Players involved: Jimmy Connors and Gene Mayer
- Jimmy Connors. “Jimbo”; world number 1; the greatest returner of all time
Jimmy Connors, born in 1952, was one of the greatest tennis players of his time. Coached by his mother, Gloria, Connors was one of the first few players to hit the ball flat and mostly down the baseline. Raising the ball, his game will be very influential for future generations of tennis players. “Jimbo” turned professional in 1972 and became world No. 1 in 1974. In fact, he won three of the four Grand Slams that year and was disqualified. Roland Garrosfourth, because of the lawsuit filed against “ATP”.
Connors remained atop the ATP rankings for a record 160 consecutive weeks between 1974 and 1977. Losing his throne to Bjorn Borg on August 23, 1977, for just one week, he regained it the following week and remained on top for another 84 weeks until the spring of ’79. weeks as world No. 1 and had won five Grand Slam titles Australian Open (1974), Wimbledon (1974) and US Open Championship (1974, 1976, 1978).
In later years, Connors did not perform as well as in his prime, failing to reach a single Grand Slam final for three years. However, 1982 was the year he returned to his prime. In the final months of the season, Jimbo regained his winning form, winning both Wimbledon (defeating John McEnroe in an epic final, 3-6, 6-3, 6-7, 7-6, 6-4) and US Open (Defeating Ivan Lendl in the final, 6-3, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4). Thanks to these results, Connors regained the world No. 1 spot on September 13, 1982.
- Gene Mayer. Former World No. 4 and also from the United States of America
Born in 1956, Gene Mayer, the son of a former tennis coach, began his career in 1975. A two-hander on both sides, he won his first title in 1978 in Guadalajara, defeating John Newcombe (6-3, 6-4) in the final. In the following years, he added 11 more titles to his list of achievements, the most important of which was in 1981, when he defeated Roscoe Tanner (6-2, 6-4) in the final of the US Open tennis championship in Memphis.
He reached the quarterfinals of three “Grand Slam” tournaments (Wimbledon in 1981 and 1982, US Open in 1982). Mayer achieved his highest ranking as world No. 4 in 1980, the year he recorded his only victory against Björn Borg in the Masters Cup quarter-finals (6-0, 6-3). In October 1982, he was ranked 6th in the world.
Venue: Hordern Pavilion, Sydney
The Australian Sydney Championship was established in 1973 and was held indoors. It was first won by the Australian legend Rod Lever, who defeated compatriot John Newcombe in the final (3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4). However, American players took over the event in the following years, with Jimmy Connors winning in 1977 and 1978, followed by Vitas Gerulaitis in 1979 and John McEnroe in 1980 and 1981.
Facts: Connors loses his rag, loses the game
On October 17, 1982, when Jimmy Connors began his semi-final match against Gene Mayer at the Australian Open in Sydney, he was a heavy favorite and everyone was already anticipating a final against his arch-rival John McEnroe. Not only did Connors win both Wimbledon and the US Open, but she also regained the world No. 1 ranking in September. Also, he had never lost to Mayer before.
However, Connors appeared nervous early on and Mayer took the first set 6-2, even as the recent US Open champion received his first warning when he angrily addressed a match official. Tensions came to a head in the second set with a series of incidents between the world No 1 and chair umpire Peter Duncan. By: The New York Times, “The situation almost got out of hand when Duncan first made the decision that Mayer was in, then out, then back in.”
At that stage, as he called the referee, Connors told Duncan: “One of us has to go.” When referee Bill Gilmour arrived, the American was furious. “This guy hasn’t been in control of the game since we started and I want you to take him out,” he reportedly said. The country.
Gilmour made the point again, but his work wasn’t done yet, as Connors refused to restart the match with Duncan still in the chair. Finally, the chair umpire was replaced at the start of the sixth game of the second set.
Although Connors took the second set, this referee change didn’t stop him from going down to Mayer for the first time in his career, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2.
Next: Mayer loses to McEnroe. Connors hits another slam
In the final, Gene Mayer will lose to current champion John McEnroe (6-4, 6-1, 6-4). A few weeks later, he would play an important role in the Davis Cup final against France, defeating Henri Leconte on the opening day (6-2, 6-2, 7-9, 6-4).
Jimmy Connors last won a major at the 1983 US Open, setting a career record 268 weeks as world No. 1. This record was broken by Ivan Lendl in 1990 by just two weeks. Jimbo would remain a top 10 player until April 1989 at age 37. In 1991, at the age of 39, he had a memorable semi-final run at the US Open before bowing out to Jim Currier (6-3, 6-3, 6-2). By the end of his long career, he would hold a record 109 titles on tour. Although he would reappear from time to time after that, Jimmy Connors would retire at the end of 1992.
