Tennis Prose




Feb/11

14

Brett Connors: The Tennis-Prose Interview

Tennis Channel producer Brett Connors discusses his involvement with tennis, memories of his father Jimmy’s career and much more in this fascinating exclusive interview…

Tennis-prose.com: Brett Connors what is your first memory of tennis?

Brett Connors: “My earliest tennis related memories would have to have been at the U.S. Open in Flushing Meadows. Everything, from the ride out from the city to walking onto the grounds with my father, having people rush up to him asking him for his autograph and giving him shouts of support. I can still remember the funky smell of the old locker room with its orange metal lockers, sitting in the trainer’s room with pops as he got treatment from good friend and trainer Bill Norris, who was a staple on the Tour for years. But my favorite memory of being at the Open was the long walk from the locker room to center court. The crowd would part like the red sea as the two players would make their way to the Stadium, almost as if they were two heavyweight fighters preparing for battle. The people would cheer and pat their favorite player on the back, and I knew this fired my father up as he always felt a sort of kinship with the New York fans. I feel that this is missing in today’s game as players are sheltered and kept away from the average fan, who, are the ones who make tennis great.”

“I can remember sitting in Louis Armstrong Stadium with my mother and friends and watching my father play his epic night matches and we would cheer him on. There was a tunnel leading into the Stadium where the players would walk onto the court and our seats were right along side it making it easy for me to escape from the long tennis matches to go back and hit tennis balls myself. I would hit balls against the brick wall underneath the Stadium, pretending it was me that the people were cheering for. And when the umpire would say, game Connors, I would think it meant that I was playing well, and had a good chance to beat the brick wall! Then I would load up on pretzels and soda at the snack shop and go watch him finish off his latest victim. After the match we would go in for his TV interview with Brent Musburger, sit in on the press conference and head back into the city, and get ready to do it all again a couple nights later.”

Tennis-prose.com: Why do you love tennis?

Brett Connors: “Having grown up around tennis, I think what makes me a fan of watching and participating in it, is the fact that it is an individual sport. Being around my father has instilled a sort of ‘me against the world’ mentality when it comes to playing sports, and this is the case with tennis. When you are out on the court it’s just you and the other person across the net, no teammates to bail you out when the going gets tough, only you and your racquet. While tennis is a very physically demanding sport it is also so much mental, this is what really differentiates the good players from the great ones, the ability to problem solve and think on the go.”

“I think that once you get to a certain level most players have all of the shots, most pros have a really good serve and can hit forehand and backhand. What makes the greats, great is they can change their game mid-match, if something’s not working, then do something else, be fluid with their game and never give up. I always like to say that tennis is just boxing with racquets, what your opponent does has a direct impact on what you do. This is why I like tennis, along with golf, and boxing, I like that if I do well I get all of the praise, and if I don’t then I take all of the blame. In team sports you can always say someone else didn’t do this or should have done that and I never liked that aspect of team sports. You can’t win a Grand Slam trophy while riding the bench like in basketball or football, its all you, for good and for bad. So the individual sports like tennis are my favorite, they are the ultimate way of weeding out whether you really have what it takes.”

Tennis-prose.com: How often do you play and what other sports do you play?

Brett Connors: “I am a huge NFL fan, as far as watching it, I never played organized football but it is by far my favorite to follow. I play fantasy football with a group of buddies every year which only makes it more fun to keep up with, I happen to be the two-time defending champion by the way [laughs]. But my Miami Dolphins have not been good for a long time which makes it tough as a lifelong fan. But maybe now with Serena and Venus being part-owners all of our problems will be solved.”

“I am more of a casual tennis player these days, while growing up I played a lot, especially when I would travel with my father during summers when he was still on Tour or playing Team Tennis, or the Senior Tour. I learned the game from my grandmother Gloria who also taught my father, she is who gave me my fundamentals and taught me about what it took to be great. Now I didn’t end up being great, but I feel her teachings have given me a unique aspect into the game itself, and now I use this when watching the sport, covering it for my job or just when playing it with friends. I played at the junior level until I was around 13 years old, and then I got introduced to golf, which I fell in love with. I played golf in high school all four years at the varsity level, and because tennis and golf were played during the same season I chose golf, one because I liked it more and also because I was better at it. I also played in college for a couple years at the University of Arizona until a wrist injury interrupted my plans of taking on Tiger. I still play a lot on weekends and when I visit my pops as he is also a rabid golfer who plays with his friends a few times a week.”

“I still enjoy playing tennis very much, it is great exercise, it gets me outdoors and is a fun social game that brings people together. I try and play as much as possible, whether it’s with friends or when I see my father. When we hit he still tells me what I am doing wrong and what I do well as if I am still that nine year old kid learning the game. I need to work on my backhand and footwork he says, so I guess my game is a work in progress, just like most of us.”

Tennis-prose.com: Who are some players you like to watch?

Brett Connors: “As far as players in today’s game I enjoy watching, I would have to say a guy like Nadal because he gives you so much. He leaves everything he’s got on the court and in a lot ways reminds me of the way my father played. He realizes that people love that in their athletes and he gives them a show every time he steps foot on the court. People don’t just want to see their tennis stars going through the motions out there because in the end it is entertainment as well as sport. Nadal also seems like a humble, down-to-earth guy who really enjoys what he does.”

“I also enjoy watching Juan Martin Del Potro play, he hits the ball hard and flat and is an absolute beast from the baseline. I was really happy to see him win the Open a couple years ago. I actually was hitting some balls a couple courts down from him indoors in 2009 when he won on the weekend when play was rained out for the day. The sound that his ball made coming off the racquet was ridiculous, it just sounded like a loud thud as if someone was hitting a sack of potatoes with a ball peen hammer. I hope that he gets back healthy soon, the sport misses him a great deal. As far as young guys, I like Cilic but he seems to go up and down a lot with his play, he needs to work on being more consistent, a guy with his talents shouldn’t be losing matches any earlier than the quarters. I really think this Canadian kid Milos Raonic could be good for a long time if he continues on the path he is on, it’s funny to think that the next great North American hope isn’t coming from the U.S. but from Canada. He has a huge serve, and has a nice compact backswing on his forehand, big guys sometimes get lost with too big of a looping backswing and this makes them need even more time which doesn’t help with their already lacking movement. I really think he is someone to keep an eye on, looking forward to him making some noise on the fast grass at Wimbledon for years to come.”

Tennis-prose.com: What did you do after college?

Brett Connors: “I went to the University of Arizona for two years before taking a break to intern with the Phoenix Suns and do some work on my father’s Senior Tour for a couple years. I ended up getting my degree from Cal State University at Northridge which is just outside of Los Angeles. I majored in communication with a minor in Business studies.

Tennis-prose.com: What do you remember from your dad’s unforgettable 1991 U.S. Open run?

Brett Connors: “I remember a lot about his 1991 run at the Open, I was 12 years old at the time and had been in New York for a couple weeks prior to the start of the tournament. We stayed with our good friend Vitas Gerulaitis and his mother while my father practiced with Vitas everyday for a couple hours to get used to the New York heat. He had missed the previous year’s Open because of a bad wrist injury, and most people had written him off because of his age thinking he was done. I know this was a major motivating factor for him to prove those naysayers wrong. I was also with him for the warm-up tournament in Long Island where he got to the quarterfinals and lost a tough three-setter to the eventual 1991 Open champ Stefan Edberg.”

“So I remember him feeling confident going into the Open, his whole year had been geared towards preparing himself for those two weeks. As far as the Open itself, he sent my younger sister, mom and I home a few days before the start of the tournament so that we would not be a distraction for him. I remember being upset as I wanted to be a part of it with him, but now that I am older realize how much you have to tune out during a Grand Slam especially the Open in New York City.”

“I remember watching the first two sets of the Patrick McEnroe match and feeling a bad feeling in my gut like, this is not good. After he lost the second and got down a break in the third I turned it off and went over to my friend’s house to play video games and take my mind off the match. A couple hours later I get a call from my mom to turn the dang television on, that your dad is about to win this thing in five sets. I quickly grabbed the remote and turned on USA Network and there was pops serving for the match at 1 in the morning with a couple thousand loyal fans still in attendance. Thus began one of the most talked about runs in U.S. Open history, fist pumps and all!”

“I remember the next two matches he won somewhat easily, and watching them on tape delay on the west coast with family and friends. That is when the talk and momentum began to grow. Next up, his epic fourth round match against fellow American Aaron Krickstein, who he had beaten earlier in the year at Wimbledon in straights that I was lucky enough to be in the stands for. What most people don’t know is that Aaron and my dad were friends, he had spent a week at our ranch a few years earlier practicing and watched the Super Bowl together. But they were not friends on this day. I remember watching it with my mother and sweating out every point, pacing across the living room as they went back in forth all afternoon. At one point my mom said, Get in the car we are going to church to light a candle and pray that your dad gets through this. So we went up to the Mission where we attended Sunday mass and said a prayer hoping it would be answered letting pops win this one on his 39th birthday, and then went home to find him down 2-5 in the fifth set. As we know he fought his way back into the match tooth and nail and pulled out the dramatic victory in the tiebreak, answering our ‘prayers.’ I will always remember the crowd singing happy birthday to him on the court as he did the post match interview, and running off the court into the arms of longtime friend Vitas Gerulaitis.”

“The Haarhuis match, I watched with longtime friend John Heller in L.A., I can remember him losing the first set and Paul serving for the second set up 5-4. Dad came up with two great returns stretched out wide to set up a break point and maybe one of the most memorable points in tennis history. When the first lob went up I figured point over, but Haarhuis didn’t put it away, and pops, who never gives up, just kept making him hit one more shot. By the time of the fourth overhead I think Paul was out of gas and pops saw his opening and hit the backhand up the line to make it 5-5. Haarhuis was done after that point, the crowd was 100% against him and if he had to work that hard to win a point with four chances to put it away and still lost it, what would it take to win the whole match. He went on to win the second set in the tiebreak, and next two sets pretty easily.”

“His run came to an end when he came up against Jim Courier in the semis, it was probably the one player he couldn’t have beaten that tournament. Jim was young and could play for hours, grinding out long points which, for dad was tough at age 39, he played well but lost in three sets. I remember Jim being almost apologetic when they shook hands at the net, knowing that he had just ended this amazing sports story that not only captivated the tennis world, but the entire sporting community in general. I always wished that dad had gotten Edberg in the semis because he had success against him, going 6-6 in his career against him, even though Stefan was 13 years younger than him. Plus he had smoked him at the Open just two years ealier. But, that’s not the way it played out. I will always remember those two weeks as my most exciting tennis memories growing up, even though I wasn’t in attendance. The way he played made everyone watching on their couch at home feel as if they were right there on court with him.”

Tennis-prose.com: Who are some of the players you have met along the way?

Brett Connors: “I met most of the guys my father played against while I grew up, but it wasn’t until he started his Senior Tour that I got to know them better. I know John and Bjorn some, and they have always been nice to me and we have had some fun times together when the Tour would go around the country. I recently worked on a documentary on tennis legend Vitas Gerulaitis and we interviewed them both and they were very eloquent in speaking about their long-time friend who died tragically in 1994 from carbon monoxide poisoning. As far as guys I am closest to who played with my pops, I would have to say guys like Eddie Dibbs, John Lloyd, and Jose Louis Clerc. I see them whenever I can and we have dinner and catch up on life and the goings-on in tennis. Also players like Vilas, Kriek, Navratilova, Evert, and Wilander have all been very nice to me and I have enjoyed speaking with them whenever I see them around on Tour.”
“Ilie Nastase, and his ex-wife are my godparents so I try and run into him whenever he is in the States. Don’t know as many guys on Tour today, I know Andy Roddick a little from the time he spent working with my father a few years ago. He’s a good guy and I always shoot the breeze with him when I run into him at a tournament.”

Tennis-prose.com: Which players remind you of your dad’s playing style and mentality?

Brett Connors: “I would say guys like Nadal, and Ferrer because of their willingness to stay out there as long as it takes to try and get the job done. Also you know when they walk off the court they gave you everything they had and people watching appreciate that, a lot. As far as playing style, maybe a guy like Nalbandian or Del Potro, because they have great groundstroke’s and hit the ball hard and flat like he did. On the woman’s side, I guess Serena Williams, just because she wants it so much and will fight you to edge of the world to beat you. She is so emotional and isn’t afraid to show it, even if it gets her into trouble sometimes that reminds me of pops very much.”

Tennis-prose.com: Talk about working for The Tennis Channel.

Brett Connors: “Working for The Tennis Channel as been a great learning experience, when I started here a few years ago I didn’t know a lot about the television business. But my knowledge and background around tennis helped fill in some of those gaps while I had the chance to learn as I went along. I am lucky enough to work on a instructional show called Tennis Channel Academy where we work with some of the biggest names in coaching on a variety of techniques, and teaching levels. We do eight shows a year which helps keep me busy and I get to travel to the different locations where the academies are based. We also do about 30 One Minute Clinics a year, I am sure you see them during our broadcasts, they are little one minute lessons that play during commercial breaks. I have also worked on the show Tennisography some and we just premiered Signature Series: Vitas Gerulaitis, which meant a lot to me to be a part of as I was very close friends with him growing up. We played a lot of golf together on the Senior Tour and I spent numerous summers staying with him and his mother in New York playing golf and tennis. It was really nice being able to do the show and present it to his sister Ruta who I am still friends with to this day.”

“When I am not working on original programming I work on our Grand Slam coverage, either from our studio in L.A. or traveling to the events themselves. I had the privilege of field producing our coverage at the U.S. Open and Wimbledon last years, and was a Feature Producer for our French Open coverage at Roland Garros. So tennis keeps me pretty busy, which is good. It has been a part of my life since I was two weeks old and traveled to my first tournament and I see it continuing to be as long as I am around, and that’s just fine by me!”

The Los Angeles-based Connors recently started a twitter account to share his opinions on tennis and everything else that pops in his head. If you’d like to follow Brett Connors on Twitter his account is brett_connors@twitter

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15 comments

  • Margot Collins · February 14, 2011 at 4:33 pm

    A good read, Brett is grounded and a sensible young man.
    Good to have Jimbo on board the tennis channel scene as
    he is a living legend.
    Hope Jimmy tells his story of life, on and off the court,as a celebration with brett to gather the info and
    detail the trills and spills.
    We miss Jimmy at the BBC during Wimbledon as we want to
    hear a champion’s view on how to win on the big stage.

  • Dan Markowitz · February 14, 2011 at 5:26 pm

    Very interesting post, Scoop. Never have met Brett Connors, but he sounds like a thoughtful, good guy. Very interesting dynamic being Jimmy Connors’s son. I find it interesting that none of McEnroe’s or Connors’s children became tennis players, and yet Brett says that to this day, when he hits with his dad, Jimmy is giving him tips as if he could still develop into a player.

    Connors and McEnroe had most of their kids in their 20’s and I had my son in my 40’s, and I’m competitive in sports, but nowhere at the level of Mac and Connors in that character trait. But I know that my son will have to battle with me on the basketball court–if I can still run in five years when he’s around ten–and the tennis court and if I were still running long distance on the roads–which I’m not–my other true passion sports-wise, to beat me in all three of those endeavors. It’s not going go come easy for him, and I wonder, and if Brett reads this if he’ll answer this question:

    What was it like growing up competing with your dad on the tennis court or golf links? I can’t imagine Brett ever beat his dad in tennis, maybe now if Jimmy can’t get to those drop shots with the replaced hip, but probably not even now. Did Jimmy want Brett to become a great tennis player or was that role exclusively his in the family?

  • Scoop Malinowski · February 15, 2011 at 1:04 am

    Welcome to the site Margot. Glad you enjoyed the interview with Brett Connors, it was fascinating to learn his perspectives on tennis and he definitely has a lot to offer the tennis world. It’s great that a son of a legend has such a strong love for the sport and enjoys to be around it. Jimmy Connors hopefully will write his biography someday. All great champions from every sport should write their biography, to leave something tangible behind rather than just memories, films, etc. I mean 100 years from now, how do you explain what Jimmy did in 1991? A great book could be written about just his 1991 run alone. IMagine how great a book could be on his life and career.

  • Scoop Malinowski · February 15, 2011 at 1:20 am

    RP said Brett is a really cool guy, he really liked him after meeting at Indian Wells. Then I walked by him at US Open hallway at the entrance and I realized it was him and said, Brett Connors! And he goes That’s me. Cool dude and it comes across in the interview. Chip off the old blocker. I read a lot of tennis interviews and this one is one of the most fascinating ones I’ve ever enjoyed to do and hear all the answers. I literally did not want it to end. Hopefully there will be a part two at some point.

  • Richard Pagliaro · February 16, 2011 at 12:03 am

    Fascinating interview. Enjoyed it very much. Will never forget that US Open semi when Brett came over to support his dad and Jimmy kind of tousled his hair. Such a personable and memorable moment between father and son. I was lucky enough to meet Brett at Indian Wells last year and he was a very cool guy – struck me as very knowledgeable and passionate about the game. In fact, was sitting near him when Baghdatis beat Fed for the first time and he was just as into the match as me. That was a very exciting conclusion (Bag won in 3rd-set tie breaker).
    Great interview – really enjoyed reading it.
    Dan when your son is old enough to face you in hoops I envision a scene similar to Robert Duvall playing one-on-one vs. his son in The Great Santini 🙂

  • Dan Markowitz · February 16, 2011 at 12:00 pm

    Maybe so, Rich. Although, the Great Santini was a lot younger than me when he took on the son in that book. You know Pat Conroy, who wrote the book, wrote a great memoirs about playing Division I college ball at the Citadel.

    I think for a boy, our ultimate competitor is always our father, if he plays the sport. My father took up tennis later in his life, having grown up in the Bronx in the 1930’s, but he loved the game and had a very unorthodox, but pretty effective game. I still remember the last time I played him. He was dropping me off in Washington D.C. on the eve of my attending law school at G.W. And we found a public court, as he and I always did–never played on a club court with him. And even though he was 62 and I was 25, we played singles and I beat him badly, maybe he got a game or two in two sets. I was merciless. I had played college tennis and had just returned from living in California where my game got better and I wanted to show him that I was the king of the courts in our family now.

    Seems like a ridiculous, vain thing to do, but it was my way of saying, The times have a changed, which I guess we all want to say to our fathers at some point.

  • Sid Bachrach · February 17, 2011 at 12:43 am

    Great interview. Maybe Scoop can do a follow up interview and see what Brett has to say about Bjorn Borg. Jimmy was the king of tennis until Bjorn started beating Jimmy just about every big match they played aside from two US finals. But they still had none of the rancor that Jimmy had with John McEnroe. In Andre Agassi’s autobiography, Andre talked alot about how Jimmy Connors was rude to him and treated him like he was nothing, both when Andre was a kid in Las Vegas and again when Jimmy and Andre were in the locker room before their 1998 US Open match. In contrast, Andre writes about how kind Bjorn was to him (Andre) when Borg came to Las Vegas to play a tournament and Andre’s father brought Andre to hit with the pros. It would also be interesting to hear Brett’s take on Andre’s book and what Andre had to say about Jimmy.

  • Sid Bachrach · February 17, 2011 at 12:44 am

    oops meant to say 1988 US Open match, not 1998.

  • Scoop Malinowski · February 17, 2011 at 1:04 pm

    Great points taken Sid.

  • Jan Gustafson · March 14, 2011 at 1:06 am

    I absolutely loved this article. It was fascinating to read Brett’s memories of his father’s career. Jimmy has always been so private about his personal life, so it was especially cool to learn a little more about his son and his son’s thoughts about the game of tennis.

  • Scoop Malinowski · March 14, 2011 at 12:53 pm

    Same here Jan. Was blown away by this article, so interesting in so many ways. Welcome to our site,

  • Ron · June 2, 2011 at 5:01 am

    Interesting interview. I witnessed Jimmy and Brett hitting balls today on our local public courts, so I searched for something about the son. His strokes are not very good, and Jimmy was doing all he could to help.

    Watching JC hit balls on a public court is like going back in time. . . the 70’s.

  • Scoop Malinowski · June 2, 2011 at 4:00 pm

    Hi Ron; That’s interesting, Jimmy must be getting pumped up watching the French Open coverage and training for his WTT match against John McEnroe coming up in July. Welcome to the site.

  • Bert · March 4, 2012 at 4:07 pm

    There was no mention of his brother. What is he doing?

  • Scoop Malinowski · March 4, 2012 at 4:47 pm

    Bert, Brett has one sister her name is Aubree.

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