Courier v Edberg in Slam finals

[Mainad]

Jim Courier played 3 Slam finals against Stefan Edberg on hardcourt back in the 90s. He beat him back to back at the AO in 92 and 93 but got clobbered by him in the 91 USO final including a 3rd set bagel for good measure! That USO final was the only one Courier ever appeared in.

Why was Courier so dominant over Edberg at the AO but completely dominated by him in their only USO meeting? It can't be that Courier was still a rookie in 91 because he had just won his first Slam title earlier that year at the FO! Plus why was Courier so unsuccessful at his home Slam compared to the other hardcourt Slam?

Was it a surface issue of some sort for him or what? Just curious.

Thanks for any explanations.

 

[tennis_pro]

Courier prefered slower surfaces to faster ones, not only was he better at the AO than the US, he also prefered the FO to Wimbledon. Edberg, however, excelled on fast surfaces - 4 Slams he won were on grass and 2 on fast US hard courts.

Of course Courier was no mug at Wimbly/US and neither was Edberg at the AO and the FO.

 

[abmk]

edberg really should've won an AO on rebound ace. He had an excellent chance at AO 90, if he had not injured himself.

In 91, lendl saved MP vs him ( IIRC ) in the semi. If stefan had won , the final vs becker could've gone either way.

92, 93 - courier was better, but still stefan could've played better and taken one of them.

As far as USO 91 final is concerned, stefan was at his very best and just laid a beatdown on courier.

courier of course was quite a bit better on RA than on Deco II.

 

[Overdrive]

Wrong section.

 

[Mainad]

Wrong section.

Yeah, keep forgetting there's a separate forum to discuss former players. Maybe the mods will move it at some point.

 

[Chico]

They are both dopers.

 

[Mustard]

Jim Courier played 3 Slam finals against Stefan Edberg on hardcourt back in the 90s. He beat him back to back at the AO in 92 and 93 but got clobbered by him in the 91 USO final including a 3rd set bagel for good measure! That USO final was the only one Courier ever appeared in.

Stefan Edberg rates the 1991 US Open final as the greatest performance of his career. It was close in the opening games, but once Edberg got the break in the first set, he just went up several levels. Courier got closer to Edberg's level in the second set, but not close enough. Edberg then went up to insanely high levels of play in the third set, while Courier was just bemused.

Edberg was clearly disappointed with his performance in the 1992 Australian Open final and Courier played a more solid and better match overall. Courier was a little annoyed by some pundits predicting that Edberg would win easily again. The match was very much in Courier's style. Courier's performance in the first 2 sets of the 1993 Australian Open final is amongst the best of Courier's career, where he totally battered Edberg. Edberg came back, though, winning the third set, and Courier fought hard to win the fourth set and the match, under pressure.

Why was Courier so dominant over Edberg at the AO but completely dominated by him in their only USO meeting?

Edberg did beat Courier in 5 sets at the 1991 Australian Open, in the Round of 16. After Edberg battered Courier in the 1991 US Open final, he never beat Courier again.

It can't be that Courier was still a rookie in 91 because he had just won his first Slam title earlier that year at the FO! Plus why was Courier so unsuccessful at his home Slam compared to the other hardcourt Slam?

Was it a surface issue of some sort for him or what? Just curious.

Thanks for any explanations.

Courier was better on Rebound Ace, and the hardcourts at Indian Wells and Miami, than he was on the summer hardcourts. Still, Courier reached the 1991 US Open final without dropping a set, including a win over defending champion Sampras and famously ending the amazing run of a 39 year old Connors. Edberg was just too good in the final, producing the best performance of his career.

 

[NADALbULLS]

The more time Courier was given to run around his backhand and make it into a forehand the better he was. Hence greater success on the slower surfaces - Roland Garros and Australian Open.

 

[Chico]

I didn't realize Edberg and Courier are still active players. Since if they are not you guys are in the wrong section.

 

[mental midget]

edberg zoned in that uso match. was pretty crazy to watch.

 

[Bobby Jr]

The AO vs USO results had pretty much nothing to do with the surfaces they were played on and everything to do with the fact that in that USO final Edberg played pretty much one of the best slam final matches in the open era. Courier was little more than a spectator.