Kevin Patrick
Hall of Fame
Courier orders a chamomile tea, exchanges some small talk with his interviewer, then begins fielding questions with clarity and grace. Gone are the hard-edges of the personality he projected in his heyday. Now, he is thoroughly comfortable in his own skin, unmistakably at ease with himself. Speaking about the honor of taking his place in the Hall of Fame alongside Yannick Noah, Jana Novotna and Butch Buchholz — not to mention the 186 luminaries already enshrined — Courier asserts, "It was not what I ever dreamed about when I was a kid. It would never have crossed my radar screen. It would have been out of the realm of reality. I feel proud as I can be to say that I am there in the Hall. It is a coda, a nice exclamation point to my career, not as relevant as winning a major, but very much like achieving the No. 1 ranking, a culmination of a lot of things falling into place. It gives me more of a reason to have grandkids some day."
Clearly, Courier celebrated success on a lofty scale, winning four majors. He captured back-to-back French Open crowns in 1991 (defeating Andre Agassi in a hard fought, five-set final) and 1992 (routing Agassi in the penultimate round); secured consecutive Australian Open championships, 1992-93, with final round triumphs over Stefan Edberg; and played on the last two title-winning American Davis Cup teams in 1992 and 1995. He finished 1992 as the world’s top-ranked player and reached the finals of every Grand Slam singles event. And yet, his time at and near the top of his profession was relatively short. Courier claimed his first Grand Slam championship when he was still 20 and collected his last of the premier prizes two years later. In a brilliant span from the middle of 1991 to 1993, he made it to the championship match in seven out of 10 majors, but never appeared in another "Big Four" final again, finishing among the Top 10 in the world for the last time in 1995 at
25.
"It all happened in a hurry," says Courier of his prime years. "I was working diligently on becoming a better tennis player and coming to terms with newfound tennis celebrity and trying to stay sort of calm in the storm, if you will, which I was pretty good at. I knew what my goal was and kept at it, which lends itself to the question: Why did it end when it did? I don’t know that that answer can really be told."
Courier might well have lasted longer in the upper reaches of his sport had it not been for three back-breaking quarterfinal losses at the majors in the mid-1990s. At the 1995 Australian Open and 1996 French, Sampras struck back boldly to oust his countryman, after Courier led two sets to love. In between, Agassi rallied from two sets down to beat Courier at the 1996 Australian Open. Not closing out those accounts cut deeply into the core of Courier’s self-belief.
"Andre was not committed to fighting the battle the way he is every day now," Courier says. "When I was up two sets to love, he just started going for broke. In my mind, he was starting to tank the match, but his balls were going in. When a guy throws in the towel and it helps him get back into the match and beat you, that is a bitter pill to swallow. With Pete at the French, I had break point against him [at 3-4] in the fourth set. He broke a string on the first serve and then came up with a second serve 110 miles an hour on both lines going down the T [for an ace]. That was a genius shot. All you can do is tip your hat to him. Those were very tough losses."
Complicating matters, Courier’s arm went dead in 1997-98. "It was frustrating for a couple of years," he recalls, "because I had tendonitis in my bicep and no one could give me a cure. I did everything from acupuncture to traditional medicine, cortisone shots, the whole deal. The only solution was to loosen my strings and lift weights more because they were making the balls heavier. I even changed racquets, but I was mortified. This was my livelihood."
Nevertheless, late in his career, Courier recorded three gratifying Davis Cup triumphs that reminded the cognoscenti of who and what he had once been. In 1998, he toppled an upstart Marat Safin in the decisive fifth match of a tie against Russia in Atlanta, prevailing in five sets with brilliant strategic acumen after losing 10 of the first 11 games. In 1999, the year before he would retire, Courier posted stirring five-set wins over Great Britain’s Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski as the Americans came through 3-2 in Birmingham, England. "Those were very satisfying wins," Courier says, "because everyone loves to build you up when you are on the way up and to knock you down when you are on the way down. I had become a non-story. The magic of the big moment woke up the lion, so to speak."
Courier is immensely satisfied with what he accomplished, and does not wonder what might have been. "Someone maybe a touch more egotistical would feel differently, but I am fortunate to have gotten four majors. There is no ‘what if’ for me. It is what it is. It was what it was. And if I was born tomorrow and you gave me this road, I would take it 101 times out of 100 because it has been an amazing ride. The ups have been as high as you can go and the downs have been pretty down, but it has not been boring. I have lived a Chinese proverb/curse: ‘May he live in interesting times.’ And my times have certainly been interesting."
Courier emerged as a worthy member of America’s "Greatest Generation" of tennis players and set a tone during his biggest years that surely spurred on his compatriots. His one-two punch of a crackling first serve backed up by the game’s biggest inside-out forehand was exceedingly tough to confront. When Courier garnered his fourth major at the start of 1993 in Melbourne, Sampras, Agassi and Michael Chang had only secured one Grand Slam tournament title each. Although Chang did not take another, he made it to three more finals. Sampras, of course, soared to another level and set a record with 14 majors, while Agassi has eight in his collection. It was an exhilarating journey for Courier and his colleagues.
"I probably just reaffirmed their belief in themselves," a modest Courier says. "Andre was a better ball striker than I was, Pete had a better serve and was a great big match player, and Michael was as tough a competitor as you will ever find. And I was a winner, a guy who found a way to win. My game was self-taught in many ways and reflects my personality."
To be sure, Courier is proud of his contribution to the game and the collective impact his generation had on tennis. But there are some things he would alter if he could do it over again. Speaking forthrightly, he asserts, "Part of my strength as a player was my single-mindedness and my ability to narrow the field of vision and use all of my willpower to win. But that shut me out from taking advice on a lot of different fronts. Thinking about my accessibility to fans, the amount of autographs that I didn’t sign versus the ones I did, I look back a little mortified at my behavior. I was so exclusively focused on playing well that I put all the responsibilities of being a top-ranked professional on the side, believing that was not my job. That was sincere naiveté. I have a much broader perspective now. I understand that the players drive the popularity of the game. The thing that I am most upset about is that we had arguably the best generation of American players in history, but at the same time, the popularity of the game declined in America. There are lots of people in power just as culpable as I am and my peers, but we had a real opportunity to keep tennis on the front pages and it slipped away. Part of that has got to be my fault."
In turn, Courier could be rash in his dealings with the media across his career. He does not hesitate in admitting that he was more defensive with reporters than he needed to be. "Absolutely," he says. "I got burned a couple of times. To change my perception of the media after a thousand fluff pieces and two bad pieces is so naïve and irrational, and yet that is what I did. I got nailed by two of the top publications in America [Sports Illustrated and USA Today]; so I closed up after that. I was young and temperamental. I absolutely see now that the way to alleviate these problems is to extend an olive branch. Everybody needs everybody [in tennis] to make the machine work."
http://www.sportsmediainc.com/tennisweek/index.cfm?func=showarticle&newsid=12592&bannerregion=
Clearly, Courier celebrated success on a lofty scale, winning four majors. He captured back-to-back French Open crowns in 1991 (defeating Andre Agassi in a hard fought, five-set final) and 1992 (routing Agassi in the penultimate round); secured consecutive Australian Open championships, 1992-93, with final round triumphs over Stefan Edberg; and played on the last two title-winning American Davis Cup teams in 1992 and 1995. He finished 1992 as the world’s top-ranked player and reached the finals of every Grand Slam singles event. And yet, his time at and near the top of his profession was relatively short. Courier claimed his first Grand Slam championship when he was still 20 and collected his last of the premier prizes two years later. In a brilliant span from the middle of 1991 to 1993, he made it to the championship match in seven out of 10 majors, but never appeared in another "Big Four" final again, finishing among the Top 10 in the world for the last time in 1995 at
25.
"It all happened in a hurry," says Courier of his prime years. "I was working diligently on becoming a better tennis player and coming to terms with newfound tennis celebrity and trying to stay sort of calm in the storm, if you will, which I was pretty good at. I knew what my goal was and kept at it, which lends itself to the question: Why did it end when it did? I don’t know that that answer can really be told."
Courier might well have lasted longer in the upper reaches of his sport had it not been for three back-breaking quarterfinal losses at the majors in the mid-1990s. At the 1995 Australian Open and 1996 French, Sampras struck back boldly to oust his countryman, after Courier led two sets to love. In between, Agassi rallied from two sets down to beat Courier at the 1996 Australian Open. Not closing out those accounts cut deeply into the core of Courier’s self-belief.
"Andre was not committed to fighting the battle the way he is every day now," Courier says. "When I was up two sets to love, he just started going for broke. In my mind, he was starting to tank the match, but his balls were going in. When a guy throws in the towel and it helps him get back into the match and beat you, that is a bitter pill to swallow. With Pete at the French, I had break point against him [at 3-4] in the fourth set. He broke a string on the first serve and then came up with a second serve 110 miles an hour on both lines going down the T [for an ace]. That was a genius shot. All you can do is tip your hat to him. Those were very tough losses."
Complicating matters, Courier’s arm went dead in 1997-98. "It was frustrating for a couple of years," he recalls, "because I had tendonitis in my bicep and no one could give me a cure. I did everything from acupuncture to traditional medicine, cortisone shots, the whole deal. The only solution was to loosen my strings and lift weights more because they were making the balls heavier. I even changed racquets, but I was mortified. This was my livelihood."
Nevertheless, late in his career, Courier recorded three gratifying Davis Cup triumphs that reminded the cognoscenti of who and what he had once been. In 1998, he toppled an upstart Marat Safin in the decisive fifth match of a tie against Russia in Atlanta, prevailing in five sets with brilliant strategic acumen after losing 10 of the first 11 games. In 1999, the year before he would retire, Courier posted stirring five-set wins over Great Britain’s Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski as the Americans came through 3-2 in Birmingham, England. "Those were very satisfying wins," Courier says, "because everyone loves to build you up when you are on the way up and to knock you down when you are on the way down. I had become a non-story. The magic of the big moment woke up the lion, so to speak."
Courier is immensely satisfied with what he accomplished, and does not wonder what might have been. "Someone maybe a touch more egotistical would feel differently, but I am fortunate to have gotten four majors. There is no ‘what if’ for me. It is what it is. It was what it was. And if I was born tomorrow and you gave me this road, I would take it 101 times out of 100 because it has been an amazing ride. The ups have been as high as you can go and the downs have been pretty down, but it has not been boring. I have lived a Chinese proverb/curse: ‘May he live in interesting times.’ And my times have certainly been interesting."
Courier emerged as a worthy member of America’s "Greatest Generation" of tennis players and set a tone during his biggest years that surely spurred on his compatriots. His one-two punch of a crackling first serve backed up by the game’s biggest inside-out forehand was exceedingly tough to confront. When Courier garnered his fourth major at the start of 1993 in Melbourne, Sampras, Agassi and Michael Chang had only secured one Grand Slam tournament title each. Although Chang did not take another, he made it to three more finals. Sampras, of course, soared to another level and set a record with 14 majors, while Agassi has eight in his collection. It was an exhilarating journey for Courier and his colleagues.
"I probably just reaffirmed their belief in themselves," a modest Courier says. "Andre was a better ball striker than I was, Pete had a better serve and was a great big match player, and Michael was as tough a competitor as you will ever find. And I was a winner, a guy who found a way to win. My game was self-taught in many ways and reflects my personality."
To be sure, Courier is proud of his contribution to the game and the collective impact his generation had on tennis. But there are some things he would alter if he could do it over again. Speaking forthrightly, he asserts, "Part of my strength as a player was my single-mindedness and my ability to narrow the field of vision and use all of my willpower to win. But that shut me out from taking advice on a lot of different fronts. Thinking about my accessibility to fans, the amount of autographs that I didn’t sign versus the ones I did, I look back a little mortified at my behavior. I was so exclusively focused on playing well that I put all the responsibilities of being a top-ranked professional on the side, believing that was not my job. That was sincere naiveté. I have a much broader perspective now. I understand that the players drive the popularity of the game. The thing that I am most upset about is that we had arguably the best generation of American players in history, but at the same time, the popularity of the game declined in America. There are lots of people in power just as culpable as I am and my peers, but we had a real opportunity to keep tennis on the front pages and it slipped away. Part of that has got to be my fault."
In turn, Courier could be rash in his dealings with the media across his career. He does not hesitate in admitting that he was more defensive with reporters than he needed to be. "Absolutely," he says. "I got burned a couple of times. To change my perception of the media after a thousand fluff pieces and two bad pieces is so naïve and irrational, and yet that is what I did. I got nailed by two of the top publications in America [Sports Illustrated and USA Today]; so I closed up after that. I was young and temperamental. I absolutely see now that the way to alleviate these problems is to extend an olive branch. Everybody needs everybody [in tennis] to make the machine work."
http://www.sportsmediainc.com/tennisweek/index.cfm?func=showarticle&newsid=12592&bannerregion=
