WIMBLEDON REPORT : Has Clock Run Out for Connors? He Insists That Time Is on His Side

In case tennis historians need it later, the scoreboard clock read 7:15 p.m., London time, when Jimmy Connors succumbed to match point on Centre Court Sunday.

He had saved two match points in his previous service game, and the rowdy crowd, on this special day when Wimbledon opened up its gates to the man on the street, had tried to carry him on, perhaps into a fourth set.

But it couldn’t, and when he walked off with winner Derrick Rostagno, there were lots of people here who wondering if they had witnessed his finale here.

But there are at least two who don’t seem to think that this is the end for Connors. One is Connors, who told a reporter, “As soon as I know I’m finished, you’ll be the first to know. Here, write down your phone number.”

The other nonbeliever is John McEnroe. “I just want to keep playing as long as he does,” he said. “That’s my main goal in tennis right now.”

Lendl the Sourpuss I: During his five-set match against MaliVai Washington, a match he nearly lost, Ivan Lendl became angry when a net-cord beeper went off and negated what he thought was a clear service winner on a key point. After he was ordered to serve over and he lost the point for a service break, he walked to the side of the netpost and knocked the beeper off with his racket.

Officials eventually replaced it, but it malfunctioned later and they brought in a judge to sit and officiate with his fingers on the net.

Lendl the Sourpuss II: When he was asked his feelings about playing on this historic middle Sunday at Wimbledon, he replied: “What is this historic day?” When reminded it was the first middle Sunday on which there were matches, he said, dripping with sarcasm, “Oh, wow.”

Odds and Ends: Rostagno, when asked about his victory over Pete Sampras Saturday and about how well they knew each other, said: “He was younger than me when we worked out at the same club in L.A. and I remember him as a 2 1/2-foot tall kid. That’ll make it tough for him to beat me for a while.” . . . Connors, now that he’s out, on who will win here in men’s singles: “Who cares?” . . . McEnroe on Jim Pugh, with Rick Leach the U.S. Davis Cup doubles team. Pugh and Leach were the defending champions here but lost in the first round Saturday to McEnroe and Goran Ivanisevic: “He kind of let us win. He hit some bad serves to me. It was like he wasn’t properly prepared, which is not a great way to defend your Wimbledon title.”