By Foster Niumata
Was Jim Courier worth a wildcard?
The "yes" camp can highlight the extra publicity for the Heineken Open in the robust debate over giving the declining American a free berth at the expense of promising New Zealander Mark Nielsen, and the rare chance of seeing a future tennis hall-of-famer
at Stanley St.
The "no" camp can say there was no guarantee Courier would have done any better than Nielsen, the North Shore baseliner who proved himself by beating a top-65 player last January. And in terms of being a draw (playing after Marcelo Rios), the stadium crowd was only marginally bigger than the day before.
Whatever the camp, it was a mutual shame that Courier was out less than 24 hours after landing in Auckland.
He was smacked off the baseline, where once he was feared, 7-6 6-1 by Romanian Adrian Voinea, ranked just seven spots better than Courier at 71 and who, when Courier was driven to become No 1 in 1992-93, regarded him "like an idol."
"I didn't feel pretty comfortable out there," said Courier. "Adrian hit the ball extremely well, just pounding it very deep and putting me on the defensive early."
Courier is rebounding from an injury that stopped him lifting his arm last year and dropped him out of the top-50 for the first time since 1987. And while he has learned how to accept losing, he still wears his heart on his sleeve.
In the second set, sensing it was not his day - his aces were called lets, Voinea's wide serves were called aces - Courier declined an offer from Voinea to replay an "out" serve that was called an ace against him, and he slogged a ball on to the street.
Behind Courier's chair, giving silent support, was golfer Frank Nobilo, who lives about a par-four from Courier in Orlando, Florida.
Nobilo was watching his neighbour play live in a tournament for the first time.
Courier will join Nobilo in a golf team's event this year. "He hits off a four-handicap, he's lefthanded, he's pretty damn good," said Nobilo. But the Kiwi will not be playing doubles with the two-times winner of both the Australian and French Opens.
"Jim's a good guy," Nobilo said. "It's a pity the crowd didn't get to see the best of him."
