Tennis Week - A Real Jim

Tennis Week A Real Jim

I guess I could claim this story is related to junior tennis, in that Courier is working on a documentary about just that subject, but mostly I'm linking to it because I'm a fan. At last year's U.S. Open, Courier, whom I memorably witnessed beating Pete Sampras in the quarterfinals in Kalamazoo in 1987, was kind enough to talk with me about several juniors and other issues. Our only connection was Kalamazoo, which is the ’open sesame’ of American men's tennis. He was all the things described in this profile--attentive, curious, candid and articulate. And grown-up, which he apparently wasn't when he dominated tennis in the early 1990s. He's a good lesson for all of us who try so hard to make heroes of very young men who have had little experience of life; who can't possibly, with the demands of world class athletic endeavors, have the wisdom and maturity that a few years of reflection can bring. The sport of tennis is fortunate to have Jim Courier, Patrick McEnroe and Andre Agassi, men now, still engaged in its future, with the perspective and intelligence to make a real difference.