TENNIS AUSTRALIAN OPEN : Courier, Edberg in Final Again

Playing in that sweet spot in time, Australian Open defending champion Jim Courier racked up another nearly perfect victory Friday to return to the final once more against Stefan Edberg.

The No. 1-ranked Courier’s cool demeanor and sizzling serves carried him past hot-tempered Michael Stich 7-6 (7-4), 6-4, 6-2 as the German let line calls and errors rattle him.

No. 2 Edberg, still wearing a back support but showing little sign of strain from his injury last week, beat No. 3 Pete Sampras 7-6 (7-5), 6-3, 7-6 (7-3) and for the second time denied the American the chance to vault to No. 1.

Courier, 18-0 in sets so far this tournament and a four-set victor over Edberg in last year’s final, incredibly made only 10 unforced errors against the 1991 Wimbledon champion Stich. That was just three more than in Courier’s most flawless match ever in the previous round against No. 7 Petr Korda.

Brad Stine, Courier’s coach, watched it all with pleasure.

“There’s been a big evolution in his game over the last two years,” Stine said. “Most guys would have called Jim Courier a grinder, a baseline basher two years ago. Now we can say he’s an attacking groundstroker, and that’s a big difference. Before, he needed a road map when he got inside the service line. Now he’s much happier up there. Now he knows when to attack and where to hit his approach shots.”

Courier quipped that he played better than in the semis last year, when he got a walkover to the final as Richard Krajicek withdrew because of an injury.

Courier’s victory, combined with Sampras’ loss, assured that he will keep his top ranking. Sampras had a chance to become No. 1 by beating Edberg and then Courier. Edberg, playing for his third Australian title, also stopped Sampras from reaching the top when he beat him in the U.S. Open final in four sets.

Win or lose against Edberg, Courier will remain No. 1.

“I’m happy with the way I’m playing,” Courier said. “I don’t care what I’m ranked.”

Edberg couldn’t have been happier, reaching the final here for the fifth time and the 11th time in a Grand Slam event a week after nearly pulling out of the tournament with a pinched nerve and lower back spasms.

Aided by Sampras’ volley errors, Edberg pushed the first set to a tiebreaker, came from behind 5-3 and won the set by taking the last four points, the final one when Sampras whacked a forehand volley wide.

Sampras seemed to have as many problems keeping his hat on in the 138-degree courtside heat, missing one overhead as he grabbed the bill of his cap, as he did taming his serve or dealing with shin splints as the match wore on.

“When I lost that second set, I got down on myself and started feeling my shins,” he said. “But I really didn’t serve well. That’s the bottom line. My shins were feeling pretty sore, but that’s no excuse. He beat me fair and square. It’s pretty disappointing.

“It kind of reminds me of that match at the (U.S.) Open. Maybe it’s experience. When he needs that big point, he gets it and I struggle. My serve really lost its rhythm. That’s basically the one shot I really rely on. It seemed when it came to the big point, I was always under pressure.”

Sampras was impressed with Edberg, but not enough to pick him to beat Courier.

“I think Courier’s going to win,” Sampras said. “If I’d put my money on it, I’d put it on Jim right now.”

Courier yielded only five points on serve in the second set as he consistently pounded the ball in the 110-115 mph range on first serves. Yet the set turned more on Stich’s petulance and loss of concentration on one point in the ninth game.

After Courier held at love to tie the set 4-4, Stich opened with a double-fault, one of nine he had in the match. Courier then drilled Stich’s next serve back past him for a winner, but Stich furiously complained to the umpire that the serve ticked the net and should have been called a let. It was a curious argument, Stich claiming his own serve wasn’t good, and it bothered him the rest of the game.

At deuce, Stich double-faulted again, then bounced his racket angrily on the court. Courier broke Stich on the next point with a forehand crosscourt pass and Stich immediately turned to scream at the woman who was the net cord judge. To which she responded by going over to the umpire to complain about Stich’s abusive language. Stich was fined $2,000 earlier in the tournament for verbally abusing a 16-year-old lineswoman, to whom he later sent a note of apology.

“It just took a little bit off of my concentration,” Stich said of the non-call. “He hesitated and I hesitated. We didn’t want to play but she didn’t call it. It was my problem. I shouldn’t have let it bother me.”

From that moment on, Stich was never a threat. Courier closed out the set at 40-15 when Stich made his fourth error of the game.