"They were the only ones who would listen to me, yell and scream and b***h" - Jimmy Connors on how his dogs helped him deal with retirement

Tennis legend Jimmy Connors recently said that his pet dogs helped him in dealing with the retirement blues.

Connors, one of thirteen men to win three or more major singles titles in a calendar year, turned professional in 1972 and went on to play till 1996, well into his mid-40s.

The American reached the final of the US Open in five straight years from 1974 through 1978, winning three times. He won the Grand Slam two more times during his career. Connors won a total of eight Grand Slams during his time on the ATP Tour.

In the latest edition of the former player's Advantage Connors podcast, he spoke with Casey Defranco, a long-time family friend and co-author of his book "The Outsider".

During their conversation, Connors was asked how he was able to give up competing at the highest level. He responded by saying it was quite hard for him to sit at home post retirement, but his dogs saved his day by giving him good company.

"You know who saved me from that (boredom), outside of me sitting right here, it was my dogs. We had six dogs at the time. We had two Goldens, we had two Schnauzers. We had Huskey and Buddy," he said (34.14 to 34.34).

"They (dogs) were the only ones who would listen to me, yell and scream and b***h and mourn and everything and still come upand you know sleep on you," he added (35.20 to 35.28).

Jimmy Connors was the World No. 1 for 268 weeks

Jimmy Connors at the Wimbledon Championship in 1976

Jimmy Connors reached the ATP World No. 1 ranking in July 1974 and held it for 160 consecutive weeks, a record until it was surpassed by Roger Federer in February 2007. He was the ATP year-end No. 1 player from 1974 through 1978 and held the No. 1 ranking for a total of 268 weeks during his career.

He lost the No. 1 ranking for only one week, from August 23 to August 30, 1977, before resuming as No. 1 for another 84 weeks. Jimmy Connors experienced a resurgence in his career in the eighties, defeating arch-rival John McEnroe in five close sets to win the 1982 Wimbledon Championships. He also beat Ivan Lendl to win the 1982 US Open to reclaim the No. 1 ranking that year.

Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe and Ivan Lendl traded the No. 1 ranking several times in 1983. Connors won the US Open for a then-record fifth time, beating Lendl again in the final.