November 14, 2006
Courier courting Sampras for 2007
By Charles Bricker / Sports Columnist
One season down, Pete Sampras to go.
That could be Jim Courier's mantra for the rest of 2006 as he signs off on the final bills and does a more comprehensive assessment of the success of his first year running a five-stop seniors tour.
And could Sampras make his first appearance in Naples, next March 7-11?
"We've been talking, verbally and in emails," Courier said. "I think Pete is very interested in playing and he seems eager to be on that path."
But there are no commitments yet, and you could speculate that, clay not being Sampras' favorite surface, he probably won't play at Naples, which is on the clay courts at the Lely Resort.
I don't suppose I'm going to get a look at the books, but Courier is assuring everyone that InsideOut Sports and Entertainment, the company he founded and which was the umbrella for the five tournaments this year (Naples, Boston, Charlotte, Memphis and Houston) is financially sound and ready to embark on a six-stop tour in 2007 --- the additional city to be announced next month.
This is the second seniors tour attempted in the U.S., coming several years after the group initiated by Jimmy Connors went belly-up. The quality of play with this group is better and the distribution of prize money doesn't depend on your name.
You win one of Courier's events without losing in the round-robin phase and you take home $48,000, and it doesn't matter that your surname isn't Connors or McEnroe.
Courier won two events this year and Todd Martin, Magnus Larson and Wayne Ferreira each won one, with Ferreira winning over Larson in the final at Houston on Sunday.
What this proves is that there is a market for these players in the United States if the tour is run right, perhaps as great a market here as there has been over the last few years in Europe, where Marcelo Rios has dominated in 2006.
The moody Rios is not the guy you want schmoozing your sponsors at one of these seniors events. Still, he's playing high-quality tennis. He was forced off the ATP tour by a succession of leg injuries, but he's still only 30 and good enough to beat John McEnroe, Goran Ivanisevic, Sergi Bruguera and the rest of the cast of characters that have been touring Europe.
I asked Courier if there was any chance Rios could be enticed over here into a sort of east-meets-west playoffs between the tours, or even just as an individual entrant.
"This is about putting the best product out there," he replied, diplomatically. "We've got great names and we're hoping to incorporate some new names next year."
One would be Sampras, another would be getting Michael Chang back. Chang played Naples in March and looked extremely fit before snapping an Achilles' tendon in a match. He's still recovering from surgery.
Courier has a three-year deal with title sponsor Outback Steakhouses, and he's probably had almost as many travel days this year as he did when he was on the ATP Tour. He's 36, in great shape and you'd swear he could come back on the men's tour right now at a small event and win matches.
"Yeah, that always creeps into your mind," he said. "I do wonder how well I'm playing, compared to, say, Andy Roddick, especially on clay. First of all, I'd rule out five sets. I can't train hard enough to do that. Best of three, that's a possibility. But it's not something I'm thinking seriously about."
So, if Butch Buchholz called next year and offered a wild card into the Sony Ericsson Open on Key Biscayne, would you consider it?
"I wouldn't expect to say yes," said Courier. "But it would be much appreciated."