"I didn't want to hang around stadiums all day long waiting for the late-night doubles" - When Jimmy Connors decided to stop playing doubles in contrast to John McEnroe
Jimmy Connors once said that although doubles helped improve his game, he wasn't as interested in playing the format, unlike compatriot John McEnroe.
Connors revealed in his memoir, The Outsider, that playing doubles with Ilie Nastase helped him understand the areas he needed to improve.
"I wasn't a bad doubles player, but playing with Nasty helped show me where I needed to improve. The quick-fire rallies sharpened my volleys, and each set was like a master class in the art of the topspin lob," Connors wrote.
The eight-time Grand Slam singles champion, however, decided to stop playing doubles after winning the 1975 US Open with Nastase as he was playing a lot of singles matches and didn't want to burn himself out. Another reason was that he didn't want to hang around all day waiting for the late-night doubles fixtures.
"Nasty and I continued to play doubles together through 1975, when we won the US Open. After that I was pretty much done. I was playing in too many singles matches by then, and I didn't want to hang around stadiums all day long waiting for the late-night doubles," Connors wrote. "Other players took an opposite view; John McEnroe, for instance, viewed doubles as good practice, and his partnership with Peter Fleming brought him countless Grand Slam doubles titles, but I didn't need that. I was wary of burning myself out with too much tennis. I thrived on staying hungry."
Jimmy Connors won 2 Grand Slam doubles titles in his career
Jimmy Connors won two Grand Slam doubles titles in his career, both partnering Ilie Nastase. The pair's first Major win came at the 1973 Wimbledon Championships, where they beat Australians John Cooper and Neale Fraser 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 8-9(3), 6-1 in the final.
Their second triumph came at the 1975 US Open, where they defeated the Dutch-American duo of Tom Okker and Marty Riessen 6-4, 7-6 in the title clash. The American-Romanian pair also reached the final of the 1973 French Open.
All-in-all, Jimmy Connors won 16 doubles titles.