BY NEIL SCHMIDT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Former No. 1 Jim Courier lost in straight sets to Tommy Haas.
(Michael E. Keating photo)
| ZOOM |
|
MASON -- Critics knew Sam Wyche's coaching career was in trouble when he downplayed a Bengals' loss to Cleveland with these immortal words: "There's tennis to be served and golf to be played."
Jim Courier may agree. Except the part about the tennis.
Formerly the world's top-ranked tennis player, Courier continued on the slippery slope of career decline Monday with a 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-5) first-round Great American Insurance ATP loss to Tommy Haas. The golf-loving Courier, perhaps late for a tee time at the Golf Center at Kings Island, then skipped the mandatory post-match interview Monday and was fined $1,000 by the ATP Tour.
Courier, who turns 28 next Monday, joked at year's start that he is "aging like fine wine." But as his world ranking has plummeted from 21st to 69th in seven months, that wine has soured.
He hasn't reached a Grand Slam final in more than five years, hasn't been in the Top 10 since 1996 and -- in a 14-17 year -- has fallen out of the Top 40 for the first time since 1989. Injuries to a knee in 1996 and arm in '97 left him wondering if a comeback was worthwhile.
Haas, 20, said: 'The game is progressing with more powerful players, so maybe he's having trouble keeping up.'
(Michael E. Keating photo)
| ZOOM |
|
He called his coach, Brad Stine, four times last year to tell him he was considering quitting.
"There was no joy left in it," Courier told Tennis magazine. "I was frustrated because my body was breaking down and I was working hard and not seeing it pay off. I was wondering if I'd lost my nerve."
There seems no quit in Courier's training. His legendary workouts -- heaving medicine balls, running sprints, hitting some 2,000 forehands -- haven't changed.
It's the on-court passion that's questionable. Courier used to be inconsolable after every loss, but insiders say he now looks more resigned to his fate after defeats.
The first indication things were changing came in November 1993. During a 90-second changeover in his match with Andrei Medvedev at the ATP World Championships in Frankfurt, Germany, Courier pulled Armistead Maupin's novel "Maybe the Moon" from his bag and began reading.
Though Courier still insists he wasn't distracted -- he lost the match in a third-set tiebreak -- the incident came to symbolize the loss of his competitive edge. A 1994 Sports Illustrated cover story about tennis' declining fan interest ran several photos of Courier reading the book.
Concentration aside, Courier hasn't adjusted well to the changing speed of tennis today. Haas, a 20-year-old German ranked No. 40, dispatched of Courier in 90 minutes with blazing serves, including an ace on match point.
"He is getting a little bit older," Haas said. "The game is progressing with more powerful players, so maybe he's having trouble keeping up."
Courier won three tournaments last year and one this year -- in Orlando in April, beating Michael Chang in the finals . But he lost in straight sets to 111th-ranked Jens Knippschild in the French Open's second round, lost in straight sets to Thomas Johansson in the first round at Wimbledon and dropped four straight-set matches in one week in a European swing this spring.
The memories of his onetime dominance haunt him.
"If you know what you're missing -- playing at a certain level, winning Grand Slams -- it makes it a lot harder when you're losing in the first round of majors," Courier told Tennis. "Every time I step on the court, I feel like I play two people: the guy across the net and my own history."
ATP PAGE
