GREAT AMERICAN INSURANCE ATP CHAMPIONSHIP

August 5, 1997

Jim Courier

Q. You were double matchpoint on his serve, 4-5, what happened in that sequence? You probably remember it real well.

JIM COURIER: I didn't put the returns in play. You know, Cardinal Sin No. 1 you get the ball back in the court. And, you know, I had a second serve and didn't get it in, but, whatever. I did what -- I did what I could there, it just didn't work out.

JIM COURIER: 15-40.

JIM COURIER: Yeah.

JIM COURIER: I had chances in the tiebreaker too, but, you know, when you have somebody on the ropes like that, you have got to knock them out. You can't give them any room, for sure.

JIM COURIER: You are not going to play your best everyday. That is just the way it works. But, the other way it works is you have got to win on those days. Today I put myself in position to win and didn't quite get the job done. But, you know, for whatever reason, some days we just, as human beings, don't have great days all the time. And, today, I really didn't feel great on the court. But, you know, I fought well and fought all the way through the match. It just didn't quite work out.

JIM COURIER: That is normally the case because he is as good as he is because he does that as well.

JIM COURIER: Not really. Everybody else seemed to think it was a really tough draw. I didn't mind it too much. But, you know, obviously now it is not the best if I lost; is it?

JIM COURIER: Well, theoretically, yes, but that doesn't mean that the guy who is ranked 80 is not going to play better than the guy. You just don't know. There is not that much of a difference, really when it gets down to it between guys ranked 15 and 80.

JIM COURIER: Well, he was definitely heartened. For sure he was definitely pumped that he held serve. But, I held serve comfortably the next game and tried to close him out at 6-5, didn't quite do it. Then in the breaker had a mini-break a few different times and just couldn't quite hold on to it. And, you know, that is -- when you get those leads, you have got to close the door.

JIM COURIER: Today?

JIM COURIER: I played well in Los Angeles. That was good. So, coming in, I felt pretty good. But, you know, there is still a couple of more tournaments this summer that I hope to do well in.

JIM COURIER: It has been kind of erratic.

JIM COURIER: Thank you. Unfortunately, I guess I am not at this point. The other guys are getting better. It has been a very erratic year. I am a bit perplexed, for sure, by seven first rounds. But, you know, it is in the books, so can't worry about that now. Just got to try and go on next week and play better.

JIM COURIER: I think everybody is running uphill trying to get better, that is the way it works every year since I have played on the game I feel like I am running uphill trying to improve my game. I think probably everybody else feels the same way.

JIM COURIER: Geez, I don't know. I really -- that is a good question. Hopefully I will let you know. Life is good. I am not complaining about life. It is definitely fun.

JIM COURIER: No, shit, I have got two titles in the belt. That is a good year for most people. There is still plenty of tennis to play the rest of the way. So, the good news for me is I have no points to defend the rest of the year. I can lose first round every match from here on out and my ranking is going to drop maybe 1 or 2 spots. So I have got nothing to worry about. All I have is opportunity in front of me, so....

JIM COURIER: Do I want what?

JIM COURIER: Sure.

JIM COURIER: I wasn't intending to fly that many miles, but I got called into service to play Davis Cup a few times when I wasn't expecting to. That kind of through my schedule off. I was like the 6th ranked American player, I wasn't expected to be needed. But, I was. So that, you know, there is no doubt that that hurt me early in the season. That was a setback to have to do that. I mean, I was successful, you know, in my matches, getting the team through, but it definitely hurt me in the tournaments following that. So, you know, that is what I had to do at the time.

JIM COURIER: They needed me.

JIM COURIER: They needed me. But, you know, my schedule was already set in stone to play in the other events. By the time I got asked to play it was too late to pull out of the other events. So.... I wouldn't do a schedule next year like this one, that is for sure.

JIM COURIER: It kind of surprises me because I am almost 27, but, you know, I am still very young, my mind and, fortunately, my body, I have been very fortunate not to have many major injuries. So I have taken very good care of my body to this point. So I think that everybody is an individual, I guess. How many years did you guys ask Connors when he was going to retire? Probably ten years.

JIM COURIER: Well, that is bullshit. There is one guy standing in his way of winning Wimbledon this year and if he didn't get hurt last year, he probably would have won it last year so for him to say that, in my opinion, that is absolute bullshit. He is seeing something that the rest of us aren't seeing there. That guy is the second best grass court player in the world behind Pete right now. If Pete falls down or if someone knocks him out, Boris can walk right through the door. But, you know, that is my opinion of it. But that is the way I see it. Geez, get to the quarterfinals this year and losing to Pete, seems like it was more disheartening to him than it was encouraging. Some guys look at it half full or half empty.

JIM COURIER: See, the way I look at it is that I am beating the guys that are winning the Majors right now in tournaments so I know I am capable of doing it. I just have to strange it together. When I am not capable of beating the top players then I am going to be on the beach or on the slopes. Surf or ski, you pick.

JIM COURIER: Doubtful.