Jimmy Connors: "Ilie Nastase beat me a number of times in a row... Finally my mom said, 'If you don't beat him, he's going to lose respect for you'"

Jimmy Connors has named Ilie Nastase as the player he hated to face during his career.

Connors played his first match against Nastase in the quarterfinals of the 1972 Wimbledon Championships. The American, who was six years junior to the Romanian, lost the match in straight sets.

Nastase would go on to dominate Connors in multiple matches that followed over the years. However, by the time they faced each other again at a Grand Slam, Connors had turned the tables on Nastase.

At the 1982 US Open, the American and the Romanian contested a Round of 16 match and this time, it was Connors who stormed to victory in straight sets.

Despite their fierce on-court rivalry, Connors and Nastase maintained a friendly relationship off the court. They also paired up to clinch the doubles titles at the 1973 Wimbledon Championships and the 1975 US Open.

Overall, Connors and Nastase faced each other 27 times. While the Romanian won 10 of their first 11 meetings, Connors dominated 11 of their final 14 matches.

Recently, during an episode of the Advantage Connors podcast, Connors was asked to name the opponent who he hated to play against.

"Right off the bat, I would say, it was my good friend Ilie Nastase and the reason I say that is we were too good of friends." the former World No. 1 said. (14:35)

The 8-time singles Grand Slam winner also revisited the first half of their rivalry, when he struggled to get the better of Nastase. According to Connors, his mother Gloria spoke to him about the importance of beating the Romanian.

"He beat me a number of times in a row. I think 8 times in a row at the beginning. Finally, your grandma (to his son Brett), my mom said, "Listen, if you don't step up and beat him, he's going to lose respect for you," and it was true."

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When Jimmy Connors called Ilie Nastase one of the all-time greats

Jimmy Connors at the 2012 US Open

Nastase, a top men's tennis player in the 1970s, is often overlooked in 'all-time greats' discussions due to the limited Grand Slam singles titles to his name (2). However, in May 2023, Connors hailed Nastase as one of the best to ever play the game.

The American lauded the Romanian's talent, ability and movement. He also stated that Nastase had everything that's needed to become the greatest men's tennis player ever. However, Connors went on to admit that Nastase failed to reach his potential due to mental issues.

"He would just kind of go off the map and kind of lose it and once he lost it, he couldn't get it back," Connors said on a previous episode of Advantage Connors.