"I was never a team guy, I was always an individual": Jimmy Connors weighs in on Olympic Gold Medal v Grand Slam debate
Tennis NewsFriday, 20 October 2023 at 14:47
In a Listener Q&A, Jimmy Connors and his son Brett Connors were asked about what is better in terms of winning a Grand Slam and a Gold Medal.
Connors only had the chance to play the Olympics in the latter stages of his career so admits that he has less of a cause to pick that, but that he'd rather give somebody else a chance to enjoy it over himself and he'd rather take Grand Slam glory.
His son Brett also said that players like Alexander Zverev who have won gold say it's bigger but that in his eyes, he calls bluff on that as he has never won a Grand Slam. It is a debate that was also recently stirred up by Patrick Mouratoglou saying similar in that players value the Grand Slams over medals which Novak Djokovic himself refuted.
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“Players like Zverev who won gold say it’s bigger than a Grand Slam and I call bluff on that," said Brett Connors on the Advantage Connors Podcast.
“Everybody has their own priorities,” said Jimmy Connors in response. “For me, you’re right tennis in the Olympics came mostly when I was in the latter stages of my career. As I always say, I was never a team guy. I was always an individual. Wanted to take full responsibility when I won and I wanted the full responsibility when I lost.
Connors would rather give others the chance
“For me, you can call me selfish. Winning a Grand Slam would’ve been more important which would’ve given more people the opportunity to win the Gold Medal for the US. Everybody has their own thoughts, I would have rather won a Grand Slam but that’s just me.”
“If you’ve got a bunch of Grand Slams then sure an Olympic medal would be cool as it completes the resume," continued Brett Connors. But I find it interesting when he says (Zverev) that he’d rather have a medal than a Slam. He doesn’t have a Slam yet, but we will see what happens next year in Paris. We will see if Nadal plays, see how that goes, and who comes out on top there.”
Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.
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