American tennis player Jimmy Connors was born on this day, 2nd September, 1952 in East St. Louis, Ill.

A volatile, controversial, and fiercely competitive player, Connors was known for his theatrical conduct on the court as well as for his powerful two-handed backhand, strong return of service, accurate baseline play, and agility. He remains the all-time leader in men's tournament victories with 109 and held the men's number one ranking for 160 weeks (1974-77), a record that was not broken until 2007 by Roger Federer. He won five U.S. Open titles, two Wimbledon singles titles and one Australian Open.

Apart from the epic battles he had with the greats of the game over his career, arguably the greatest memory fans will hold is his amazing performance of reaching the US Open Semi Finals in 1991 at 39 years of age.

Labels: Jimmy Connors, sport, Tennis, US Open, World Champion

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