Jim Courier

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Jim Courier
Jim Courier.jpg
Country (sports)  United States
Residence Orlando, Florida, United States
Born (1970-08-17) August 17, 1970 (age 53)
Sanford, Florida, United States
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Turned pro 1988
Retired 2000
Plays Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Coach(es) Nick 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 HoF 2005 (member page)
Singles
Career record 506–237 (at ATP Tour, Grand Prix tour, Grand Slam, and Davis Cup)
Career titles 23 (27th in overall rankings)
Highest ranking No. 1 (February 10, 1992)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open W (1992, 1993)
French Open W (1991, 1992)
Wimbledon F (1993)
US Open F (1991)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals F (1991, 1992)
Olympic Games 3R (1992)
Doubles
Career record 124–97 (at ATP Tour, Grand Prix tour, Grand Slam, and Davis Cup)
Career titles 6
Highest ranking No. 20 (October 9, 1989)

James Spencer "Jim" Courier, Jr. (born August 17, 1970) is an American former World No. 1 professional tennis player. 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. As of 2015, Courier is the last man to win the Australian Open and French Open in the same calendar year, which he did in 1992.[3]

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.[4] 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[5]), as well as the French Open junior doubles title in 1987.

Tournament 1986 1987
Junior Grand Slam Tournaments
Australian Open NH A
French Open A 1R
Wimbledon A SF
US Open 1R 2R

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.[6] Courier also enjoyed a 25-match winning streak during the season. In February of that year, he became the tenth player to reach the world no. 1 ranking since the ranking system was implemented in 1973, and 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, Courier 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.[7]

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 USA Network, NBC Sports, TNT, ITV, Sky Sports and the Seven Network. Since 2005 Courier has headed the commentary for the host broadcaster of the Australian Open, The Seven Network, to mixed reviews. Courier calls all centre court men's singles matches for the network. He also conducts the post match on-court interviews with the winning player. 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.

Career statistics

Grand Slam finals

Finals: 7 (4 titles, 3 runners-up)
Outcome Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Winner 1991 French Open Clay United States Andre Agassi 3–6, 6–4, 2–6, 6–1, 6–4
Runner-up 1991 US Open Hard Sweden Stefan Edberg 2–6, 4–6, 0–6
Winner 1992 Australian Open Hard Sweden Stefan Edberg 6–3, 3–6, 6–4, 6–2
Winner 1992 French Open (2) Clay Czech Republic Petr Korda 7–5, 6–2, 6–1
Winner 1993 Australian Open (2) Hard Sweden Stefan Edberg 6–2, 6–1, 2–6, 7–5
Runner-up 1993 French Open Clay Spain Sergi Bruguera 4–6, 6–2, 2–6, 6–3, 3–6
Runner-up 1993 Wimbledon Grass United States Pete Sampras 6–7(3–7), 6–7(6–8), 6–3, 3–6

Year-End Championship

Finals: 2 (2 runners-up)
Outcome Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Runner-up 1991 Frankfurt Hard (i) United States Pete Sampras 6–3, 6–7(5–7), 3–6, 4–6
Runner-up 1992 Frankfurt Hard (i) Germany Boris Becker 4–6, 3–6, 5–7

Masters Series

Finals: 5 (5 titles)
Outcome Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Winner 1991 Indian Wells Hard France Guy Forget 4–6, 6–3, 4–6, 6–3, 7–6(7–4)
Winner 1991 Miami Hard United States David Wheaton 4–6, 6–3, 6–4
Winner 1992 Rome Clay Spain Carlos Costa 7–6(7–3), 6–0, 6–4
Winner 1993 Indian Wells (2) Hard South Africa Wayne Ferreira 6–3, 6–3, 6–1
Winner 1993 Rome (2) Clay Croatia Goran Ivanišević 6–1, 6–2, 6–2

Records

  • These records were attained in Open Era of tennis.
Championship Years Record accomplished Player tied
Grand Slam 1991–1993 Youngest to reach all four Grand Slam finals (22) Stands alone
French Open—Australian Open 1991–1993 Simultaneous holder of consecutive Australian and French Open titles Stands alone
Grand Slam 1992 Winner of Australian Open and French Open in the same calendar year Rod Laver
Mats Wilander

Grand Slam, ATP Tour, and Grand Prix circuit career finals

Singles: 36 (23–13)

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

Doubles: 11 (6–5)

Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Runner-up 1. May 8, 1989 Forest Hills, US Clay United States Pete Sampras United States Rick Leach
United States Jim Pugh
4–6, 2–6
Winner 1. May 22, 1989 Rome, Italy Clay United States Pete Sampras 23x15px Danilo Marcelino
23x15px Mauro Menezes
6–4, 6–3
Winner 2. May 14, 1990 Hamburg, Germany Clay Spain Sergi Bruguera Germany Udo Riglewski
Germany Michael Stich
7–6, 6–2
Runner-up 2. May 21, 1990 Rome, Italy Clay United States Martin Davis Spain Sergio Casal
Spain Emilio Sánchez
6–7, 5–7
Winner 3. March 11, 1991 Indian Wells, US Hard Spain Javier Sánchez France Guy Forget
France Henri Leconte
7–6, 3–6, 6–3
Winner 4. April 19, 1993 Montreal, Canada Hard The Bahamas Mark Knowles Canada Glenn Michibata
United States David Pate
6–4, 7–6
Runner-up 3. April 11, 1994 Barcelona, Spain Clay Spain Javier Sánchez Russia Yevgeny Kafelnikov
Czech Republic David Rikl
7–5, 1–6, 4–6
Winner 5. January 9, 1995 Adelaide, Australia Hard Australia Patrick Rafter Zimbabwe Byron Black
Canada Grant Connell
7–6, 6–4
Runner-up 4. October 6, 1997 Beijing, China Hard (i) United States Alex O'Brien India Mahesh Bhupathi
India Leander Paes
5–7, 6–7
Runner-up 5. January 11, 1999 Adelaide, Australia Hard United States Patrick Galbraith Brazil Gustavo Kuerten
Ecuador Nicolás Lapentti
4–6, 4–6
Winner 6. April 26, 1999 Orlando, US Clay Australia Todd Woodbridge United States Bob Bryan
United States Mike Bryan
7–6(7–4), 6–4

Major tournament singles performance timeline

Tournament 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 SR W–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 Championship
ATP Tour World Championships A A A A F F RR A RR A A A A A 0 / 4 7–9
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 34 290

Professional Awards

Head-to-head

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

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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
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  7. David Wallechinsky and Jaime Louky, The Complete Book of the Olympics, 2008 edition. (London: Aurum, 2008), p. 1022.

External links

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Sporting positions
Preceded by
Sweden Stefan Edberg
Sweden Stefan Edberg
Sweden Stefan Edberg
United States Pete Sampras
World No. 1
February 10, 1992 - March 22, 1992
April 13, 1992 - September 13, 1992
October 5, 1992 - April 11, 1993
August 23, 1993 - September 12, 1993
Succeeded by
Sweden Stefan Edberg
Sweden Stefan Edberg
United States Pete Sampras
United States Pete Sampras
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Sweden Stefan Edberg
ITF World Champion
1992
Succeeded by
United States Pete Sampras
Preceded by
Sweden Stefan Edberg
ATP Player of the Year
1992
Succeeded by
United States Pete Sampras
Preceded by
United States Pete Sampras
ATP Most Improved Player
1991
Succeeded by
Sweden Henrik Holm
Preceded by ATP Champions Tour
Year-End No.1

2004
Succeeded by
Croatia Goran Ivanišević

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