Playing Jimmy Connors

I'll never forget the first time I saw Connors play. I'll never forget the first time I ever saw Jimmy Connors. I grew up in St. Louis and learned to play at a clay court club where a lot of the great St. Louis players like Butch Buchholz also played when they were young. One day when I was 9, I was on the way to the courts with my dad and he said on the way over, "You should see this kid Jimmy Connors. He's ranked three in the nation. He's going to be hitting today and I want you to take a look at him." And I'll never forget walking down the path to the little clubhouse and then seeing Jimmy on the court hitting there. Everyone at the club was watching, including my dad and some of the other men players. Jimmy was 12 years old and was on his way to the Nationals. People were saying things like "Look how deep he's hitting the ball." A backhand that you couldn't attack. "He's hitting every ball two feet from the baseline. That's what you want to do." And that was his mother Gloria Connors. That was her...