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Former Tennis Champ Courier Relishes Role as Davis Cup Captain

   Kelyn Soong | Washington  13 January 2011
   Two-time  Davis  Cup  champion  Jim  Courier,  who signed a multi-year
   agreement  to lead the U.S. Davis Cup team, is shown with a replica of
   the  Davis  Cup  after  the  United States Tennis Association made the
   announcement in New York, Oct 27, 2010

Photo: AP

   Two-time  Davis  Cup  champion  Jim  Courier,  who signed a multi-year
   agreement  to lead the U.S. Davis Cup team, is shown with a replica of
   the  Davis  Cup  after  the  United States Tennis Association made the
   announcement in New York, Oct 27, 2010

   Four-time Grand Slam winner and former top-ranked tennis player in the
   world  Jim  Courier  of  the United States has kept himself busy since
   retiring from the sport nearly 10 years ago.
   The  40-year-old  has  served  as a tennis analyst and commentator for
   several broadcast networks and is the founder of the Champions Series,
   a  league  where  tennis  legends  - such as American Pete Sampras and
   Bjorn  Borg  of  Sweden  -  play against one another in a fan-friendly
   tournament setting.
   Courier  now adds Davis Cup captain to his long list of tennis duties,
   following  former captain Patrick McEnroe's resignation last September
   after 10 years with the team.
   Courier  considers  himself  a  mentor to several players on tour, and
   hopes  to enhance his relationships with the American players ahead of
   the team's first-round World Group match against Chile in March.
   "Obviously,  I've developed relationships with the guys that have been
   on  the  tour  for  a little bit longer, through just being around the
   circuit,"  said  Courier. "But with the younger players, in particular
   Ryan  [Harrison]  and  Donald  [Young],  I'm trying to establish those
   relationships  in the hopes that those guys will be a part of the team
   here before too long.â
   Courier wants to see the younger generation of American tennis players
   succeed and has always had good personal relationships with them.
   "I'm  basically a big brother for all the young pros, or all the pros,
   period,  for  anything  that  they need, whether it's advice on how to
   play,  how  to schedule, where they want to train," said Courier. "I'd
   like  to  think that I'm a resource for all of the U.S. tennis players
   to call, and call upon, whenever they need it."
   Courier,  a  Florida-native,  played  in  arguably the greatest era of
   men's  tennis  for  the  United  States. Along with Americans Sampras,
   Andre  Agassi  and  Michael Chang, the foursome dominated the tour and
   finished their careers with a combined 27 Grand Slam titles.
   Courier  also  shined  in  Davis  Cup  play, where he recorded a 17-10
   record  in  14 ties (best-of-five series) and participated on the 1992
   and 1995 championship winning teams.
   And  despite  the  Americans'  recent  struggles  to  win Grand Slams,
   Courier  is  delighted  by  the increase in interest for the Davis Cup
   among the top players.
   "There's  been  a  real  selflessness from the team, by and large, and
   certainly  since my era when we had difficulty getting players to want
   to  play, Courier said. "Now it's the other end of the spectrum, which
   is everyone wants to play, and you have to make some tough choices."

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