Home

Tennis

‘You Son of a B***h’- Jimmy Connors’ $500 Winning Bet with Friend Ilie ‘Nasty’ Nastase as the Romanian Tennis Icon’s ‘Boy’ Prediction Turned Out Wrong

Published 08/05/2023, 12:22 PM EDT

Follow Us

via Imago

Jimmy Connors is a name that created shock waves during his time as a professional player. However, there was a player whom he regarded as the best player of all time, his friend cum rival, Ilie Nastase. The Romanian player shared a great bond with Connors. However, friends do have their moments of banter and fun and they had theirs as well.

In a recent podcast, Jimmy shed light on a friendly bet that took place between the two players while the American player was expecting a child. He also acknowledged how he traveled all the way to see her wife amid playing a match against Nastase.

Jimmy Connors recalls traveling to his wife just after the match

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

In a recent revelation, Jimmy revealed that as he was about to play the first-round match in 1979, he got a call from his wife. Following the call, he asked if he had time to play the match or if he should just skip it and come. His family friend Dr. Gregg suggested that he can play the match, however, he’ll have to be quick, and as soon as the match ended, he’ll have to book a plane home.

As soon as he reached, he saw his wife who was suffering for around 20 hours in labor pain. After spending around 3 hours in the hospital and consulting with the doctor, he got home but could not put his head to his pillow out of stress.

Trending

Get instantly notified of the hottest Tennis stories via Google! Click on Follow Us and Tap the Blue Star.

Follow Us

At that point, he received a call from Nasty who congratulated him and jokingly said that he was much stronger than he thought would have been. ‘Connors you son of a b***h!” and I said, “I told you I warned you” he says “you’re a little stronger than I thought” (laughs)”‘ revealed Jimmy in the podcast.

However, behind this was a bet that both the players had while they were playing against each other.

Jimmy and Ilie Nastase had a bet worth 500 bucks

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Jimmy reveals that he was traveling south of France to play Ilie Nastase when the two had a conversation. Ilie Nastase disapproved of Connors’ verdict of having a son. He said that he could not have a son because he is not strong enough, said Ilie jokingly.

“Connors no way you can have a boy. No, no way.” I said, I said “I’m telling you.” said Nasty jokingly to which he replied, “I’m telling you, “Nasty, I said I want to have a boy. So I’ll bet you 500 bucks.”

via Getty

However, based on the verdict the two had a bet worth 500 bucks where Jimmy said that he is pretty sure that it will be a boy and will prove Nastase wrong. Thus, this friendly banter between the two describes the bond that they had. Irrespective of the place from where they belonged, they had a great relationship both on and off the court.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Watch this story: Serena Williams Vs. Rafael Nadal – Net Worth Comparision

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

Written by:

Akshat Gaur

1,069Articles

One take at a time

Akshat Gaur is a Tennis Writer at EssentiallySports. He completed his Bachelor’s degree in 2021 and has been writing since then. With over two years of experience in the world of sports journalism, specifically tennis journalism, Akshat is someone who is immensely passionate about covering the ATP and the WTA Tour.
Show More>

Edited by:

Bhavani Singh