Jimmy Connors recalls friendship with 'original' James Bond Sean Connery

Jimmy Connors recently revealed that apart from his mother and grandmother, it was Scottish actor Late Sean Connery who called the tennis legend by the nickname 'Jimbo'.

Connery, who died in October 2020, was the first to play the fictional British secret agent, James Bond, and jointly holds the record for seven Bond appearances along with Roger Moore.

Connors, on the other hand, turned pro in 1972 and retired from professional tennis in 1996. He holds the record for most singles titles among men — 109 — followed by Roger Federer, Ivan Lendl, Novak Djokovic, and Rafael Nadal.

In a recent episode of Advantage Connors podcast, Jimmy's son Brett introduced him as 'Jimbo', triggering some old memories for the 70-year-old.

"What? Listen, there's only three people that have ever called me 'Jimbo', you know. Now that's okay, you can be the fourth. It's been a long time since I've heard that [name], Brad. It all started with your grandmother and your great-grandmother calling me that," he explained.

Jimmy stated that he and Connery were friends and recalled one incident where the late actor called him 'Jimbo'.

"I know that the name caught on but I want to drop a name here. We were at a lunch with the original 007, Sean Connery, who became a friend," he said.

"I had to get up and I had to leave the lunch and I said, 'I had a great time, it was good being with you. I want to go and practice'. And he says, 'Well Jimbo, I want to come and watch you practice'," he added.

Jimmy then stated that he was ecstatic to hear the name once again after so many years.

"I looked at him and I said, 'Not many people call me that, 007'. It was great that he knew that because it was given to me by my mom and grandma and it's kind of cool to hear it again, thanks for calling me that," he concluded.

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Jimmy Connors: "Iga Swiatek has got that swagger"

Jimmy Connors

Speaking on the same podcast episode, Jimmy Connors heaped praise on WTA World No. 1 Iga Swiatek, saying that the Pole was beating her opponents psychologically even before their matches began.

"The players now know that to go out and to play her and to beat her, they got to hit the red line almost every shot and play over and above, because she's winning matches now before she even walks out there," he said.

“She's got that swagger, she’s got that reputation now. That's what you work for. So those who go out and beat her, they produce. She makes everybody she plays raised their level of game,” he added.

Swiatek recently lost to Aryna Sabalenka in the final of the 2023 Madrid Open a few days after beating the Belarusian in the Stuttgart Open final.