Tennis Prose




Feb/23

5

Connors Compares Djokovic To Muhammad Ali

Jimmy Connors saluted Novak Djokovic on his podcast show he does with his son Brett “Advantage Connors”…

“He was on a mission.”

“Win or lose he’s not afraid to put it on the line, like Muhammad Ali, Joe Montana, Wayne Gretzky.”

“He was willing to do that [do whatever it takes].”

“Listen, I like him. The guy stood up for his beliefs. Right or wrong… And he was willing to stick by that to the point of being ostracized from the game. That’s brutal. And listen, I can identify. I was ostracized from the French and from some tournaments and stuff like that. You know what the hell… Going there and do your job ! You know, WIN ! That’s the only way to get even. And I hate to say that because it sounds like: Oh God, he is angry. You know I am not angry. I just know… How many of those people who crapped on him last year and all that, are kissing his ass now.”

Connors won eight Grand Slam titles including five US Opens and two Wimbledons.

In a Biofile interview I did with Jimmy Connors in the late 2000s in New York City he said one of his favorite athletes to watch was Muhammad Ali. “I admired and respected a lot of people but I didn’t have any heroes. That was not out of disrespect. I liked certain guys for certain reasons. I like athletes who weren’t afraid to put their reputation on the line. Give everything they had and rose to the occasion. One guy who comes to mind is Muhammad Ali. I’d drive all over to watch his closed-circuit fights. I liked his attitude, the way he went about it. He was something.”

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