"It'll be good to be the unofficial women's champion now" - When Jimmy Connors spoke on facing Martina Navratilova in Battle of the Sexes clash
Martina Navratilova and Jimmy Connors faced each other in the third and to date, the final "Battle of the Sexes" match at Las Vegas in September 1992, with the winner taking home $500,000.
Their fixture, which was called "Battle of the Champions", took place 19 years after the famous clash between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs.
Speaking ahead of the match, Connors said that while many thought of the match as fun, he considered it his job and that facing Navratilova wouldn't be as easy as many thought. The American added that he would feel good about becoming the "unofficial" women's champion after beating his female counterpart.
"To a lot of people, this is a fun match. "You consider it fun. I consider it my job playing against Martina. And it's not as easy as you think. But I've been the best in men's tennis. It's something I really enjoyed. It'll be good to be the unofficial women's champion now," Connors said as quoted by the New York Times.
Martina Navratilova was asked ahead of the match whether she would attack Jimmy Connors' serve, and she responded by claiming that she hoped to do so.
"I hope so. He's a man with steel will and nerves. How well I'll be able to attack, I don't know. But I have to go for the shots. I can't go easy," Navratilova said.
Connors, who was 40 at the time, eventually went on to defeat the then-35-year-old Navratilova 7-5, 6-2 in Las Vegas.
Martina Navratilova and Jimmy Connors have won a combined total of 26 Grand Slam singles titles
Martina Navratilova and Jimmy Connors are two of tennis' all-time greats who tasted a lot of success on court. The two won a combined total of 26 Grand Slam singles titles, with Navratilova clinching 18 while Connors won eight.
The Czech-American won a record nine Wimbledon titles while triumphing at the US Open four times. She won three Australian Open titles while clinching two French Open crowns. While Navratilova never won the Calendar Slam, she won three of the four Majors in 1983 and 1984.
Five out of Jimmy Connors' eight Major wins came at the US Open where he won in 1974, 1976, 1978, 1982, and 1983. He triumphed twice at Wimbledon in 1974 and 1982 while clinching the Australian Open in 1974.
Navratilova and Connors both won Grand Slams on the doubles circuit as well, with the former winning 41 (31 women's doubles, 10 mixed doubles). Connors won two men's doubles titles at Wimbledon in 1973 and US Open in 1975, Ilie Nastase being his partner on both occasions.