Roddick hires Connors

LOS ANGELES – Andy Roddick has turned to Jimmy Connors to give his sputtering career a boost.

“I’ve got a coach,” Roddick said Monday at a new conference with Connors at the Los Angeles Tennis Center, where the Countrywide Classic was being played.

The announcement wasn’t a surprise. Roddick reached out to Connors after an early exit from the French Open in June and there had been much speculation since about their association.

Connors said he never would have imagined himself as a coach and called it a “great opportunity” to help Roddick regain the No. 1 ranking.

“I would like to try to give him a little bit of what made me what I was, and he is able to suck that up like a sponge. He’s proven that already,” said Connors, who won 109 titles and four Grand Slams.