Jimmy Connors once claimed Arthur Ashe had made a big ‘mistake’ about him and the comment which he really ‘resented’

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Jimmy Connors managed to pick up one or two fierce rivals during his time on the court, such was his hugely successful career.

Connors played Bjorn Borg at his peak, with the American having also taken on the likes of iconic figures John McEnroe and Ivan Lendl.

John Newcombe labelled Connors a ‘great competitor’, with the latter winning eight Grand Slam titles throughout his phenomenal career.

Connors was mostly successful at the US Open, where we won five titles, with two coming at Wimbledon and the other coming at the Australian Open.

But after winning his first Wimbledon title in 1974, Connors was issued with a shock final defeat by fellow American legend Arthur Ashe the following year.

Jimmy Connors said he ‘sure won a lot’ after criticism from Arthur Ashe

Their strained relationship was addressed by Connors in his autobiography ‘The Outsider‘ back in 2013, in which he felt the need to respond to criticism that Ashe had of his game.

“Understandably, Arthur was desperate to win in South Africa, maybe more so than in any other tournament,” wrote Connors. “I later read that he had identified the weaknesses in my game that he intended to exploit.

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“They were as follows: My serve (I’ll give him that – it was only as good as it needed to be). My forehand (only in comparison with my backhand, which was only the best in the game. Quiet – this is my book).

“Shots with no pace (people always said that, but I never saw it as a weakness). My overhead (just because I’m short? I resent that).

“Ashe’s mistake was to underestimate my groundstrokes, just as he had in Boston, and I blew him away in three straight sets for my 17th tournament win. With so many weaknesses, I sure won a lot.”

What was the head-to-head record between fierce rivals Jimmy Connors and Arthur Ashe?

The 1975 Wimbledon final between Connors and Ashe was one of seven meetings that took place in their fantastic careers.

But remarkably it represented the latter’s only victory, although the former did withdraw from their 1978 Masters round robin tie.

READ MORE: Jimmy Connors told the ATP youngster he could ‘easily’ make a top 10 player if he became his new coach

The pair certainly didn’t see eye-to-eye in and around their Wimbledon final, with Connors in 1974 having started filing lawsuits against the ATP and its president at the time, Ashe, after the former was banned from the French Open that year.

Ashe was also annoyed about the refusal of Connors to play for the United States Davis Cup team, with Time magazine in 1975 sharing insight into their strained relationship.

“Not surprisingly, Connors has alienated most of his fellow pros,” the article read. ‘He ain’t one of the boys,’ says Arthur Ashe. ‘Right now he’s sorely misguided. We hardly say hello’.”