TENNIS / THOMAS BONK : Courier Could Become No. 1 This Week

What does Jim Courier have in common with Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe? Unless he messes up badly, Courier is about to place his Italian-made sneakers in a very elite group of the only Americans who have been ranked No. 1.

Courier, 21, the French Open and Australian Open champion, needs only to reach the semifinals of this week’s Volvo-San Francisco tournament and pick up 15 bonus points, or get to the final, and he will become the first U.S. player since McEnroe to be No. 1.

McEnroe relinquished his hold on No. 1 Aug. 26, 1985, and the top-ranking has since been passed on from Ivan Lendl to Boris Becker to Stefan Edberg to Becker and to Edberg again.

Courier trails Edberg by only 19 points in the computer and looks like a cinch to claim No. 1.

“It would be real significant for me, since the last American was McEnroe,” Courier said. “For me to follow him up would be quite an honor.”

At San Francisco, Courier could face Connors, ranked No. 49, in the quarterfinals. Courier’s first-round opponent is Mark Woodforde. Also entered are No. 16 Michael Chang and No. 20 Brad Gilbert.

One point is already in Courier’s favor. For the first time, the indoor event will not be played on carpet, but on a hardcourt, which is good for Courier since he considers carpet his poorest surface. Last year, Courier reached one indoor final and lost to Pete Sampras on carpet at Frankfurt, Germany.

There is also a chance that if Courier does get to No. 1, he will stay there for a few weeks. Edberg, who lost to Courier in the final in Australia, isn’t playing until Feb. 17 in Stuttgart, takes a week off, then goes to Key Biscayne for the Lipton International Players Championship.

Meanwhile, Courier is going to be very busy. He follows up San Francisco with Brussels and Stuttgart, replacing an indoor event in Philadelphia, then travels to the desert for the Newsweek Champions Cup in Indian Wells and then to Key Biscayne.

The opportunity to reap a lot of computer points is there for Courier, who said he is actually more interested in winning Grand Slams than staying No. 1, assuming that he does become No. 1.

“It’s not about rankings, it’s about winning titles,” said Courier, already preparing for his probable ascent into the tennis elite--conducting a conference call in a limousine on his way to tape Roy Firestone’s “Up Close” show and “The Tonight Show.”

Say what? Asked about not being on the Davis Cup team for the first-round match against Argentina, Courier said he hadn’t been asked. A minute later, he said he turned a spot down, telling U.S. captain Tom Gorman he wasn’t available.

So which version is the truth? Courier said Gorman never actually asked him, because, well, Courier told him he wouldn’t be available.

Courier may not be No. 1 in tennis yet, but is already showing he can muddle facts with the best of them.

Good company: Courier is one of seven male players in the Open era to have won two Grand Slam events by 21. The others are Boris Becker, Bjorn Borg and Mats Wilander, four each; and John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors and Edberg, two each.

Rankings: Status quo took a beating in the latest ATP rankings, which included some noteworthy changes.

--No. 11 Andre Agassi is out of the top 10 for the first time in four years.

--Ivan Lendl is No. 6, his lowest ranking since May 10, 1981.

--Boris Becker is No. 5, the first time he has been out of the top three in nearly three years and the first time he has not been the highest ranking German since 1985. Countryman Michael Stich is No. 3.

Hall of Fame: Tracy Austin, who won the U.S. Open at 16, becoming its youngest champion, has been named to the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Austin, 30, of Redondo Beach, will be inducted in ceremonies in Newport, R.I., July 11, along with Philippe Chatrier and the doubles team of Bob Hewitt and Frew McMillan.

Family ties: “Sampras Wins Second Straight Title,” was the headline on the USTA press release last week, referring to Stella Sampras, sister of Pete, who missed the Australian Open with an injury and has not played an ATP tournament this year.

Stella, 23, earned $1,600 by winning the USTA Women’s Circuit event at New Braunfels, Tex. The UCLA graduate, who won a similar USTA event at Mission, Tex., two weeks before, is ranked No. 358 as a pro.

Fashion note: At the Australian Open, Seles was sporting a black, sequined headband, which apparently has moved into the No. 1 position in her wardrobe, ahead of the black turtleneck she wore at the Virginia Slims Championships.

Tennis Notes

Jimmy Connors will receive the Muscular Dystrophy Assn.’s Lifetime Achievement Award at Magic Johnson’s seventh sports star award dinner and auction, Feb. 21 at the Century Plaza Hotel. The auction benefits the MDA. Details: (310) 854-5200. . . . Lindsay Davenport and Janet Lee of Palos Verdes, Nicole London of Rolling Hills, Brian MacPhie of USC and Adam Peterson of Orange have been named to the 1992 U.S. junior national team, part of the USTA Player Development Program.

Connors, Agassi, Brad Gilbert, Emilio Sanchez, Javier Sanchez and Derrick Rostagno are the top entries in the Purex Tennis Championships, Feb. 24-March 1 in Scottsdale, Ariz. . . . Tim Mayotte makes his debut as a television commentator next weekend on the Prime Network telecast of the Volvo-San Francisco event. . . . A contractor has been approved and $15.9 million allocated by the Metro Dade County (Fla.) Commission to build a new permanent stadium for the Lipton International Players Championship on Key Biscayne.