistics

Grand Slam, WCT, and Grand Prix singles titles

Singles titles listed by the Association of Tennis Professionals—ATP (109), 107 in the Web site and 2 others in the Players' Guide.

  • * Denotes ATP Web site non-listed tournaments
Tournament Category No. of titles
Grand Slam 8
Year-End Championships: WCT Finals (1971–1989), Masters Grand Prix (1970–1989) 3
Super high category: Grand Prix Championship Series (1970–1989) 18
High category: Grand Prix Super Series (1970–1989), WCT (1968–1989) 45
Low category: Grand Prix Regular Series (1970–1989), WCT R Series (1968–1989) 30
Titles by Surface
Clay - Outdoor (12)
Grass - Outdoor (8)
Hard - Outdoor (44)
Hard - Indoor (0)
Carpet - Indoor (44)
No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent in the final Score
1. 1972 Jacksonville, U.S. Hard (i) United States Clark Graebner 7–5, 6–4
2. 1972 * Roanoke, U.S. (1) Hard (i) Czechoslovakia Vladimír Zedník 6–4, 7–6
3. 1972 London/Queen's Club, United Kingdom (1) Grass United Kingdom John Paish 6–2, 6–3
4. 1972 Columbus, U.S. (1) Hard Rhodesia Andrew Pattison 7–5, 6–3, 7–5
5. 1972 Cincinnati, U.S. Clay Argentina Guillermo Vilas 6–3, 6–3
6. 1972 Albany, U.S. Carpet United States Roscoe Tanner 6–2, 7–6
7. 1973 Baltimore, U.S. Hard (i) United States Sandy Mayer 6–4, 7–5
8. 1973 Roanoke, U.S.(2) Hard (i) Australia Ian Fletcher 6–2, 6–3
9. 1973 Salt Lake City, U.S. (1) Hard (i) United States Paul Gerken 6–1, 6–2
10. 1973 Salisbury, U.S. (1) Hard (i) West Germany Karl Meiler 7–6, 7–6, 6–3
11. 1973 Hampton, U.S. (1) Hard (i) Romania Ilie Năstase 4–6, 6–3, 7–5, 6–3
12. 1973 Paramus, U.S. Hard (i) United States Clark Graebner 6–1, 6–2
13. 1973 Boston, U.S. Hard United States Arthur Ashe 6–3, 4–6, 6–4, 3–6, 6–2
14. 1973 Columbus, U.S. (2) Hard United States Charlie Pasarell 3–6, 6–3, 6–3
15. 1973 Los Angeles, U.S. (1) Hard Netherlands Tom Okker 7–5, 7–6
16. 1973 Quebec, Canada Carpet United States Marty Riessen 6–1, 6–4, 6–7, 6–0
17. 1973 Johannesburg, South Africa (1) Hard United States Arthur Ashe 6–4, 7–6, 6–3
18. 1974 Australian Open Grass Australia Phil Dent 7–6(7), 6–4, 4–6, 6–3
19. 1974 Roanoke, U.S. (3) Hard (i) West Germany Karl Meiler 6–4, 6–3
20. 1974 Little Rock, U.S. Carpet West Germany Karl Meiler 6–2, 6–1
21. 1974 Birmingham, U.S. (1) Carpet United States Sandy Mayer 7–5, 6–3
22. 1974 Salisbury, U.S. (2) Carpet South Africa Frew McMillan 6–4, 7–5, 6–3
23. 1974 Hampton, U.S. (2) Carpet Romania Ilie Năstase 6–4, 6–4
24. 1974 Salt Lake City, U.S. (2) Carpet United States Vitas Gerulaitis 4–6, 7–6, 6–3
25. 1974 Tempe, U.S. Hard India Vijay Amritraj 6–2, 6–3
26. 1974 Manchester, United Kingdom Grass United Kingdom Mike Collins 13–11, 6–2
27. 1974 Wimbledon (1) Grass Australia Ken Rosewall 6–1, 6–1, 6–4
28. 1974 Indianapolis, U.S. (1) Clay Sweden Björn Borg 5–7, 6–3, 6–4
29. 1974 US Open (1) Grass Australia Ken Rosewall 6–1, 6–0, 6–1
30. 1974 Los Angeles, U.S. (2) Hard United States Harold Solomon 6–3, 6–1
31. 1974 London – Dewar Cup, United Kingdom Carpet United States Brian Gottfried 6–2, 7–6
32. 1974 Johannesburg, South Africa (2) Hard United States Arthur Ashe 7–6, 6–3, 6–1
33. 1975 Nassau, Bahamas Hard West Germany Karl Meiler 6–0, 6–2
34. 1975 Birmingham, U.S. (2) Carpet United States Billy Martin 6–4, 6–3
35. 1975 Salisbury, U.S. (3) Carpet United States Vitas Gerulaitis 5–7, 7–5, 6–1, 3–6, 6–0
36. 1975 Boca Raton, U.S. Hard West Germany Jürgen Fassbender 6–4, 6–2
37. 1975 Hampton, U.S. (3) Carpet Czechoslovakia Jan Kodeš 3–6, 6–3, 6–0
38. 1975 Denver WCT, U.S. (1) Carpet United States Brian Gottfried 6–3, 6–4
39. 1975 North Conway, U.S. (1) Clay Australia Ken Rosewall 6–2, 6–2
40. 1975 Hamilton, Bermuda Clay United States Vitas Gerulaitis 6–1, 6–4
41. 1975 Maui, U.S. (1) Hard United States Sandy Mayer 6–1, 6–0
42. 1976 Birmingham, U.S. (3) Carpet United States Roscoe Tanner 6–4, 3–6, 6–1
43. 1976 Philadelphia WCT, U.S. (1) Carpet Sweden Björn Borg 7–6(5), 6–4, 6–0
44. 1976 Hampton, U.S. (4) Carpet Romania Ilie Năstase 6–2, 6–2, 6–2
45. 1976 Palm Springs, U.S. (1) Hard United States Roscoe Tanner 6–4, 6–4
46. 1976 Denver WCT, U.S. (2) Carpet Australia Ross Case 7–6(1), 6–2
47. 1976 Las Vegas, U.S. (1) Hard Australia Ken Rosewall 6–1, 6–3
48. 1976 Washington, D.C., U.S. (1) Clay Mexico Raúl Ramírez 6–2, 6–4
49. 1976 North Conway, U.S. (2) Clay Mexico Raúl Ramírez 7–6, 4–6, 6–3
50. 1976 Indianapolis, U.S. (2) Clay Poland Wojtek Fibak 6–2, 6–4
51. 1976 US Open (2) Clay Sweden Björn Borg 6–4, 3–6, 7–6(9), 6–4
52. 1976 Cologne, West Germany Carpet South Africa Frew McMillan 6–2, 6–3
53. 1976 Wembley, United Kingdom (1) Carpet United States Roscoe Tanner 3–6, 7–6, 6–4
54. 1977 Birmingham WCT, U.S. (4) Carpet United States Bill Scanlon 6–3, 6–3
55. 1977 St. Louis WCT, U.S. Carpet Australia John Alexander 7–6, 6–2
56. 1977 Las Vegas, U.S. (2) Hard Mexico Raúl Ramírez 6–4, 5–7, 6–2
57. 1977 Dallas WCT Finals, U.S. (1) Carpet United States Dick Stockton 6–7, 6–1, 6–4, 6–3
58. 1977 Maui, U.S. (2) Hard United States Brian Gottfried 6–2, 6–0
59. 1977 Sydney Indoor, Australia (1) Hard (i) Australia Ken Rosewall 7–5, 6–4, 6–2
60. 1977 Las Vegas – WCT Challenge Cup, U.S. Carpet United States Roscoe Tanner 6–2, 5–7, 3–6, 6–2, 7–5
61. 1977 Colgate Masters, New York City Carpet Sweden Björn Borg 6–4, 1–6, 6–4
62. 1978 Philadelphia WCT, U.S. (2) Carpet United States Roscoe Tanner 6–2, 6–4, 6–3
63. 1978 Denver, U.S. (3) Carpet United States Stan Smith 6–2, 7–6
64. 1978 Memphis, U.S. (1) Carpet United States Tim Gullikson 7–6, 6–3
65. 1978 Rotterdam WCT, Netherlands (1) Carpet Mexico Raúl Ramírez 7–5, 7–5
66. 1978 Birmingham, United Kingdom Grass Mexico Raúl Ramírez 6–3, 6–1, 6–2
67. 1978 Washington, D.C., U.S. (2) Clay United States Eddie Dibbs 7–5, 7–5
68. 1978 Indianapolis, U.S. (3) Clay Spain José Higueras 7–5, 6–1
69. 1978 Stowe, U.S. (1) Hard United States Tim Gullikson 6–2, 6–3
70. 1978 US Open (3) Hard Sweden Björn Borg 6–4, 6–2, 6–2
71. 1978 Sydney Indoor, Australia (2) Hard (i) Australia Geoff Masters 6–0, 6–0, 6–4
72. 1979 Birmingham, U.S. (5) Carpet United States Eddie Dibbs 6–2, 3–6, 7–5
73. 1979 Philadelphia, U.S. (3) Carpet United States Arthur Ashe 6–3, 6–4, 6–1
74. 1979 * Dorado Beach – WCT Tournament of Champions,
Puerto Rico		 Hard United States Vitas Gerulaitis 7–5, 6–0, 6–4
75. 1979 Memphis, U.S. (2) Carpet United States Arthur Ashe 6–4, 5–7, 6–3
76. 1979 Tulsa, U.S. Hard (i) United States Eddie Dibbs 6–7, 7–5, 6–1
77. 1979 Indianapolis, U.S. (4) Clay Argentina Guillermo Vilas 6–1, 2–6, 6–4
78. 1979 Stowe, U.S. (2) Hard United States Mike Cahill 6–0, 6–1
79. 1979 Hong Kong Hard United States Pat Du Pré 7–5, 6–3, 6–1
80. 1980 Birmingham, U.S. (6) Carpet United States Eliot Teltscher 6–3, 6–2
81. 1980 Philadelphia, U.S. (4) Carpet United States John McEnroe 6–3, 2–6, 6–3, 3–6, 6–4
82. 1980 Dallas WCT Finals, U.S. (2) Carpet United States John McEnroe 2–6, 7–6, 6–1, 6–2
83. 1980 North Conway, U.S. (3) Clay United States Eddie Dibbs 6–3, 5–7, 6–1
84. 1980 Guangzhou Carpet United States Eliot Teltscher 6–2, 6–4
85. 1980 Tokyo Indoor, Japan (1) Carpet United States Tom Gullikson 6–1, 6–2
86. 1981 La Quinta, U.S. (2) Hard Czechoslovakia Ivan Lendl 6–3, 7–6
87. 1981 Brussels, Belgium Carpet United States Brian Gottfried 6–2, 6–4, 6–3
88. 1981 Rotterdam, Netherlands (2) Carpet United States Gene Mayer 6–1, 2–6, 6–2
89. 1981 Wembley, United Kingdom (2) Carpet United States John McEnroe 3–6, 2–6, 6–3, 6–4, 6–2
90. 1982 Monterrey, Mexico Carpet South Africa Johan Kriek 6–2, 3–6, 6–3
91. 1982 Los Angeles, U.S. (3) Hard United States Mel Purcell 6–2, 6–1
92. 1982 Las Vegas, U.S. (3) Hard United States Gene Mayer 5–2, ret.
93. 1982 London/Queen's Club, United Kingdom (2) Grass United States John McEnroe 7–5, 6–3
94. 1982 Wimbledon (2) Grass United States John McEnroe 3–6, 6–3, 6–7(2), 7–6(5), 6–4
95. 1982 Columbus, U.S. (3) Hard United States Brian Gottfried 7–5, 6–0
96. 1982 US Open (4) Hard Czechoslovakia Ivan Lendl 6–3, 6–2, 4–6, 6–4
97. 1983 Memphis, U.S. (3) Carpet United States Gene Mayer 7–5, 6–0
98. 1983 Las Vegas, U.S. (4) Hard Australia Mark Edmondson 7–6, 6–1
99. 1983 London/Queen's Club, United Kingdom (3) Grass United States John McEnroe 6–3, 6–3
100. 1983 US Open (5) Hard Czechoslovakia Ivan Lendl 6–3, 6–7(2), 7–5, 6–0
101. 1984 Memphis, U.S. (4) Carpet France Henri Leconte 6–3, 4–6, 7–5
102. 1984 La Quinta, U.S. (3) Hard France Yannick Noah 6–2, 6–7(7), 6–3
103. 1984 Boca West, U.S. Hard United States Johan Kriek 7–5, 6–4
104. 1984 Los Angeles, U.S. (4) Hard United States Eliot Teltscher 6–4, 4–6, 6–4
105. 1984 Tokyo Indoor, Japan (2) Carpet Czechoslovakia Ivan Lendl 6–4, 3–6, 6–0
106. 1988 Washington, D.C., U.S. (3) Hard Ecuador Andrés Gómez 6–1, 6–4
107. 1988 Toulouse, France (1) Carpet Soviet Union Andrei Chesnokov 6–2, 6–0
108. 1989 Toulouse, France (2) Carpet United States John McEnroe 6–3, 6–3
109. 1989 Tel Aviv, Israel Hard Israel Gilad Bloom 2–6, 6–2, 6–1

Grand Slam, WCT, and Grand Prix singles runner-ups

Listing 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 United States Tom Gorman 6–7, 7–6, 4–6, 7–6, 6–3
2. 1971 Los Angeles, U.S. Hard United States Richard Pancho Gonzales 3–6, 6–3, 6–3
3. 1972 Baltimore, U.S. Hard Romania Ilie Năstase 1–6, 6–4, 7–6
4. 1972 Washington, D.C., U.S. Carpet United States Stan Smith 4–6, 6–1, 6–3, 4–6, 6–1
5. 1972 Indianapolis, U.S. Clay South Africa Bob Hewitt 7–6, 6–1, 6–2
6. 1973 Omaha, U.S. Hard (i) Romania Ilie Năstase 5–0, ret.
7. 1973 Bretton Woods, U.S. Clay India Vijay Amritraj 7–5, 2–6, 7–5
8. 1974 Omaha, U.S. Other West Germany Karl Meiler 6–3, 1–6, 6–3
9. 1974 South Orange, U.S. Hard Soviet Union Alex Metreveli DEF
10. 1975 Australian Open, Melbourne Grass Australia John Newcombe 7–5, 3–6, 6–4, 7–6
11. 1975 New York City, U.S. Indoor United States Vitas Gerulaitis DEF
12. 1975 Wimbledon, London Grass United States Arthur Ashe 6–1, 6–1, 5–7, 6–4
13. 1975 US Open, New York City Clay Spain Manuel Orantes 6–4, 6–3, 6–3
14. 1975 Stockholm, Sweden Hard (i) Italy Adriano Panatta 6–4, 6–3
15. 1975 London, United Kingdom Carpet United States Eddie Dibbs 1–6, 6–1, 7–5
16. 1976 Salisbury, U.S. Carpet Romania Ilie Năstase 6–2, 6–3, 7–6
17. 1976 La Costa WCT, U.S. Hard Romania Ilie Năstase 4–6, 6–0, 6–1
18. 1976 *Nottingham, United Kingdom Grass Romania Ilie Năstase div'd (weather)
19. 1976 Las Vegas, U.S. – WCT Challenge Cup Carpet Romania Ilie Năstase 3–6, 7–6, 6–4, 7–5
20. 1977 Philadelphia WCT, U.S. Carpet United States Dick Stockton 3–6, 6–4, 3–6, 6–1, 6–2
21. 1977 Toronto Indoor WCT, Canada Carpet United States Dick Stockton 5–6, ret.
22. 1977 Wimbledon, London Grass Sweden Björn Borg 3–6, 6–2, 6–1, 5–7, 6–4
23. 1977 **Boca Raton, U.S. – Pepsi Grand Slam Clay Sweden Björn Borg 6–4, 5–7, 6–3
24. 1977 Indianapolis, U.S. Clay Spain Manuel Orantes 6–1, 6–3
25. 1977 US Open, New York City Clay Argentina Guillermo Vilas 2–6, 6–3, 7–6, 6–0
26. 1978 **Boca Raton, U.S. – Pepsi Grand Slam Clay Sweden Björn Borg 7–6, 3–6, 6–1
27. 1978 Wimbledon, London Grass Sweden Björn Borg 6–2, 6–2, 6–3
28. 1979 **Boca Raton, U.S. – Pepsi Grand Slam Hard Sweden Björn Borg 6–2, 6–3
29. 1979 Las Vegas, U.S. Hard Sweden Björn Borg 6–3, 6–2
30. 1979 Tokyo Indoor, Japan Carpet Sweden Björn Borg 6–2, 6–2
31. 1979 Montreal, Canada – WCT Challenge Cup Carpet Sweden Björn Borg 6–4, 6–2, 2–6, 6–4
32. 1980 Memphis, U.S. Carpet United States John McEnroe 7–6, 7–6
33. 1980 San José, Costa Rica Hard Argentina José Luis Clerc 4–6, 2–6, ret.
34. 1981 *Monte Carlo, Monaco Clay Argentina Guillermo Vilas div'd (weather)
35. 1981 Hamburg, Germany Clay Australia Peter McNamara 7–6, 6–1, 4–6, 6–4
36. 1982 Philadelphia, U.S. Carpet United States John McEnroe 6–3, 6–3, 6–1
37. 1982 Rotterdam, Netherlands Carpet Argentina Guillermo Vilas 0–6, 6–2, 6–4
38. 1982 Milan, Italy Carpet Argentina Guillermo Vilas 6–3, 6–3
39. 1982 San Francisco, U.S. Carpet United States John McEnroe 6–1, 6–3
40. 1983 Wembley, United Kingdom Carpet United States John McEnroe 7–5, 6–1, 6–4
41. 1984 *Rotterdam, Netherlands Carpet Czechoslovakia Ivan Lendl 6–0, 1–0 div'd – match cancelled (bomb threat)
42. 1984 Dallas WCT, U.S. Carpet United States John McEnroe 6–1, 6–2, 6–3
43. 1984 Wimbledon, London Grass United States John McEnroe 6–1, 6–1, 6–2
44. 1985 Ft. Myers, U.S. Hard Czechoslovakia Ivan Lendl 6–3, 6–2
45. 1985 Chicago, U.S. Carpet United States John McEnroe walkover
46. 1986 Ft. Myers, U.S. Hard Czechoslovakia Ivan Lendl 6–2, 6–0
47. 1986 London/Queen's Club, United Kingdom Grass United States Tim Mayotte 6–4, 2–1, ret.
48. 1986 Cincinnati, U.S. Hard Sweden Mats Wilander 6–4, 6–1
49. 1986 San Francisco, U.S. Carpet United States John McEnroe 7–6, 6–3
50. 1987 Memphis, U.S. Hard (i) Sweden Stefan Edberg 6–3, 2–1, ret.
51. 1987 Orlando, U.S. Hard South Africa Christo van Rensburg 6–3, 3–6, 6–1
52. 1987 London/Queen's Club, United Kingdom Grass West Germany Boris Becker 6–7, 6–3, 6–4
53. 1988 Milan, Italy Carpet France Yannick Noah 4–4, ret.
54. 1988 Miami, U.S. Hard Sweden Mats Wilander 6–4, 4–6, 6–4, 6–4

Other Singles titles

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 – draw at least eight players (24).

Year Date Tournament Surface Prize Money Final Opponent Final Result Winners Prize
1972 August 14–20 Ocean City[disambiguation needed] 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 Năstase 6–2 6–4
1978 December 5–8 Lucerne Lucerne Invitational Carpet Tom Okker 6–1 6–1
1979 September 28–30 Asunción – 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 Björn 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 José 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 Andrés Gómez 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 singles titles (under 8 players)

These are non-ATP, exhibition/invitational and special events – 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 Björn 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 7–8 Tokyo – Suntory Cup Carpet John McEnroe 7–5 6–3
1980 September 19–20 Napa Valley Harvest Cup Hard Roscoe Tanner 6–4 6–2
1981 April 11–12 Tokyo – Suntory Cup Carpet John McEnroe 6–4 7–6
1981 November 17–18 Tel Aviv – Golden Racquet Sabirna Gali ? Ilie Năstase 6–4 6–2
1982 July 22–24 Industry Hills – $100,000 4-men invitational Hard Björn Borg 5–7 6–2 6–2 6–7 6–2 $50,000
1983 April 10–11 Tokyo – Suntory Cup Carpet Björn 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 Järryd 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.

Grand Slam, WCT, and Grand Prix doubles titles (15)

No. Date Tournament Surface Partnering Opponent in the final Score
1. 1972 Columbus, U.S. Hard United States Pancho Gonzales United States Robert McKinley
United States Dick Stockton		 6–3, 7–5
2. 1972 Los Angeles WCT, U.S. Hard United States Pancho Gonzales Egypt Ismail El Shafei
New Zealand Brian Fairlie		 6–3, 4–6, 7–6
3. 1973 Baltimore WCT, U.S. Hard (i) United States Clark Graebner United States Paul Gerken
United States Sandy Mayer		 3–6, 6–2, 6–3
4. 1973 Wimbledon, London Grass Romania Ilie Năstase Australia John Cooper
Australia Neale Fraser		 3–6, 6–3, 6–4, 8–9, 6–1
5. 1973 South Orange, U.S. Hard Romania Ilie Năstase United States Richard Pancho Gonzales
United States Tom Gorman		 6–7, 6–3, 6–2
6. 1973 Stockholm, Sweden Hard (i) Romania Ilie Năstase Australia Bob Carmichael
South Africa Frew McMillan		 6–3, 6–7, 6–2
7. 1974 Salisbury, U.S. Carpet South Africa Frew McMillan South Africa Byron Bertram
Rhodesia Andrew Pattison		 3–6, 6–2, 6–1
8. 1974 Salt Lake City, U.S. Hard (i) United States Vitas Gerulaitis Colombia Iván Molina
Colombia Jairo Velasco		 2–6, 7–6, 7–5
9. 1974 Indianapolis, U.S. Clay Romania Ilie Năstase West Germany Jürgen Fassbender
West Germany Hans-Jürgen Pohmann		 6–7, 6–3, 6–4
10. 1974 London, United Kingdom Carpet Romania Ilie Năstase United States Brian Gottfried
Mexico Raúl Ramírez		 3–6, 7–6, 6–3
11. 1975 Salisbury, U.S. Carpet Romania Ilie Năstase Czechoslovakia Jan Kodeš
United Kingdom Roger Taylor		 7–6, 6–2
12. 1975 South Orange, U.S. Clay Romania Ilie Năstase Australia Dick Crealy
United Kingdom John Lloyd		 6–2, 6–3
13. 1975 US Open, New York City Clay Romania Ilie Năstase Netherlands Tom Okker
United States Marty Riessen		 6–4, 7–6
14. 1976 Birmingham, U.S. Carpet United States Erik Van Dillen United States Hank Pfister
United States Dennis Ralston		 7–6, 6–4
15. 1980 North Conway, U.S. Clay United States Brian Gottfried South Africa Kevin Curren
United States Steve Denton		 7–6, 6–2

Grand Slam, WCT, and Grand Prix runner-ups (11)

No. Date Tournament Surface Partnering Opponent in the final Score
1. 1971 New York City, U.S. Indoor Pakistan Haroon Rahim Spain Juan Gisbert
Spain Manuel Orantes		 7–6, 6–2
2. 1971 Columbus, U.S. Hard United States Roscoe Tanner United States Jim McManus
United States Jim Osborne		 6–7, 6–4, 6–2
3. 1973 Omaha, U.S. Hard (i) Spain Juan Gisbert United States William Brown
United States Mike Estep		 DEF
4. 1973 Hampton, U.S. Hard (i) Romania Ion Ţiriac United States Clark Graebner
Romania Ilie Năstase		 6–2, 6–1
5. 1973 French Open, Paris Clay Romania Ilie Năstase Australia John Newcombe
Netherlands Tom Okker		 6–1, 3–6, 6–3, 5–7, 6–4
6. 1973 Los Angeles, U.S. Hard Romania Ilie Năstase Czechoslovakia Jan Kodeš
Czechoslovakia Vladimir Zednik		 6–2, 6–4
7. 1973 Quebec, Canada Other United States Marty Riessen Australia Bob Carmichael
South Africa Frew McMillan		 6–2, 7–6
8. 1975 Rome, Italy Clay Romania Ilie Năstase United States Brian Gottfried
Mexico Raúl Ramírez		 6–4, 7–6, 2–6, 6–1
9. 1975 London, United Kingdom Carpet Romania Ilie Năstase Poland Wojtek Fibak
West Germany Karl Meiler		 6–1, 7–5
10. 1976 Denver WCT, U.S. Carpet United States Billy Martin Australia John Alexander
Australia Phil Dent		 6–7, 6–2, 7–5
11. 1976 Washington, D.C., U.S. Clay United States Arthur Ashe United States Brian Gottfried
Mexico Raúl Ramírez		 6–3, 6–3

Records Grand Slam/Other

Championship Years Record accomplished Player tied
US Open 1974–1983 5 titles overall Pete Sampras
Roger Federer1
US Open 1974–1983 3 titles as a Father Stands alone
US Open 1974–1985 12 consecutive semi-finals Stands alone
US Open 1971–1992 98 match wins Stands alone
Wimbledon 1972–1991 84 match wins Stands alone
Wimbledon 1972–1982 11 consecutive quarterfinals Stands alone
Australian Open 1974–1975 90.9% (10–1) match winning percentage Stands alone
Australian Open 1974 Shortest match (20 games) vs. Ken Rosewall Arnaud Boetsch
Grand Slam Tournaments 1974–1983 1 title on 3 different surfaces Roger Federer Mats Wilander Andre Agassi Rafael Nadal
Grand Slam Tournaments 1974–1991 31 semi-finals Stands alone
Grand Slam Tournaments 1972–1991 41 quarter-finals Stands alone
Grand Slam Tournaments 1971–92 232 career match wins Stands alone
Grand Slam Tournaments 1974 Win–loss record 100% single year in Majors (20–0) Rod Laver
Grand Slam Tournaments 1976 Win–loss record 91.7% single year in Majors (11–1) Stands alone
Grand Slam Tournaments 1982 Win–loss record 94.7% single year in Majors (18–1) Stands alone
Grand Slam Tournaments 1972–1989 Career match wins (grass courts) (107) Stands alone
Grand Prix Tour 1972–1989 109 titles Stands alone
Grand Prix Tour 1974 4 titles (grass courts) in a single year Stands alone
Grand Prix Tour 1973-84 12 consecutive years winning 80% of matches Stands alone
Grand Prix Tour 1972-76 5 times consecutive titles won on 3 different surfaces Stands alone
Grand Prix Tour 1974-80 6 won at an individual tournament Birmingham Stands alone
WCT Tour 1972–1989 48 titles Stands alone
Combined Tours 1972–1989 158 career finals Stands alone
Combined Tours 1970–1995 1242 matches won Stands alone
Combined Tours 1970–1996 1519 matches played Stands alone
Combined Tours 1973 9 titles (hard courts) single year Stands alone
Combined Tours 1972–1989 54 indoor titles Stands alone
Combined Tours 1972–1989 44 carpet court titles Stands alone
Combined Tours 1972–1989 12 consecutive years match win percentage over 80% Stands alone
No 1 Ranking 1974–1978 3 calendar years as wire-to-wire world number one Roger Federer
Top 2 Ranking 1974–1984 8 years ended inside Roger Federer
Top 3 Ranking 1973–1984 12 years ended inside Stands alone
Top 4 Ranking 1973–1987 14 years ended inside Stands alone
Top 5 Ranking 1973–1987 14 years ended inside Stands alone
Top 10 Ranking 1973–1988 16 years ended inside Andre Agassi

1(Federer's titles came consecutively.)

Awards

See also

Tennis ball.svg Tennis portal
  • List of open era tennis records
  • List of Grand Slam related tennis records
  • ATP World Tour records
  • Tennis male players statistics
  • World number one male tennis player rankings
  • Borg-Connors rivalry
  • Connors–McEnroe rivalry

  1. ^ a b "Holding Court". Vogue. 2007–08–01. http://www.mensvogue.com/health/articles/2007/08/connors?currentPage=1. Retrieved 2009–09–11. 
  2. ^ http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/03/03/tennis-greatest-idUKLDE7221TK20110303
  3. ^ http://paul.kedrosky.com/archives/2011/01/best_tennis_pla.html
  4. ^ Caroline Seebohm: Little Pancho (2009)
  5. ^ ATP World Tour, Official Website. Player Information Jimmy Connors. Main Website http://www.atpworldtour.com/
  6. ^ James Scott Connors- International Hall of Fame
  7. ^ Kramer considered the best player ever to have been either Don Budge (for consistent play) or Ellsworth Vines (at the height of his game). The next four best were, chronologically, Bill Tilden, Fred Perry, Bobby Riggs, and Pancho Gonzales. After these six came the "second echelon" of Rod Laver, Lew Hoad, Ken Rosewall, Gottfried von Cramm, Ted Schroeder, Jack Crawford, Pancho Segura, Frank Sedgman, Tony Trabert, John Newcombe, Arthur Ashe, Stan Smith, Björn Borg, and Connors. He felt unable to rank Henri Cochet and René Lacoste accurately but felt they were among the very best.
  8. ^ James Scott Connors
  9. ^ a b ESPN
  10. ^ Bud Collins Joins ESPN
  11. ^ Racket history
  12. ^ a b c Jimmy Connors racquets
  13. ^ Ex-Tennis Great Jimmy Connors to Work for Tennis Channel SI.com, January 28, 2009
  14. ^ "'Lovebird Double' who ruled Wimbledon", The Independent, June 19, 2004. Retrieved March 5, 2010.
  15. ^ International Directory of Company Histories, Vol. 21. St. James Press, 1998 (via fundinguniverse.com)
  16. ^ Alystra to rise again? – Las Vegas Business Press – January 29, 2007
  17. ^ Fire settles casino’s fate for good – Las Vegas Sun – May 17, 2008
  18. ^ Associated Press (2007–01–14). "Gloria Connors, 82; son inherited passion for tennis". Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/news/globe/obituaries/articles/2007/01/14/gloria_connors_82_son_inherited_passion_for_tennis/. Retrieved 2008–07–06. 
  19. ^ Associated Press (2007–01–14). "Tennis great Jimmy Connors arrested". Sports Illustrated. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/tennis/11/22/connors.arrested.ap/index.html. Retrieved 2008–11–22. [dead link]
  20. ^ Jimmy Connors Cleared! TMZ.com, February 10, 2009

Further reading

  • Sabin, Francene (1978). Jimmy Connors, King of the Courts. New York: Putnam. ISBN 0–399–61115–0. 
  • Henderson Jr., Douglas (2010). Endeavor to Persevere: A Memoir on Jimmy Connors, Arthur Ashe, Tennis and Life. Untreed Reads. ASIN B004EYTBHG. 
  • Seebohm, Caroline, (2009), Little Pancho

Video

  • Charlie Rose with Jimmy Connors (August 7, 1995) Studio: Charlie Rose, DVD Release Date: October 5, 2006, ASIN: B000JCF3S8
  • BIOGRAPHY: Jimmy Connors DVD A&E 2002.
  • JIMMY CONNORS PRESENTS TENNIS FUNDAMENTALS: Comprehensive, Starring: Jimmy Connors; Chris Evert, Foundation Sports, DVD Release Date: May 1, 2006, Run Time: 172 minutes, ASIN: B000FVQWCY.
  • Wimbledon 1975 Final: Ashe vs. Connors Standing Room Only, DVD Release Date: October 30, 2007, Run Time: 120 minutes, ASIN: B000V02CTQ.
 Jimmy Connors (Achievement precedessor & successor)
Sporting positions
Preceded by
John Newcombe
Björn Borg
Björn Borg
John McEnroe
John McEnroe
John McEnroe
John McEnroe
Ivan Lendl
John McEnroe		 World No. 1
July 29, 1974 - August 22, 1977
August 30, 1977 - April 8, 1979
May 21, 1979 - July 8, 1979
September 13, 1982 - October 31, 1982
November 8, 1982 - November 14, 1982
January 31, 1983 - February 6, 1983
February 14, 1983 - February 27, 1983
May 16, 1983 - June 5, 1983
June 13, 1983 - July 3, 1983		 Succeeded by
Björn Borg
Björn Borg
Björn Borg
John McEnroe
John McEnroe
John McEnroe
Ivan Lendl
John McEnroe
John McEnroe
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
John McEnroe		 ITF World Champion
1982		 Succeeded by
John McEnroe
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