JIM COURIER was a non- conformist when he was 18. In fact, his hostility towards the media — and not only those in his native United States — meant that he was regarded as a demon with freckles and blue eyes. “He was what we used to call a red-a***,” one veteran commentator recalled yesterday.
Almost 18 years on, Courier has words of caution for another teenager getting his kicks in first. Andy Murray has remained here to play in the doubles — he and Novak Djokovic, his partner from Serbia and Montenegro, play the No 5 seeds, Fabrice Santoro, from France, and Nenad Zimonjic, also of Serbia, today — while the fallout from his decision to lay a share of the blame for his elimination from the singles on unwarranted pressure from the media, continues to command attention.
Murray decided that the British press played no small part in his first-round defeat by Juan Ignacio Chela, of Argentina, conveniently overlooking that there was not a single British newspaper that suggested that he would have to play anything other than his utmost to have a ghost of a chance of winning.
And while it is not too hard to imagine the tremors awaiting Murray all alone in the bearpit of unrealistic ambition that befalls any decent British player, it is best that he has everyone onside. “When I was his age, I wanted to fight everyone, both on court and off, and I realised only later that I needed to conserve all my energies for those on the court,” Courier said last night. “I wish I learnt my lesson about dealing with the media before it caused me so much trouble.
“I believe someone needs to get to Andy as quickly as possible and tell him that this is not the way to go. Who is it, for example, whose coverage of him is going to help bring in all those millions that are going to be his if he succeeds at this sport?” Courier speaks with the authority of a former world No 1, twice French and Australian Open champion and someone who played in a ferociously competitive manner, as does Murray, and who, like the Scot, came from a blue-collar background. Courier spent his formative years at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in the United States, breaking through when, as a 20-year-old, he won at Roland Garros.
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As well as his support for the seniors tour, Courier has also become a highly regarded analyst and has replaced John McEnroe as on-court interviewer and commentator at the Australian Open.