Jimmy Connors has plenty to celebrate from his superb career, but he still holds a grudge over the 1977 Wimbledon final.
Connors met defending champion Bjorn Borg in the final of Wimbledon in 1977, a tournament where plenty of intriguing storylines played out.
A certain John McEnroe reached the semi-finals on debut, with the qualifier eventually beaten by Connors in the last four.
Rod Laver meanwhile bowed out from Wimbledon, with the Australian having won the iconic event on four occasions.
But it was top two seeds Connors and Borg who went all the way, with the latter emerging victorious 3-6, 6-2, 6-1, 5-7, 6-4.
(Original Caption) Wimbledon: Bjorn Borg of Sweden kisses cup after winning the Men’s Singles Final here 7/22. He beat Jimmy Connors, USA, with sco…Jimmy Connors wants ‘10 more minutes’ of 1977 Wimbledon final v Bjorn Borg
The former has now looked back on the thrilling final in the latest episode of the Advantage Connors podcast, having been asked the question by his son Brett: “If you could play one more match at the top of your game, who would you most want to play of any player ever at the top of their game?”
Referencing the 1977 Wimbledon final, Connors replied: “All I want is 10 more minutes, and we did it with our buddy Bjorn Borg down when he was on our podcast.
“All I needed was 10 more minutes in the Wimbledon final. I came back from four love down in the fifth to get to four all, and then all of a sudden… collapse. I lost eight of the next nine points. All I needed was 10 more minutes.
“I know exactly what happened. Somebody from the stands made a comment. I’ll never forget it. I came back from four love, I was four all, 15 love, some guy made a comment, I turned around and answered his comment, and that’s where the s**t hit the fan.
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“I lost my concentration and played a loose point or two. The 10 minutes that I wanted was the 10 minutes for him. I look back on that and I’m saying ‘keep your mouth shut Connors’.”
Brett then commented: “I think sometimes when someone’s down four love or five love and they somehow get it all the way back on serve, then they relax…”
But Jimmy interjected: “No. That’s a good point though, it’s a very good point, but I was never like that. If I ever came back like that, I got more gritty, I wanted to get stuck in there more. But I let somebody break my concentration. That was the problem.
“I let somebody get to me, and that’s what I was very good at not letting happen, I let somebody get to me from the stands. I know his name to this day.
Photo by Lawrence Cotterell/Mirrorpix/Getty Images
“But it’s crazy… I keep telling you, we’ve talked about this many times on the podcast, a little thing can happen to change everything.
“A sound, a voice, a call, somebody from the stands, something, something, something. And that something was against me that day. I let that affect me.
“But I got over that in a hurry. I didn’t let that happen again. It could have cost me a Wimbledon win, could have.”
What was the head-to-head record between Jimmy Connors and Bjorn Borg?
Like Connors and McEnroe, Connors and Borg also played out an intense and exciting rivalry for many years.
The Swede certainly got the better of the American in terms of Grand Slam titles, with 11 major successes compared to eight.
READ MORE: Why Jimmy Connors once stormed off court and refused to play against John McEnroe during fiery match between the pair
And it is perhaps unsurprisingly a similar story in terms of their head-to-head record, with Borg boasting 15 wins compared to the eight of Connors from their 23 meetings.
TitlesAustralian OpenFrench OpenWimbledonUS OpenYearsBjorn Borg1106501974-1981Jimmy Connors810251974-1983Bjorn Borg and Jimmy Connors Grand Slam records
Both men have kept tabs on the sport they gave so much to during their playing careers, although Borg may need a new focus after his final Laver Cup in September.
The former Team Europe captain went out on a high in Berlin, with the hosts beating McEnroe’s Team World 13-11.
Photo by D Dipasupil/Getty Images
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