Courier Is on Course for Another Big Year

Welcome to the Jim Courier Tour, where every forehand comes complete with a tail of fire, each serve leaves a small dent in the concrete and each match looks easier than the last one.

Courier, a 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 winner over Wayne Ferreira Sunday in the final match of the $1.7-million Newsweek Champions Cup, might not actually own men’s tennis, but at this point it sure seems as if he’s holding the lease.

On a sunny day in the desert, the No. 1 player in the world moved swiftly and easily to another title.

For Courier, it was merely another day in the winner’s circle. Courier’s third title in four tournaments this year, a success story that includes the Australian Open, was worth $235,000 as well as another quick infusion of confidence.

This last bit of information is probably bad news for the rest of the tennis community.

“My confidence level is probably as high as it’s ever been,” he said. “I might feel that I’m unbeatable--but that doesn’t mean I am unbeatable.”

Maybe so, but he looked that way against the 17th-ranked Ferreira. Courier dispensed with him in exactly two hours and played like a guy who had an afternoon tee time.

Actually, he did. Courier, who comfortably made his 4 p.m. golf date at Mission Hills, must not have expected to go five sets with Ferreira.

And how difficult an experience was it? Not difficult at all, said Courier, who didn’t have to think very long when asked to pinpoint any rough spots.

“I was never really in trouble,” he said.

For all intents and purposes, all intrigue was removed once Courier claimed the first set in 46 minutes. After that, the only drama was whether Ferreira’s right shoulder would become unhinged.

The 21-year-old South African, who hits forehands with a huge, looping motion, said he hurt his shoulder warming up before the match and felt pain on some of his serves.

“It was pretty annoying,” he said.

Equally annoying was Ferreira’s inconsistency--he had 51 unforced errors. But he was also defenseless against Courier’s newest weapon: the serve.

Players have long rated Courier’s ground strokes at the top of the men’s game, but his serve is looking pretty hot these days, too. Courier won 33 of 38 points on his first serve and was near-perfect in the second set, when Ferreira won only one point on Courier’s serve.

“I served effectively,” Courier said modestly.

Down two sets, his shoulder acting up, Ferreira faded quickly in the third set, double-faulting in key games that he wound up losing.

Ferreira slapped a final backhand into the net, then tried to explain what makes Courier so tough.

“He’s tough on everything,” Ferreira said. “He’s a very difficult person to beat because it’s difficult to come in on him and just as difficult to stay back.”

In that case, maybe the perfect place to play Courier is somewhere in between, perhaps the service line.

There might not be a good place to play Courier, unless it’s on grass, the only surface on which Courier has not won a Grand Slam title.

He is 17-1 this year, the best start of his career, and his lead over No. 2 Pete Sampras is 675 points. Courier doesn’t like adding up computer points, but maybe he feels differently about money. So far this year, he has won $621,809 and his career earnings have passed $5.5 million.

“I don’t worry about (rankings),” Courier said. “I’m very pleased to win three events, but the most important thing is I’m playing well and I’ve improved.”

Tennis Notes

Jim Courier paid credit to Father Joseph Dispenza, a Catholic priest and sports psychologist, who helped him with his mental approach to tennis. Father Dispenza died in January. . . . Wayne Ferreira, who earned $123,000, will move from No. 17 to No. 13 in the rankings when they are released today. . . . Said Courier of the coaching help he has received from Jose Higueras: “I said a long time ago that if I could transplant his brain into my body, I’d be in good shape and I’ve pretty much done that.”