His backhand and his temper helped transform tennis.
Famed tennis maverick James Scott Jimmy Connors turns 58 today. Well-known for his two-handed backhand (hes a lefty), his irreverence, and his bursts of temper on the court, Connors helped transform tennis from a genteel game to the superstar sport it is today, ushering it into the Open era. Hes also unique because of his coach: his mother, Gloria. Gloria Connors, a skilled player in her own right, guided her son from childhood through much of his career.
Connors, who ranked No. 1 in the world from 1974 to 1977, won 109 singles titles over his career, the current record. During his career, the prickly, competitive Connors had several intense rivalries, most notoriously with Bjrn Borg, whose ice-man persona contrasted Connors hotheadedness on the court. Connors reached the US Open semifinals when he was 39, and kept seriously competing into his 40s. For most of his playing career, he tenaciously clung both to his unusual-for-the-time baseline game and his T2000 racket, which he refused to give up until the late 80s.
You can find him commentating for BBC-TV during Wimbledon. He lives with his wife, former Playboy model Patti McGuire, in Santa Barbara, CA.
