TENNIS AUSTRALIAN OPEN : Strong Courier Keeps the Heat on Edberg

In steamy courtside heat that made Jim Courier feel right at home, he bullied Stefan Edberg for two sets as few men ever have and survived a comeback Sunday to win a second consecutive Australian Open championship.

Courier, as fierce as he was in his four-set victory over Edberg in the final a year ago, won his fourth Grand Slam title, 6-2, 6-1, 2-6, 7-5, and further entrenched himself as the No. 1 player in the world.

“I hope you have a good swim in the river,” Edberg quipped afterward, referring to Courier’s victory dive into the nearby Yarra River last year. “It was a hot one today. Sometimes I wondered, when I was two sets down, ‘What am I doing out here?’ At least I got a little fresh air.”

Courier laughed.

“He said he wondered what he was doing out here, two sets down,” Courier said. “I wondered what I was doing out here, two sets up. It was really hot out there.”

Courier then repeated his stunt, going into the Yarra fully clothed, along with his coach, Brad Stine, while about 100 watched and applauded.

Courier, who won nearly $280,000 to give him $5.2 million in career prize money at age 22, dug the Swede into a big hole with serves he could barely touch during the first two sets and nearly overwhelmed him with sizzling returns and ground strokes.

Edberg didn’t seem stiff or slowed by the lower back spasms that nearly caused him to withdraw a week ago. Rather, after recovering and improving with each match through the semifinals, Edberg simply couldn’t handle the heat and Courier’s shots.

Surface temperatures on the rubberized hard courts rose to 153 degrees during the match, while air temperatures outside the stadium were 104 degrees.

Starting out wearing a baseball cap, which he hardly ever does, Edberg fell behind, 4-1, after Courier broke him in the fourth game.

Courier’s backhand returns were too strong for the Swede, rocking Edberg back, forcing him to stare at passes, and sometimes nearly tearing the racket out of his hand. At 5-2, Edberg got rid of his cap and Courier quickly grabbed three set points at 0-40 on strong returns and a netted volley by Edberg.

Edberg fought back, pushing Courier through four deuces before dropping the set on another backhand cross-court return by Courier.

When Courier served in that first set and most of the second, he was equally punishing, giving up a mere two points in his first seven service games.

Edberg, despite his quiet demeanor, showed again that he is one of the most relentless players in the sport as he raised the level of his game during the third set. Still serving to Courier’s backhand, still attacking at the net, and taking advantage now of Courier’s errors, Edberg took control and swept through the set as if he were completely fresh.

It was the first set that Courier lost at this year’s tournament. And it would be the last.

They went to 3-3 in the fourth set before Courier once again asserted himself on returns, drilling several past Edberg to break him to 4-3. But once again, Edberg refused to quit, breaking back to 4-4 when Courier netted a forehand at 30-40.

After they each held to 5-5, Courier stepped up the pressure again to grab two break points at 15-40. Edberg, his strength nearly sapped, then double-faulted wide and into the net to give Courier the chance to serve for the match.

Courier grabbed two match points at 40-15, but Edberg saved them both, the second on a perfect drop volley. Courier went to match point again on a backhand return wide by Edberg, then won it after more than 2 1/2 hours when Edberg put a forehand return in the net.

With the victory, Courier improved his Australian Open record to 18-2. He has won four Grand Slam events, including two French Open titles.