The former tennis ace; Jim Courier
The former professional tennis player from the United States of America, James Spencer Jim Courier was born on August 17, 1970 in the city of Florida. The right handed tennis ace won a total of four Grand Slam singles trophies all through his career, including two at the Australian Open championship and a total of two at the French Open clay court tournament.
Jim was interested in the game of tennis from a very young age. Back in 1980, the American tennis ace registered his name in the tennis academy of Nick Bollettieri as a junior player. He succeeded in the highly respected Orange Bowl back in 1986 as well as 1987. Moreover, the 1.85 meters tall Courier also won the French Open junior doubles championship back in 1987.
The next year, the American tennis ace, turned pro and started his professional tennis career. Three years later, the right handed Jim, managed to reach the final of his very first Grand Slam French Open championship while knocking down Michael Stich as well as Stefan Edberg on his way into the final battle. In the final clash, Jim faced Andre Agassi who was his ex roommate in the Bollettieri Academy and successfully got the better of him in a total of five sets to grab his first major title. In the same year, Jim later on contested in the grass court Grand Slam tournament and reached the quarterfinal round where he was knocked down by the ultimate winner Stich. While improving his performances with every single match, Jim at the final Grand Slam of the year, the United States Open dismissed the pistol Pete at the quarter final stage and later on Jimmy Connors in his semi final battle before falling down to Edberg in the final clash.
However, the American tennis ace, took his final revenge from Edberg by knocking him down in the final of the Australian Open tournament. The player carried his winning momentum and won the 1992 French Open championship as well. During the month of February, Jim on the very first occasion was ranked as the number one tennis player by the ATP and marked his name to be the first tennis player from the United States of America since John McEnroe. The American ended the season as the top ranked tennis ace.
Moreover, Jim Courier was also the part of the American Davis Cup team that triumphed in the season 1992. The winner of the 1992 French Open championship was also the top favourite player at the Olympics held in Barcelona where eventually he was knocked down in the round number three to Marc Rosset, a tennis ace from Switzerland who later one was also the ultimate gold medallist.
The season 1993 once again started off pretty well for the American tennis ace, Jim Courier who successfully defended his Australian Open title and defeated Edberg on the second occasion in a row. During the same year, Jim later on appeared in his third French Open final match in a row however, was knocked down by Sergi Bruguera in a total of five sets. Later on, he also made his way into the grass court Grand Slam final at the All England Club however was knocked down by Pete Sampras in a total of four sets. Jim registered his name as the very first tennis contender since Rod Laver, who managed to appear in the final of the French Open, the Australian Open as well as the grass court Grand Slam tournament in a single year, the deed was not surpassed until 2006 by the Swiss tennis ace, Roger Federer.
Jimmy again was the member of the American Davis Cup side that succeeded in the year 1995. In many ways, the 1993 season was the best year of Jim’s professional career as he never managed to recapture his clay surface supremacy after falling down at the final by Bruguera. Moreover, with Pete rising as the prominent player of tennis, Jim couldn’t make his way into any other major final after 1993.
All through the remaining years till his retirement in 2000, Courier never regained his lost form. Over all, the professional tennis player from the United States of America has won a total of twenty three singles trophies as well as six doubles titles throughout his professional life. As a result of his contributions to the world of tennis, Jim Courier was included in the International Tennis Hall of Fame back in 2005.
Tags: