"It let me say to myself — forget everyone else — 'I’m back.'" - Jimmy Connors recalls career-changing win over McEnroe while discussing Sinner-Alcaraz rivalry

Jimmy Connors has achieved so much in the sport. He has won eight Grand Slam titles and been number one in the world for a total of 268 weeks. However, there was one match against the legendary John McEnroe which changed his fortunes and put him back on track.

On the Advantage Connors podcast, he and his son, Brett, discussed the recent ATP Finals matchup between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. The Italian came out on top in a brilliant display in his homeland. Despite the numerous encounters, Connors was still enjoying their intense rivalry.

"Because they consistently meet deep in tournaments — semifinals or finals — and their matches are extremely close," Connors stated. "Despite Alcaraz leading the head-to-head 10–6, they’ve won an identical number of total points across all meetings, which shows how evenly matched they are. Their contrasting strengths make every matchup compelling."

When asked if fans are being spoilt by this rivalry, Connors answered: "Yes, potentially. While their rivalry is great, variety matters for interest in the sport. But it’s not the top players’ fault — until someone else consistently challenges them, they’ll continue to dominate finals."

Sinner has now gone 31 matches unbeaten indoors. It is an incredible streak which has lasted since the 2023 Davis Cup. Despite this incredible form, Connors picked out an outlier. "His clean ball-striking, early timing, and pace benefit from indoor conditions where there’s no wind, stable bounce, and fast court speed. But the conversation noted the irony that even with the US Open roof closed — technically 'indoors' — Alcaraz still beat him decisively.

Felix Auger-Aliassime just made it into the top eight in the race to Turin after a brilliant end to the season culminated in reaching the Paris Masters final. He would continue his great form by clinching a brace of wins to sneak out of his group, where he was defeated by a rampant Alcaraz.

Despite this impressive result, Connors expects more from the Canadian. "I’m happy for him, but I hope he’s not satisfied. I hope he continues to grow, get better, and come out and win a Grand Slam," he stated. "He’s been around for a while—he’s not 22, he’s 25. He’s got eight titles, three of them this year, and 50 wins. He’s got an exciting game. Getting to the US Open semifinals and the matches he won created a lot of excitement. If he can beat Sinner and Alcaraz now, in their current versions, and get to a Slam final, he’d be a great addition to the top tier."

The other semi-finalist was Alex de Minaur. He found himself in a dark place after losing his first two matches, but a win over Taylor Fritz saw him sneak out of the 'Jimmy Connors' group in second. He was no match for Sinner, but he had finally ended his abysmal streak against top 10 players on the ATP Tour.

"No — you can never try too hard," Connors said, trying to pinpoint the troubling factor in the Aussie's game. "Your job is to try your ass off every point. But you’ve got to play within yourself. Don’t step out of your own box unless you’ve been beaten in every other way. Know what you’re good at and put that out there. Don’t ever give your opponent a win—make him earn it. Matches have ebbs and flows. You never know what’s going to happen on the other side of the net. Sticking in there is why it’s called a grind."

The eight-time Grand Slam champion disclosed how he remained calm in between points. "The crowd was always a big part of my matches, and they helped break the tension," he said. "I could concentrate when the ball was in play, but between points I let my mind wander. Not about dinner—but about my game, without worrying about the importance of the moment. It freed me up and helped me play the kind of tennis I wanted to play."

The American would joke with the crowd regularly, making him rather popular. "It became part of how I handled pressure. And it invited the crowd in," Connors admitted. "Whether you were for me or against me, you were there, and that was what mattered. If you were rooting against me, I wanted you to walk out saying, 'I wanted Connors to lose, but I want to see him play again.' I learned early that tennis is entertainment. People pay big money to watch us. We were selling the sport. Players like Nastase, Gerulaitis, McEnroe, Borg—we were all different characters. That variety brought people in. Rivalries and personalities made tennis grow in the ’70s and ’80s."

By 1978, Connors was a five-time Grand Slam champion. Aside from the Australian Open (competed twice between 1974-1975) he was going deep in these major events. Unfortunately, he could not get to the business end with a plethora of semi-finals halting his progress. However, a two-set comeback against McEnroe in the 1981 Tour Finals final ignited his confidence once more, as he went on to win another three major titles.

"I was down two sets to love. People had written me off for three years — I was a has-been, over the hill at 26 or 27," Connors said. "But I never got discouraged. I always thought I was on the brink. Beating Mac in ’81, when he was the best player in the world, changed everything. Coming back from two-sets-to-love down put me on a different plane with my confidence. It let me say to myself — forget everyone else — 'I’m back.' Confidence comes from within. And I never stopped working. I kept grinding to get back to the top."