Jimmy Connors

Here's a photo of my dad and me in front of the Jimmy Connors plaque at the Court of Champions at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Jimmy has been coaching Andy Roddick for just over a year. The teaming of these two has been interesting and fun to watch. Jimmy had been out of the public eye for years, and it was great for tennis fans when Roddick brought the entertaining Connors out of his self-imposed seclusion. Jimmy has always been a showman, and that remains true today. Watching Roddick live at the US Open, I always look over to Jimmy in between points. There's no question that Jimmy is still a passionate guy. having Jimmy back in tennis is good for the sport since it adds some much-needed personality to the game. Roddick and Connors have similar personalities, and it's been fun to see Jimmy helping Andy become more comfortable with his game. Andy has the misfortune of playing at the same time as Roger Federer, who is probably the best tennis player in history. The Roddick v. Federer match in the quarterfinals of the US Open was frustrating to watch. If Roddick had been playing any other player, he would have certainly won. But against Federer, who seems almost more machine than man (emphasized by his all-black Darth Vader-esque outfit at evening/night matches at the Open this year), Roddick lost 6-7, 6-7, 2-6. You know that Jimmy and Andy downed a 12-pack (or more) of beer after Andy's loss to Federer. There have been rumors, one of them here on kennethinthe(212), that Roddick and Connors would part ways, but that has yet to happen. I, for one, hope that Andy keeps Jimmy as his coach for a while because it makes the game more interesting. Plus it's fun when a smug married like Kenneth is wrong.