Jimmy Connors was part of a golden era of tennis, with the American enjoying rivalries with the likes of fellow stars Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe.
Connors wishes he could replay the 1977 Wimbledon final against Borg, where the latter beat the former 3-6, 6-2, 6-1, 5-7, 6-4.
The American icon meanwhile took his tense run-ins with McEnroe onto the ATP Senior Tour of Champions.
Connors stormed off court versus McEnroe in 1998, with the pair having not seen eye-to-eye during many tussles.
Borg, Connors and McEnroe all ended their illustrious careers as multiple major champions, with the Swede leading the way with 11.
Jimmy Connors says different styles have emerged in different eras
Connors meanwhile clinched eight Grand Slam titles before retiring, one more than his old nemesis McEnroe.
The former has now looked back on his era in tennis, comparing it to that of the Big Three of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
“Going back to talking about mine [era],” Connors said on the Advantage Connors podcast. “Everybody had their own style, and attitude and personality.
“We were mixing three into the one. We knew that at the time it was in the late 60’s early 70’s tennis needed a change, to go from small stadiums to 20,000 seat stadiums.
“It just happened to be at a time when you had a bunch of guys who not only were good but had their own style and personality and were big in their own countries.
“Tennis at that time was pretty international too. And so we had clay court players and fast court players and serve and volley players and guys like [Bjorn] Borg who weren’t afraid to stay back and then surprise and do something different along the way.
“Then you get into this era with Djokovic, Nadal and Federer and you kind of had the same thing. They had their own games. Nobody is going to play like Nadal, it’s impossible, you can’t do it. Federer the same.
“Djokovic the same way once he started moving forward, he changed his game to make a move which said if I am going to beat these guys I am going to have to do this (make a change).”
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner take over from Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer
Federer will certainly be remembered for his grace and elegance on the court, with Nadal having really pushed the boundaries of tenacity.
A resilient Djokovic meanwhile is still going strong, with the Serbian able to extend his lead in the all-time men’s Grand Slam leaderboard this season.
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He is the perfect chance to do exactly that as early as next month, with the 37-year-old eyeing a record-extending 11th Australian Open title.
One part of Djokovic is certain to miss being pushed all the way by Nadal after his retirement last month, although another Spaniard in Carlos Alcaraz has taken over the mantle effortlessly.
The Big Three in tennis has disappeared, but Alcaraz and world number one Jannik Sinner now just need another rival to generate a new edition of the stunning rivalry that once dominated the ATP Tour for so long.
Djokovic is, of course, very much still in that conversation, particularly if he can get back to Grand Slam winning ways in 2025.
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