Jimmy Connors, so relentless on the court in pulling off one more "miracle," couldn't sit to talk about it for fear that all his muscles would tighten.

Nearly two hours after Connors ran himself ragged and sent fans into a frenzy with a 4-hour, 42-minute five-set victory on his 39th birthday Monday against Aaron Krickstein, he emerged from the trainer's room and spoke while bent over a chair."I don't want to make any unnecessary fast moves in any wrong direction," Connors said. He casually mentioned that he also twisted his left knee a little during the second-set tiebreaker.

That was nearly three hours before Connors won a fifth-set tiebreaker with a backhand volley into an open court to close out yet another amazing comeback - 3-6, 7-6 (10-8), 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) - and reach the quarterfinals.

This was more than vintage Connors, more than just another chapter in the career of a player who has survived on heart and guts and daring shots for more than two decades. This was a show of will rarely matched in sports, a performance by a player long past his prime yet still fighting like a kid.

"There's no secret I'm past my prime," he said. "I don't have the artistry of a McEnroe or a Nastase or a Panatta. I have been a work addict. I'd rather have my game and a couple of other things going for me, than their games. It's made me what I am.

"I don't mind if I come off of there bleeding. I don't mind opening my chest and showing you my heart. That is what tennis needs. That is what tennis is all about. Things don't go well all the time. I show every emotion in the world out there. I don't want people to think I'm a robot out there. I'm human and they see that."

He called the match "a war" and said he was lucky to win.

"John McEnroe said it after I beat Patrick, `It's a Connors miracle right here.' This is what I live for - to win a match 7-6 in the fifth.

"The crowd wins them for me. There's no way I give up, knowing these people want to see some kind of miracle. For me to pull off another stunt like this, how can you not laugh? I'm 39, you have to wonder what the heck is going on."

What was going on was no less than Nolan Ryan pitching a no-hitter at 44 or George Foreman fighting for the heavyweight title at 42. Connors is the oldest quarterfinalist in the Open since Ken Rosewall in 1974. Rosewall, then 39 years, 10 months, reached the final only to lose to Connors, then 22.

Krickstein, 15 years younger than Connors, played with a blister on his right hand, but didn't use it as an excuse.

"I can't say it cost me the match," he said. "He hit some great shots. I can't make any excuses. Normally I have a lot of crowd support in New York. But Jimmy's a legend, a great player. I understand that."

Connors, the consummate competitor, refused to quit just as adamantly as he had when he fought back from two sets down to beat Patrick McEnroe in 4 hours, 20 minutes in the first round.

This time, though, Connors was playing an even tougher opponent, a human backboard who kept pounding baseline shots back and trying to run Connors into retirement. It was a hopeless cause.

Connors, a wild card ranked No. 174 after coming back from 14 months off because of a wrist injury, continues to amaze fans and younger rivals with his tenacious play. No matter that he had 106 unforced errors, 62 more than Krickstein. Connors attacked with the ferocity of a pit bull, banging out 86 winners to 38 for Krickstein.

Connors looked tired and ready to roll over in the second set after letting a 5-1 lead and two set points at 40-15 slip away. Krickstein, ranked No. 47, broke him twice and tied the set as Connors panted on the sideline and mopped his face.

Yet, anyone who has ever seen Connors knows that he finds ways out of the most impossible situations, and this was a classic. Part of the thrill and tension of watching him derives from the daring angles he plays, both from side to side and over the net. His groundstrokes are often low and flat, just clearing the net as fans hold their breath to see if the shots will go over and stay in. He lives dangerously close to the lines throughout his matches.

Somehow he pulled out the second-set tiebreaker after screaming at chair umpire, David Littlefield, about a crucial point. The score was tied 7-7 when Connors hit an overhead off the edge of his racket that appeared to catch the sideline for a winner. The linesman put his hands down to signal the shot good, but Littlefield overruled him, claiming the shot was wide, and gave the point to Krickstein.

"You bum! You bum!" Connors shouted. "You can't see a ball right in front of you, how can you see a ball on the other side?"

But the call stood and Connors waved his racket to quiet the booing crowd. Connors then pelted a backhand volley to tie the score and pointed at Littlefield while shouting, "Take that!"

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Connors next plays Paul Haarhuis, conqueror of top-ranked Boris Becker in the third round and another German, Carl Uwe-Steeb, in the fourth round Monday.

Women's top seed Steffi Graf, who had to wait patiently for the match to end, finished her match in just over an hour, beating Judith Wiesner 7-6, 6-4.

Earlier, defending men's champion Pete Sampras overcame a hot start by hard-serving David Wheaton, a Wimbledon semifinalist, to win 3-6, 6-2, 6-2, 6-4. He'll play a quarterfinal match against Jim Courier, the fourth seed, who beat No. 14 Emilio Sanchez 6-4, 6-4, 6-3.

Martina Navratilova, knocked out in the fourth round last year, reached the quarters by beating Manuela Maleeva-Fragniere 7-6 (7-5), 1-6, 6-2. Navratilova, seeded No. 6, will next play No. 4 seed Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, who beat Natalia Zvereva 6-3, 7-6 (7-4).

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