Courier Gets Expressed the Wrong Way

Another day, at another time, Jim Courier may be able to accept the sincere compliment offered by his opponent in the first round of the Newsweek Champions Cup on Monday. If only Courier hadn’t lost.

Francisco Clavet, meaning no offense, tried to express how beating Courier was still considered an accomplishment.

“I am really happy about this victory because he has been No. 1 in the world,” Clavet said. “He is not in his best form right now, but anyway, he is Jim Courier and this gives you confidence. It is a big name in tennis.”

Clavet, ranked No. 32, defeated the 16th-seeded Courier, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, on the opening day of the men’s tournament at the Hyatt Grand Champions Resort. As happy as the Spaniard was with his victory, the big name was frustrated. Looking up at rankings from his current spot at No. 23, Courier’s former position at No. 1 seems remote. So do his four Grand Slam tournament titles.

The 26-year-old is reconciled to the slow slog of getting back into the Top Ten. Clavet’s respectful acknowledgment of Courier’s career accomplishments is not what Courier wants to hear.

“What’s past is past,” Courier said. “What’s present is here and that is what I have to work on. None of these guys are giving me anything because I won Grand Slams. That doesn’t mean [anything] to them, and it can’t mean [anything] to me. I have to go out there and earn it every day. It is very simple.”

Courier was not the only seeded player to lose. Sandon Stolle of Australia defeated 12th-seeded Felix Mantilla of Spain, 0-6, 6-3, 6-3. Eleventh-seeded Tim Henman of Great Britain withdrew because of inflammation in his right elbow.

In the State Farm Evert Cup, top-seeded Arantxa Sanchez Vicario won her third-round match over Asa Carlsson, 6-1, 6-3.

Courier is working his way back onto the tour, playing in so many tournaments that it’s beginning to be counterproductive. He has traveled more than 50,000 miles, across five continents since January. Courier has moved from Qatar to Australia, to Brazil, back to the Middle East and Dubai, then to Belgium and Philadelphia. He took a week off at home in Florida before coming here.

“There’s no question that I didn’t play the schedule I wanted to play due to going to Brazil,” he said. “It kind of threw a whammy in my schedule.”

Brazil was a Davis Cup match, a competition to which Courier remains steadfastly loyal. Should Courier reclaim the same passion for tour events as he has for Davis Cup, his ranking would certainly change.

“I don’t know, maybe he is not with the same motivation as he was before,” Clavet said. “I think he wants to come back again. He is practicing hard. He is playing a lot of tournaments. But I think it is really difficult to get back to No. 1.”

Courier was not in Top 10 form Monday, showing little patience.

As is usually the case, converting break point opportunities proved crucial. Courier did well to have six break points in such a close match, but he made poor use of them, converting only one.

Courier manufactured his only service break in the ninth game of the first set, then served well to take the set.

Break opportunities were precious for Clavet too. Neither player was of a mind to flee the heat, which was 107 degrees on court. At times, Courier and Clavet mirrored each other’s style. If Courier is the game’s preeminent grinder, then Clavet is in a large sub-group of players who are equally adept at the baseline as elsewhere.

The sheer, dry desert air tends to cause the tennis ball to take flight in a manner that players don’t intend. Under these conditions, the baseline is unsure ground from which to play.