Jim Courier

James “Jim” Spencer Courier (born August 17, 1970) is an American former world No. 1 professional tennis player. For 15 years, he has been a commentator on the Australian Open for the host broadcaster, the Seven Network, and now the Nine Network. He is also an analyst for Tennis Channel. During his career, he won four Grand Slam singles titles, two at the French Open and two at the Australian Open. He holds the record for being the youngest man to have reached the finals of all four Grand Slam singles tournaments, at the age of 22 years and 11 months. He also won five Masters 1000 series titles. Until Novak Djokovic in 2016, Courier was the last man to win both the Australian and French Open titles in the same calendar year.[3][4]

Jim Courier
Country (sports) United States
ResidenceOrlando, Florida
Born (1970-08-17) August 17, 1970
Sanford, Florida, U.S.
Height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Turned pro1988
Retired2000
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
CoachNick Bollettieri[1]
Sergio Cruz (1988–1990)[2]
Brad Stine (1990–1994)
José Higueras (1990–1997)
Harold Solomon (1997)
Brad Stine (1997–2000)
Prize money$14,034,132
Int. Tennis HoF2005 (member page)
Singles
Career record506–237 (68.1%)
Career titles23 (27th in overall rankings)
Highest rankingNo. 1 (February 10, 1992)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian OpenW (1992, 1993)
French OpenW (1991, 1992)
WimbledonF (1993)
US OpenF (1991)
Other tournaments
Tour FinalsF (1991, 1992)
Grand Slam CupQF (1996)
Olympic Games3R (1992)
Doubles
Career record124–97
Career titles6
Highest rankingNo. 20 (October 9, 1989)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open1R (1990)
French Open2R (1989)
Wimbledon3R (1989, 1991)
US Open1R (1989, 1990)
Team competitions
Davis CupW (1992, 1995)

Tennis career

Courier was raised in Dade City, Florida, and though he excelled at youth sports in general, after a certain point it became clear that tennis was where his true talent lay.[5] As a junior player in the 1980s, Courier attended the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy and won the prestigious Orange Bowl in 1986 and 1987 (the first to win back-to-back titles since Björn Borg[6]), as well as the French Open junior doubles title in 1987.

Courier turned professional in 1988 and made his Grand Slam breakthrough at the 1991 French Open when he defeated Stefan Edberg and Michael Stich to reach his first Grand Slam final. In the final he defeated his former Bollettieri Academy roommate Andre Agassi in five sets to win his first Slam. He made the quarterfinals of Wimbledon before losing to eventual champion Stich. At the US Open he defeated defending champion Pete Sampras in the quarterfinals and then Jimmy Connors in the semifinals, before losing the final to Edberg.

1992 saw Courier defeat Edberg to win the Australian Open, and he celebrated by jumping into the nearby Yarra River. He then followed this result by defeating future Grand Slam champions Thomas Muster, Goran Ivanišević, Agassi and Petr Korda to successfully defend his French Open title. Afterward, Courier charmed the Parisian crowd by delivering a victory speech in French.[7] Courier also enjoyed a 25-match winning streak during the season. In February of that year, following the San Francisco tournament, he became the tenth player to reach the world no. 1 ranking since the ranking system was implemented in 1973, and the first American since John McEnroe; he finished 1992 as the world no. 1 ranked player. Courier also was a member of the US team that won the 1992 Davis Cup. In 1992 he was the top-seeded player at the Olympics in Barcelona, where he lost in the third round to eventual gold medalist Marc Rosset from Switzerland.[8]

In 1993, Courier again won the Australian Open, defeating Edberg in the final for the second consecutive year, and jumped into the Yarra a second time, but it was to be his last such celebration after contracting a stomach bug from the muddy and polluted river. He reached his third consecutive French Open final, which he lost to Sergi Bruguera in five sets. He also reached the 1993 Wimbledon final, defeating Edberg in the semifinals, and lost to Sampras in four sets. By reaching the Wimbledon final, Courier had reached the finals of all four Grand Slams at the age of 22, a record which still stands in men's singles. Courier also became the first player since Rod Laver to reach the finals of the Australian, French and Wimbledon in the same season; the feat was not matched until 2006 by Roger Federer. Courier again was part of the US team that won the 1995 Davis Cup.

Courier captured a total of 23 singles titles and 6 doubles titles during his career. He spent a total of 58 weeks ranked as the World No. 1 in 1992 and 1993. He reached the finals of all four major championships during his career, a feat accomplished by only seven other players in the Open Era. Courier retired from the ATP tour in 2000. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2005.

After retirement from top-level tennis

Since his retirement as a top-level player, Courier has served as a tennis analyst and commentator for the Tennis Channel, USA Network, NBC Sports, TNT, ITV, Sky Sports and the Seven and Nine Network. Since 2005 Courier has headed the commentary for the host broadcaster of the Australian Open, which was Seven from 2005 to 2018 and Nine since 2019. Courier calls many centre court men's singles matches for the network and often conducts the post match on-court interviews with the winning player. He has also provided special comments on the network's Wimbledon coverage since 2013. Courier started working with the British channel ITV for the French Open in 2012. In 2015, Courier worked with the British channel Sky Sports for their US Open coverage. The Jim Courier Club House now stands on the grounds of the Dade City Little League complex in John S. Burks Memorial Park in Dade City, Florida. Courier is an alumnus of that Little League program.

In 2004, Courier founded InsideOut Sport & Entertainment, a New York-based event production company that owns and operates the Champions Series, Legendary Nights exhibitions as well as private corporate events.

He also founded Courier's Kids, a non-profit organization that supports tennis programs in the inner city of St. Petersburg, Florida.

Courier currently competes on the Champions Series and in various charity exhibition matches.

Jim Courier married Susanna Lingman in 2010.

On October 27, 2010, Courier was named captain of the United States Davis Cup team, replacing Patrick McEnroe. Courier stepped down from the role after the 2018 semi final defeat to Croatia. Courier had led his country with a 10-8 record and two semi final appearances during his captaincy.[9]

In August 2019 Jim was working for Prime Video UK for their exclusive coverage of the US Open Tennis Championships.

Career statistics

Grand Slam finals
Finals: 7 (4 titles, 3 runners-up)
Result Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Win1991French OpenClay Andre Agassi3–6, 6–4, 2–6, 6–1, 6–4
Loss1991US OpenHard Stefan Edberg2–6, 4–6, 0–6
Win1992Australian OpenHard Stefan Edberg6–3, 3–6, 6–4, 6–2
Win1992French Open (2)Clay Petr Korda7–5, 6–2, 6–1
Win1993Australian Open (2)Hard Stefan Edberg6–2, 6–1, 2–6, 7–5
Loss1993French OpenClay Sergi Bruguera4–6, 6–2, 2–6, 6–3, 3–6
Loss1993WimbledonGrass Pete Sampras6–7(3–7), 6–7(6–8), 6–3, 3–6

Year-End Championship
Finals: 2 (2 runners-up)
Result Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Loss1991FrankfurtHard (i) Pete Sampras6–3, 6–7(5–7), 3–6, 4–6
Loss1992FrankfurtHard (i) Boris Becker4–6, 3–6, 5–7

Masters Series
Finals: 5 (5 titles)
Result Year Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Win1991Indian WellsHard Guy Forget4–6, 6–3, 4–6, 6–3, 7–6(7–4)
Win1991MiamiHard David Wheaton4–6, 6–3, 6–4
Win1992RomeClay Carlos Costa7–6(7–3), 6–0, 6–4
Win1993Indian Wells (2)Hard Wayne Ferreira6–3, 6–3, 6–1
Win1993Rome (2)Clay Goran Ivanišević6–1, 6–2, 6–2

Records
  • These records were attained in Open Era of tennis.
ChampionshipYearsRecord accomplishedPlayer tied
Grand Slam1991–1993Youngest to reach all four Grand Slam finals (22)Stands alone
French Open—Australian Open1991–1993Simultaneous holder of consecutive Australian and French Open titlesStands alone
Grand Slam1992Winner of Australian Open and French Open in the same calendar yearRod Laver
Mats Wilander
Novak Djokovic

ATP career finals

Singles: 36 (23 titles, 13 runner-ups)
Legend
Grand Slam (4–3)
Year-End Championships (0–2)
ATP Masters Series (5–0)
ATP Championship Series (5–3)
ATP World Series (9–5)
Titles by surface
Hard (17–6)
Grass (0–1)
Clay (5–2)
Carpet (1–4)
Result No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Win 1. October 9, 1989 Basel, Switzerland Hard (i) Stefan Edberg 7–6(8–6), 3–6, 2–6, 6–0, 7–5
Win 2. March 11, 1991 Indian Wells, USA Hard Guy Forget 4–6, 6–3, 4–6, 6–3, 7–6(7–4)
Win 3. March 25, 1991 Key Biscayne, USA Hard David Wheaton 4–6, 6–3, 6–4
Win 4. June 10, 1991 French Open, Paris, France Clay Andre Agassi 3–6, 6–4, 2–6, 6–1, 6–4
Loss 1. September 9, 1991 US Open, New York City, USA Hard Stefan Edberg 2–6, 4–6, 0–6
Loss 2. November 18, 1991 ATP Championships, Frankfurt, Germany Carpet Pete Sampras 6–3, 6–7(5–7), 3–6, 4–6
Win 5. January 27, 1992 Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia Hard Stefan Edberg 6–3, 3–6, 6–4, 6–2
Loss 3. February 10, 1992 San Francisco, USA Hard (i) Michael Chang 3–6, 3–6
Loss 4. February 17, 1992 Brussels, Belgium Carpet Boris Becker 7–6(7–5), 6–2, 6–7(10–12), 6–7(5–7), 5–7
Win 6. April 13, 1992 Tokyo, Japan Hard Richard Krajicek 6–4, 6–4, 7–6(7–3)
Win 7. April 20, 1992 Hong Kong, UK Hard Michael Chang 7–5, 6–3
Win 8. May 18, 1992 Rome, Italy Clay Carlos Costa 7–6(7–3), 6–0, 6–4
Win 9. June 8, 1992 French Open, Paris, France Clay Petr Korda 7–5, 6–2, 6–1
Loss 5. August 24, 1992 Indianapolis, USA Hard Pete Sampras 4–6, 4–6
Loss 6. November 23, 1992 ATP Championships, Frankfurt, Germany Carpet Boris Becker 4–6, 3–6, 5–7
Win 10. February 1, 1993 Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia Hard Stefan Edberg 6–2, 6–1, 2–6, 7–5
Win 11. February 15, 1993 Memphis, USA Hard (i) Todd Martin 5–7, 7–6(7–4), 7–6(7–4)
Win 12. March 8, 1993 Indian Wells, USA Hard Wayne Ferreira 6–3, 6–3, 6–1
Loss 7. April 19, 1993 Hong Kong, UK Hard Pete Sampras 3–6, 7–6(7–1), 6–7(2–7)
Win 13. May 17, 1993 Rome, Italy Clay Goran Ivanišević 6–1, 6–2, 6–2
Loss 8. June 7, 1993 French Open, Paris, France Clay Sergi Bruguera 4–6, 6–2, 2–6, 6–3, 3–6
Loss 9. July 5, 1993 Wimbledon, London, UK Grass Pete Sampras 6–7(3–7), 6–7(6–8), 6–3, 3–6
Win 14. August 23, 1993 Indianapolis, USA Hard Boris Becker 7–5, 6–3
Loss 10. April 18, 1994 Nice, France Clay Alberto Berasategui 4–6, 2–6
Loss 11. October 24, 1994 Lyon, France Carpet Marc Rosset 4–6, 6–7(2–7)
Win 15. January 9, 1995 Adelaide, Australia Hard Arnaud Boetsch 6–2, 7–5
Win 16. March 6, 1995 Scottsdale, USA Hard Mark Philippoussis 7–6(7–2), 6–4
Win 17. April 17, 1995 Tokyo, Japan Hard Andre Agassi 6–3, 6–4
Win 18. October 2, 1995 Basel, Switzerland Hard (i) Jan Siemerink 6–7(2–7), 7–6(7–5), 5–7, 6–2, 7–5
Loss 12. October 9, 1995 Toulouse, France Hard (i) Arnaud Boetsch 4–6, 7–6(7–5), 0–6
Win 19. March 4, 1996 Philadelphia, USA Carpet Chris Woodruff 6–4, 6–3
Win 20. January 6, 1997 Doha, Qatar Hard Tim Henman 7–5, 6–7(5–7), 6–2
Win 21. July 28, 1997 Los Angeles, USA Hard Thomas Enqvist 6–4, 6–4
Win 22. October 6, 1997 Beijing, China Hard (i) Magnus Gustafsson 7–6(12–10), 3–6, 6–3
Win 23. April 27, 1998 Orlando, USA Clay Michael Chang 7–5, 3–6, 7–5
Loss 13. February 26, 1999 Memphis, USA Hard (i) Tommy Haas 4–6, 1–6

Doubles: 11 (6–5)
Result No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 1. May 8, 1989 Forest Hills, US Clay Pete Sampras Rick Leach
Jim Pugh		 4–6, 2–6
Win 1. May 22, 1989 Rome, Italy Clay Pete Sampras Danilo Marcelino
Mauro Menezes		 6–4, 6–3
Win 2. May 14, 1990 Hamburg, Germany Clay Sergi Bruguera Udo Riglewski
Michael Stich		 7–6, 6–2
Loss 2. May 21, 1990 Rome, Italy Clay Martin Davis Sergio Casal
Emilio Sánchez		 6–7, 5–7
Win 3. March 11, 1991 Indian Wells, US Hard Javier Sánchez Guy Forget
Henri Leconte		 7–6, 3–6, 6–3
Win 4. April 19, 1993 Montreal, Canada Hard Mark Knowles Glenn Michibata
David Pate		 6–4, 7–6
Loss 3. April 11, 1994 Barcelona, Spain Clay Javier Sánchez Yevgeny Kafelnikov
David Rikl		 7–5, 1–6, 4–6
Win 5. January 9, 1995 Adelaide, Australia Hard Patrick Rafter Byron Black
Grant Connell		 7–6, 6–4
Loss 4. October 6, 1997 Beijing, China Hard (i) Alex O'Brien Mahesh Bhupathi
Leander Paes		 5–7, 6–7
Loss 5. January 11, 1999 Adelaide, Australia Hard Patrick Galbraith Gustavo Kuerten
Nicolás Lapentti		 4–6, 4–6
Win 6. April 26, 1999 Orlando, US Clay Todd Woodbridge Bob Bryan
Mike Bryan		 7–6(7–4), 6–4

Major tournament singles performance timeline
Tournament19871988198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000SRW–L
Grand Slam Tournaments
Australian Open A A A 2R 4R W W SF QF QF 4R A 3R 1R 2 / 10 35–8
French Open A A 4R 4R W W F SF 4R QF 1R 2R 2R A 2 / 11 40–9
Wimbledon A A 1R 3R QF 3R F 2R 2R 1R 1R 1R 4R A 0 / 11 19–11
US Open A 2R 3R 2R F SF 4R 2R SF A 1R A 1R A 0 / 10 24–10
Win–Loss 0–0 1–1 5–3 7–4 20–3 20–2 22–3 12–4 13–4 8–3 3–4 1–2 6–4 0–1 4 / 42 118–38
Year End Championships
ATP Tour World Championships A A A A F F RR A RR A A A A A 0 / 4 7–9
Grand Slam Cup Not Held A 1R A A A A QF A A A NH 0 / 2 1–2
ATP Masters Series
Indian Wells NME SF W 3R W 2R 2R 3R 1R 3R 2R 1R 2 / 11 21–9
Miami NME QF W SF 4R SF 3R QF SF 2R 2R 2R 1 / 11 30–10
Monte Carlo NME 3R A A A QF A 2R 2R A A A 0 / 4 6–4
Hamburg NME 3R 2R A A A A A A A A A 0 / 2 2–2
Rome NME 3R 3R W W QF 1R 2R QF 1R A A 2 / 9 23–7
Canada NME A SF A 3R SF 3R A 1R 1R QF A 0 / 7 12–7
Cincinnati NME QF SF 3R 2R QF QF 3R 1R 1R 2R A 0 / 10 14–10
Stuttgart (Stockholm) NME 2R SF 3R 3R 3R QF 3R A A 2R A 0 / 8 11–8
Paris NME 3R 3R QF 2R 2R SF 2R 1R A QF A 0 / 9 11–9
Win–Loss – 19–8 24–6 15–5 15–5 16–8 12–7 7–7 8–7 3–5 10–6 1–2 5 / 71 130–66
Year End Ranking 346 43 24 25 2 1 3 13 8 26 21 77 32 290

Professional Awards

Head-to-head

Courier has the following head-to-head records against the listed opponents (No. 1 ranked players in boldface):

Top 10 wins
Season19871988198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000Total
Wins003110108360714053
# Player Rank Event Surface Rd Score Courier
Rank
1989
1. Andre Agassi 5 French Open, Paris, France Clay 3R 7–6, 4–6, 6–3, 6–2 47
2. Stefan Edberg 3 Basel, Switzerland Hard (i) F 7–6, 3–6, 2–6, 6–0, 7–5 35
3. Aaron Krickstein 8 Stockholm, Sweden Carpet (i) 3R 6–2, 1–0, ret. 28
1990
4. Aaron Krickstein 6 Indian Wells, United States Hard QF 6–2, 7–6 22
1991
5. Andre Agassi 4 Indian Wells, United States Hard 3R 2–6, 6–3, 6–4 26
6. Emilio Sánchez 8 Indian Wells, United States Hard QF 6–2, 6–2 26
7. Guy Forget 5 Indian Wells, United States Hard F 4–6, 6–3, 4–6, 6–3, 7–6(7–4) 26
8. Guy Forget 5 Miami, United States Hard 4R 7–6(7–3), 6–3 18
9. Stefan Edberg 1 French Open, Paris, France Clay QF 6–4, 2–6, 6–3, 6–4 9
10. Andre Agassi 4 French Open, Paris, France Clay F 3–6, 6–4, 2–6, 6–1, 6–4 9
11. Pete Sampras 6 US Open, New York, United States Hard QF 6–2, 7–6(7–4), 7–6(7–5) 5
12. Karel Nováček 9 ATP Tour World Championships, Frankfurt, Germany Carpet (i) RR 6–7(6–8), 7–5, 6–4 2
13. Guy Forget 6 ATP Tour World Championships, Frankfurt, Germany Carpet (i) RR 7–6(7–4), 6–4 2
14. Andre Agassi 8 ATP Tour World Championships, Frankfurt, Germany Carpet (i) SF 6–3, 7–5 2
1992
15. Stefan Edberg 1 Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia Hard F 6–3, 3–6, 6–4, 6–2 2
16. Guy Forget 7 Brussels, Belgium Carpet (i) SF 7–6(9–7), 6–4 1
17. Michael Chang 6 Tokyo, Japan Hard SF 6–2, 6–3 2
18. Michael Chang 6 Hong Kong, Hong Kong Hard F 7–5, 6–3 1
19. Goran Ivanišević 9 French Open, Paris, France Clay QF 6–2, 6–1, 2–6, 7–5 1
20. Petr Korda 8 French Open, Paris, France Clay F 7–5, 6–2, 6–1 1
21. Andre Agassi 9 US Open, New York, United States Hard QF 6–3, 6–7(6–8), 6–1, 6–4 1
22. Richard Krajicek 10 ATP Tour World Championships, Frankfurt, Germany Carpet (i) RR 6–7(4–7), 7–6(7–1), 7–5 1
23. Michael Chang 5 ATP Tour World Championships, Frankfurt, Germany Carpet (i) RR 7–5, 6–2 1
24. Pete Sampras 3 ATP Tour World Championships, Frankfurt, Germany Carpet (i) SF 7–6(7–5), 7–6(7–4) 1
1993
25. Petr Korda 7 Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia Hard QF 6–1, 6–0, 6–4 1
26. Stefan Edberg 2 Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia Hard F 6–2, 6–1, 2–6, 7–5 1
27. Michael Chang 5 Indian Wells, United States Hard SF 6–4, 6–4 1
28. Michael Chang 9 Hong Kong, Hong Kong Hard SF 6–2, 6–3 2
29. Michael Chang 10 Rome, Italy Clay SF 6–2, 6–7(2–7), 6–0 2
30. Goran Ivanišević 6 Rome, Italy Clay F 6–1, 6–2, 6–2 2
31. Stefan Edberg 3 Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom Grass SF 4–6, 6–4, 6–2, 6–4 2
32. Boris Becker 4 Indianapolis, United States Hard F 7–5, 6–3 2
1994
33. Goran Ivanišević 8 Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia Hard QF 7–6(9–7), 6–4, 6–2 3
34. Goran Ivanišević 6 Miami, United States Hard QF 6–3, 7–5 5
35. Pete Sampras 1 French Open, Paris, France Clay QF 6–4, 5–7, 6–4, 6–4 7
1995
36. Michael Chang 6 Tokyo, Japan Hard SF 6–4, 7–5 15
37. Andre Agassi 1 Tokyo, Japan Hard F 6–3, 6–4 15
38. Thomas Muster 3 US Open, New York, United States Hard 4R 6–3, 6–0, 7–6(7–4) 15
39. Michael Chang 5 US Open, New York, United States Hard QF 7–6(7–5), 7–6(7–3), 7–5 15
40. Michael Chang 4 Paris, France Carpet (i) QF 6–2, 7–6(7–5) 7
41. Thomas Muster 3 ATP Tour World Championships, Frankfurt, Germany Carpet (i) RR 6–4, 4–6, 6–4 7
1997
42. Thomas Muster 5 Doha, Qatar Hard QF 6–3, 7–5 26
43. Wayne Ferreira 8 Dubai, United Arab Emirates Hard QF 6–2, 7–5 22
44. Richard Krajicek 6 Miami, United States Hard 4R 7–6(8–6), 6–4 26
45. Goran Ivanišević 5 Miami, United States Hard QF 6–2, 7–6(7–2) 26
46. Pete Sampras 1 Rome, Italy Clay 1R 7–6(7–5), 6–4 24
47. Goran Ivanišević 3 Los Angeles, United States Hard SF 6–3, 6–4 29
48. Thomas Enqvist 8 Los Angeles, United States Hard F 6–4, 6–4 29
1998
49. Jonas Björkman 5 Indian Wells, United States Hard 2R 4–6, 6–1, 7–6(7–4) 46
1999
50. Tim Henman 7 Davis Cup, Birmingham, United Kingdom Hard (i) RR 7–6(7–2), 2–6, 7–6(7–3), 6–7(10–12), 7–5 54
51. Carlos Moyá 10 Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom Grass 2R 6–3, 3–6, 7–6(7–1), 3–6, 6–2 61
52. Tim Henman 5 Montreal, Canada Hard 2R 6–1, 6–7(3–7), 6–4 46
53. Thomas Enqvist 9 Paris, France Carpet (i) 3R 6–7(3–7), 7–6(7–4), 7–5 39

Champions Series titles

NOTE: In Champions Series tournaments, there are only two sets. A tiebreaker to ten is held instead of a third set.

References
  1. http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2014/03/courier-no-more-grudge-against-bollettieri-siding-agassi/50783/#.U7hPdfldUrU
  2. http://www.atpworldtour.com/Tennis/Players/Cr/S/Sergio-Cruz.aspx
  3. Wilander: men's French final a coin toss - News - Tennis Australia
  4. "Novak Djokovic eyes calendar slam after French Open title". Sports Cafe. June 6, 2016. Retrieved June 6, 2016.
  5. Franz Lidz (February 24, 1992). "Jim Courier has capped a stunning run up the tennis - SI Vault". Sportsillustrated.cnn.com. Retrieved June 2, 2012.
  6. "Special D From This Courier". CNN. June 12, 1989.
  7. "Topics of The Times; An American in Paris". New York Times. June 10, 1992. Retrieved June 2, 2012.
  8. David Wallechinsky and Jaime Louky, The Complete Book of the Olympics, 2008 edition. (London: Aurum, 2008), p. 1022.
  9. https://www.daviscup.com/en/news/293029.aspx
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.