Jimmy Connors says he would give up riding the bike and hiking if he could play tennis 3-4 days a week

Former tennis star Jimmy Connors was thrilled to return to the practice courts as he relished the opportunity to hone his skills once more.

Connors retired from the game in 1996. He holds the impressive record of winning the most professional matches (1,274) by a male player in the Open Era, a record that still stands 27 years after his retirement.

The former World No. 1 achieved an impressive 109 career singles titles, 12 of which were Grand Slams. Among these were five US Open triumphs, four French Open titles, two Wimbledon trophies, and a solitary Australian Open.

Speaking to his son, Brett Connors during a recent episode of the Advantage Connors podcast, the 70-year-old revealed that he had recently played a full 35-minute game of tennis.

"I’m an exercise nut, I like getting up, I like riding my bike and you know if I can go for a hike. The one thing that was most fun and I even hate to tell you: I played 35 minutes worth of tennis with Spencer," Connors said.

Jimmy Connors expressed feeling rejuvenated even after playing a demanding game of tennis and enthusiastically stated his desire to maintain this routine.

"I’m sitting here now and I’m talking to you and I’m feeling pretty good. You know usually I would come off and I’d be "ooh man I’m gonna feel it tomorrow." But I feel pretty darn good and I'm even thinking about giving it a try tomorrow," he said.

Connors stated that he would be willing to forgo his cycling and hiking activities in exchange for the opportunity to play tennis three to four times per week. He said:

"I would give up riding the bike, I would give up hiking, I would give up going to the gym, I would give up everything if I could play 45 minutes of tennis three or four days a week. I’m doing my best to get back to try to do that and that to me would be a thrill because I miss it."

"That never leaves you; that feeling, that passion" - Jimmy Connors

Jimmy Connors at the 2012 US Open

Jimmy Connors previously expressed his enduring love for tennis, stating that he feels a sense of satisfaction with just one shot on the court. He firmly believes that an athlete's passion for the game never truly fades away.

"That never leaves you. That feeling, that passion that you've had for so long," Jimmy Connors said.

"Sometimes, age, when it catches up with you or you decide to take a different path, that little feeling that you have is just kind of put on hold," he added. "Sometimes when I go and play tennis, I hit one shot and I say, 'Aah.' It's just the feeling of such satisfaction of still being able to do something that I did."

Connors' record of most matches won by a male player in the Open Era will remain unbroken for a few more years. Roger Federer came close to breaking the record, with the Swiss legend finishing his career with 1,251 wins, 23 short of Connors' record.

Rafael Nadal is now the active player with most career matches won. The Spaniard has 1,068 wins to his name.