London, July 3: Defending champion Jimmy Cornors and Arthur Ashe won their semi-finals in the nearly Rs. 19.6 lakhs Wimbledon tennis championships to-day and became the first Americans to meet in the finals since Jack Kramer beat Tom Brown way back in 1947.

Top seed Connors in a display of tennis mastery that awed the capacity of 15,000 in Centre Court tamed Roscoe Tanner’s 140 mile-an-hour service with a dazzling display of ground strokes and beat him in 75 minutes 6-4, 6-1, 6-4. In the other semi-final, sixth seeded Ashe beat Australia’s 16th seed, Torry Roche, in a comparatively tedious two hour and 50 minute marathon 5-7, 6-4, 7-5, 8-9, 6-4. Connors, an overwhelming favourite to beat Ashe, now is better than even money to become the first champion since 1938 to win the singles without the loss of a set.