good summary here from Neil Amdur as printed in the NY Times:
Connors, Down by 2 Sets, Rallies to Defeat Amritraj
They were ready to bury Jimmy Connors at Wimbledon today, but he left the center court a five-set winner over Vijay Amritraj of India and with a spot in the semifinals against Bjorn Borg.
Second-seeded John McEnroe and unseeded Rod Frawley of Australia joined Connors, who is seeded third, and Borg, seeded first, in Thursday's semifinals at the All England Club. McEnroe appeared to have more trouble with several British newsmen at a post-match news conference than he had in defeating Johan Kriek, 6-1, 7-5, 6-1. Frawley took two close tie-breakers from Tim Mayotte of Springfield, Mass., in a serve-and-volley duel, 4-6, 7-6, 7-6, 6-3.
But it was Connors, in winning by 2-6, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2, who again showed that his heart remains as firm as his passing shots on the court. Not since 1974, when Ken Rosewall came back against Stan Smith in the semifinals, has a player won a match from a two-set deficit in the last three rounds. Only two players, Kevin Curren and Hans Simonsson, achieved such distinction during this tournament, both in the first round.
But in his 10th Wimbledon, Connors remains as special to the sport as Borg, who ground Peter McNamara's serve into the turf and won, 7-6, 6-2, 6-3, his 40th consecutive Wimbledon victory.
Perfection Is Required
''Everything has got to be perfect if you are going to beat Borg,'' McNamara said of the five-time defending champion, who has not dropped a set in five singles matches. Borg took the opening tiebreaker, 7-2, today after McNamara, an Australian seeded 12th, opened the playoff with a double fault.
''He is definitely beatable and guys with big serves can and will beat him. But he is the greatest Wimbledon has ever seen,'' McNamara said.
For two sets, Connors sought to get a sense of the game, stretched corner to corner by Amritraj's deeply angled serves and penetrating first volleys. When Connors lost the second set with a game-ending double fault, some observers began suggesting that Connors, at age 28 and without a major title since the 1978 United States Open, might be slipping from losing semifinalist to losing quarterfinalist.
Amritraj, 27, is a graciously gifted player who grew up with grass courts in India. He had beaten Connors in their last two meetings, and he took advantage of his rival's service uncertainty by attacking early, often and effectively.
Trouble Putting Foes Away
But Amritraj has gained a reputation for what Arthur Ashe noted recently as ''not closing the gate after the cows are in the corral.'' Some rivals see this shortcoming as Amritraj's casual demeanor; others say simply that he doesn't train intensely enough to survive the five-set matches in a major championship.
With Amritraj serving at 1-2, 30-all in the third set, Connors hit a deep forehand placement that ended a long rally and told him he was still in the fight. Amritraj held from deuce, but Connors broke at 15 for 3-2 with a forehand crosscourt service return winner and a running forehand pass down the line.
What followed was a classic example of how momentum often dictates the tempo of grass-court play. Connors served out the third set from deuce. Then, from 2-3 in the fourth set, he won 16 of the next 18 points, breaking to even the match with four winners that seemed to leave Amritraj almost motionless on the court.
''The level I lifted to, maybe he wasn't ready for,'' Connors said. ''I've never rolled over and wasn't going to roll over.''
Amritraj Seemingly Tires
Connors said he sensed that Amritraj ''looked a little tired.'' Even when Amitraj's younger brother, Anand, traded places with his father in the special friends box and waved his right fist supportively after Connors held serve to open the fifth set, Vijay could summon nothing.
The bite was gone from his first serve. He volleyed and returned serve straight-legged and glided late to ground strokes. Connors broke serve for the last time at 15, sweeping 42 of the last 60 points in the 3-hour 32-minute match.
''If I play the match against Borg the way I played the last three sets today,'' Connors said, assessing his semifinal, ''I can't ask for anything more. That's good solid tennis.''
Connors won his last meeting with Borg, at an eight-player exhibition last February in Toronto that is not included among their career records. Borg took a three-setter in the semi-finals of the Volvo Masters last January at Madison Square Garden.
Unbelievable Shot
One point in today's match with McNamara dramatized Borg's seeming invincibility here. At 1-2, 0-30 in the second set, McNamara dived into the doubles alley for a backhand volley that pooped across the net.
From his customary spot at the baseline, Borg swooped in on the ball like a bird chasing prey. The only chance for him to make the shot was to dig the ball out of the turf, shovel it across and still avoid crashing into the net to lose the point. Borg converted the shot, stopping no more than a quarter-inch from the net. McNamara, still on the ground, shook his head in disbelief.
After overpowering Kriek with surprising ease in 1 hour 47 minutes, McEnroe said he could hardly believe it when several British newsmen representing Fleet Street tabloids began asking questions about Stacy Margolin, his girlfriend. British newspapers have been dogging McEnroe since his opening-day outburst and $1,500 fine.
''It's none of your damn business,'' McEnroe said, in one of several blistering attacks on the journalists. ''That's why it's private life. You guys ruin it.''
Today's latest exchange is likely to recharge some of the news media fires that began with opening day. And regardless of how well he does in the remaining rounds, McEnroe seems destined to labor in Wimbledon's doghouse.
Mayotte Tough in Defeat
Mayotte's four-set loss to Frawley did not diminish his earlier string of outstanding performances. Mayotte battled on serve through the second set before dropping the tiebreaker, 7-5, broke back from 5-6 in the third and led 3-1 in the playoff before Frawley recovered, 7-4.
Frawley, 28, became the fifth unseeded player in five years to reach the semifinals. ''I didn't think Tim would have the experience on grass,'' said Frawley, who lost to Borg in four sets in the round of 32 last year. ''But he played well.''
The women will return to the stage tomorrow with their semifinals -Chris Evert Lloyd vs. Pam Shriver, the surprise winner over Tracy Austin yesterday, and Hana Mandlikova, the second-seed player behind Mrs. Lloyd, against Martina Navratilova.
