"Not famed for me" - When Jimmy Connors was asked to recall Wimbledon final defeat to Arthur Ashe
Jimmy Connors is one of the greatest players in tennis history. The American had a stellar career during which he won eight Grand Slam singles titles.
Connors also reached seven Major finals where he ended up on the losing side. One such instance came at the 1975 Wimbledon Championships.
Connors was the defending champion and top seed, and he reached the final without dropping a single set. After ousting eighth seed Raul Ramirez and 11th seed Roscoe Tanner, he had to face sixth seed Arthur Ashe in the title clash.
Ashe produced a fine performance to win 6-1, 6-1, 5-7, 6-4 and become the first African-American man to win the singles title at Wimbledon.
At the 2010 US Open, 35 years after the iconic match, Jimmy Connors was asked about it by a reporter. The former World No. 1 was asked if he could answer a question about his "famed" Wimbledon final against Arthur Ashe.
Connors responded by saying that the match was not famed from his point of view.
“Famed for who? Not famed for me," the American was quoted as saying by The New York Times.
Connors added that the final was so long ago that he could not even remember it.
"It was so long ago. I can't even remember it," he said.
The 1975 Wimbledon final was the only time Arthur Ashe beat Jimmy Connors. The latter won all of the other matches between the two, ending up with a 6-1 head-to-head lead.
The last encounter between the two came in the final of the 1979 US National Indoor Championships, with Connors winning 6-4, 5-7, 6-3.
Jimmy Connors won three titles at Wimbledon
Jimmy Connors has a pretty impressive record at Wimbledon, winning 84 out of 102 singles matches with two singles titles to his name.
His first tournament win came in 1974 when he beat Ken Rosewall 6-1, 6-1, 6-4 in the final. Connors' second and last singles title at the grasscourt Major came in 1982. This time, he beat John McEnroe 3-6, 6-3, 6-7(2), 7-6(5), 6-4 in the title clash.
The American also won a men's doubles title at Wimbledon in 1973, with Ilie Nastase as his partner. The pair beat the Australian duo of John Cooper and Neale Fraser in the title clash.