NEW YORK — As tennis goes, well, it was great theater.

Here was Jimmy Connors, dragging his 37-year-old body around the court, getting sick to his stomach, thinking about quitting but playing on.

"I played on instinct and guts," Connors said.

Then there was 19-year-old Andre Agassi, bleached hair in disarray, tanking a set, getting away with it and playing on.

"I said, 'Hey, hang in there,' " Agassi said.

The whole thing lasted 3 hours 17 minutes. The only things missing were a curtain and some greasepaint.

Agassi advanced to the U.S. Open semifinals for the second consecutive year with a 6-1, 4-6, 0-6, 6-3, 6-4 decision Thursday night that was also his first five-set victory--and the last, if Connors has anything to do with it.

Connors, who won the second set even though his face was the same color as his tennis shoes, also won the third, 6-0, when Agassi chose not to try.

Agassi lost, 6-0, but not before he walked over toward the stands and told his brother, Phil, and coach, Nick Bollettieri, that he wanted to go five sets.

Such an admission is a serious breach of tennis etiquette, where egos are as deep and profound as a John McEnroe soliloquy. In effect, Agassi was telling Connors that he would give him a set and still win.

Connors, who as a jumbo Jimbo had to lose 15 pounds just to get ready for this tournament, was not amused when he had to leave it. He blamed Agassi.

"For a guy who was 0 for five-set matches and with the kind of year he's had, he should learn to keep his mouth shut," Connors said as he walked to his black limo.

He climbed inside, slammed the door and was gone. Agassi, however, is still around.

So, too, is top-seeded Ivan Lendl, who had an answer for everything Tim Mayotte tried. Lendl won, 6-4, 6-0, 6-1, and now gets Agassi in the semifinals.

The Agassi that Lendl will see is still the most exasperating and exciting player of his day. Even Connors thinks so.

Do you see a lot of yourself in Andre, Jimbo?

"No," Connors said.

Well, Connors is prejudiced. ("There's nothing like the original article.") Ask someone else.

Tennis historian Ted Tinling talks about Agassi's substance: "I think the boy is a little brittle. He's all frosting and no cake."

Sure, Agassi gave up in the third set, continuing a habit of tanking a set he doesn't think he can win to conserve energy for later, but at least he admits it.