[Image credit: Wikimedia Commons]

We live in an era where three men – Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic – are rewriting tennis history as they dominate the sport in a manner that is completely unprecedented. Between the trio, they have won 56 Grand Slam titles. Yet there was a time where three other men might well have done the same.

Two Americans – Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe – and one Swede, the eponymous Björn Borg, were constantly in the limelight as the 1970’s gave way to the 1980’s. In total, they won 26 Grand Slam titles between them, but it may have been so many more. This week, we look at the third of the three men, Jimmy Connors, and how his refusal to give up the fight against two such impressive foes defined his success.

Playing with a left-handed style – just like McEnroe – Connors mopped up titles looking like a Rubber Soul era Beatle with his mop-top. Below that haircut existed a fiery temper and this was never better evidenced than when dealing with the srurly McEnroe. Both Americans went at it in this famous clash in 1982: