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just started reading his autobiography. Anybody else read it?
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Yep. Lot of facts that make everything make sense. Lot of narcisism. Pure Jimmy! -
I've read it. It's interesting. I've been able to meet a lot of people in my life through tennis that have met Jimmy Connors, either briefly or multiple times during events or business deals. They all say the same thing..."he's an asshole." Their words, not mine.
I'm currently reading the new Sharapova book, "Unstoppable". It's not the greatest autobiography i've read but its far from the worst. Say what you will about her as the player but holy crap is her story incredible. She mentions many places in her book on the west coast and east coasts of Florida that I am very familiar with. Looking back, I can't imagine how many times our paths may have crossed when she was a young kid at Bollettieri and a few other places and I would be there for a tournament or practice matches.
Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton
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Not Connors but Sharapova
Read the first 44 pages or 14 per cent of UNSTOPPABLE for free-- right here (https://play.google.com/books/reader...PA32.w.1.0.314). I just did. It's pretty interesting, too, just as the big man says.Last edited by bottle; 10-03-2017, 06:04 PM.Comment
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I finished the book. Can't say I dislike him. Strong character. Strong family ties with his mother, wife and children. Different off court. But looking at some old videos, very entertaining and a great player.
His great run at the age of 39, plenty of guts and fighting spirit:
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My Little Buddy...Aaron Krickstein and Jimmy Connors
I am thankful I wasn't in the locker room after the match at the U. S. Open. I was pretty pissed at Connors but disappointed in Aaron. He should have won that match. Aaron was pretty pissed at Connors too. But in the end we see what we like to see in the game of tennis. A nice ending to that story.
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Connors digs one out of the Dirt...U. S. Open 1978
Saw this in person...it was truly an "impossible" shot!
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Jimmy Connors...Greatest Of All Time? (Open Era)
I love this ranking system. It supports what I have been saying for some seven years now...today's talent pool is so watered down. The game is so dumbed down. So are the "fans". It's Orwellian how dumbed down it is. The quality of tennis was way better. The players of today did not have the competition that yesterday's players faced. Whole aspects of the game have been engineered out of it.
Players ranked #5 and #16 don't deserve to be on the list. They were "cheaters". Agassi used 108 square inches compared to Sampras' 90 square inches. So much is made of this "rivalry". It was a joke when you consider the disparity in the racquet size. Little Michael Chang used all 110 square inches to offset his lack of size. Rafael Nadal ranked way down where he deserves to be. So overrated. So one dimensional.
Love Connors or hate him...he let it all hang out every time he took to the court. He had Richard Gonzales balls. He was weened by the "other" Pancho...Segura. They didn't come any tougher mentally than the two Panchos. Ivan Lendl at number two. Another real tennis stud. He got flack early on in his career for not being able to win the big ones but the truth is this guy came along in a time period when the talent pool was at its zenith. He outlasted all of them. Real machismo. The other "bad boy" at number three...the great John McEnroe. He had his moments but he was sheer brilliance. Guillermo Vilas rounding out the "Big Four". A bit of a surprise...three of the top four are left handed.
Southpaw's do it better.
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Jimmy doesn't come across all that bad in an interview. But then I watched Andrew Marr interview Hillary Clinton a few days ago and she came across as a pretty good person, too. I guess the bottom line is you cannot read too much into a person from an interview.Originally posted by gzhpcu View PostAn interview with Connors:
part 1
part 2:
It's tough to find anyone who has known Jimmy who is willing to give a good account of him. The 'Outsider' would seem an appropriate title for the book. He's pretty much a loner these days whether he likes it or not it seems.
When I look at the old clips of Jimmy pumping himself up and drawing manically on the crowd, I feel a tad embarrassed for him. It looks a bit corny from today's standpoint. It went down well then but wouldn't now. Times change I guess.
I do love Jimmy's backhand, though. It was an incredibly good shot.Last edited by stotty; 10-17-2017, 02:36 PM.StottyComment
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Jimmy on court was one personality, off court, a different one apparently. He never got into drugs, had a good private life. First with his mom and grandmom, then with his wife Patti and his kids.Comment
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Because of Stotty's response, I watched the two interviews, thought Connors pretty good but a little stiff. I liked them and him but would have welcomed something really crazy.Last edited by bottle; 10-18-2017, 04:35 AM.Comment
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I don't think shoulders should be that square. One should slope a little. I make the same criticism of Borg, Sabatini and Sharapova.Originally posted by bottle View PostComment
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Question
Isn't it weird that don_budge sees anger where other people see humor?Comment
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don_budge could play Malvolio, I guess, in TWELFTH NIGHT
Me, I played Sir Andrew Aguecheek. As such, I was, in Malvolio's own words, a member of "Sir Toby and the lighter people."
But this will be lost as pretty much everything is directed at don_budge. And he doesn't understand Shakespeare. He's too dense (don_budge, not Shakespeare).Last edited by bottle; 10-21-2017, 06:39 AM.Comment
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