Tennis: Courier's name carries day

By Foster Niumata

Auckland Tennis has succumbed to giving Jim Courier a wildcard into the ATP Open next month to try to guarantee free passes for local players in the next century.

Though Auckland Tennis says principal sponsors Vodaphone and naming-rights holders Heineken kept out of the wildcard argument, AT had commercial considerations at heart, as well as the keen interest of sports fans.

Vodaphone, who bought out BellSouth NZ, are upholding the original contract in sponsoring the fourth $650,000 Open in a five-year deal, but have said they are only interested for now in extending the sponsorship.

Roger Harvey, chairman of the AT board, who took the wildcard decision from tournament director Graham Pearce and the New Zealand Tennis representative and national director of coaching Jeff Simpson, said Courier gave the Open more profile, thereby making it more attractive commercially.

If that means only two out of three 1999 wildcards for New Zealanders to ensure a tournament in the new millennium, Harvey said: "I can live with that."
Naturally, Simpson was disappointed.

"Our players have performed well when they have had wildcards. It's a development situation. It's the only opportunity they can get [of free entry into a top-line ATP event]. Nothing against Jim Courier, he's been a great player, but he's had his place in the sun," he said.

Upon entering the Open without payment, Courier accepted that he would not receive a wildcard unless one of the leading New Zealanders was injured. But he was not expected to need one with a world ranking of 76th.

But when entries closed this month, Courier, a four-time Grand Slam winner and
former world No 1, missed the rankings cut-off by 10 spots, sparking a debate that had Brett Steven, a friend of Courier's, against giving him a wild-card, and former champion Chris Lewis for it. Public calls and comments to AT were largely for Courier and the AT board followed with a unanimous vote. Courier accepted the wildcard yesterday.

"To have him play is an opportunity not to be missed," said tournament director Pearce. Yet he and AT have their fingers crossed that Courier may free up the wildcard if, in the week before the January 11-16 Open, he can reach the weekend semifinals of the Adelaide tournament he won in 1995.

If he were to reach a quarter-final there, he would qualify as a special exemption for Auckland, having been forced to miss Auckland's qualifying rounds in which he would normally have played.

Steven, an Open finalist in 1996 and ranked 93, is guaranteed a wildcard, with the other to go to either Alistair Hunt, who won a $US15,000 futures event in South Australia last month, or Mark Nielsen, a second-time winner of the New Zealand Residential title last week.

Hunt and Nielsen scored huge upsets at this year's Open over top-65 players.

Pictured: Jim Courier