JIM COURIER AND MONICA SELES (MY OTHER FAVORITE) ATTENDED THE SAME ACADEMY, THE NICK BOLLETTIERI TENNIS ACADEMY IN BRADENTON, FLORIDA. HERE'S WHAT HE HAD TO SAY AFTER HITTING A FEW BALLS WITH HER:

"Nick ordered me to hit with Monica one day. First ball, whap!, she smacks a winner. Next, whap!, winner. I said, 'Ok, I'm impressed. You can play. Now let's practice "Uh-uh, whap!, whap!, whap!. After 15 minutes, I walked off. I told Nick, never again. He could get another guinea pig."

SOURCE: SPORTS ILLUSTRATED

INSPIRING QUOTES FROM JIM:

"Never cheat yourself out of life." (his favorite)
"It is very dangerous to have your self-worth riding on your results as an athlete."

WHAT HE HAD TO SAY

"Graf and Agassi are the only two people that have won all four Grand Slam titles and a gold medal. Now they are dating. ... I bet she didn't think that she would be watching this much tennis when she retired."-Jim Courier on Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf's relationship

"Sex gets in the way of winning."-Jim Courier explaining why he had broken up with his girlfriend, Morgane Fruhwirth (1993)

"I know you're dead, because I'm dead."-What Jim Courier said after his emotional quarter-final match against Pete Sampras at the 1995 Australian Open

"It's like chasing a girl; the chase is the fun part."-Jim Courier, about going for the no.1 ranking

AND WHAT THE OTHERS HAD TO SAY...

"He had the most amazing work ethic. He brought fitness back to tennis after Martina (Navratilova) and Ivan (Lendl) retired. He was a great guy when he was young at the Bollettieri Academy, and he stayed that way throughout his career, through all the ups and downs of it."--Monica Seles on Jim Courier [source: Tennis Magazine, Oct 2000)

"He's all blood and guts."-Singer Seal's answer on why Jim Courier is his favorite tennis player

ON TENNIS STRINGS..."Jim Courier is really demanding. He tells us, in painstaking detail, exactly how he wants his racquets strung and in what order. He'll say: 'This racquet must be strung at 32 kilos, but not until you string these 2 racquets first. Then do this racquet at 31 kilos, but make sure you string it last.' When his racquets are ready, Jim tests them by pinching together two center-main strings on each racquet--if they touch, he has the racquet restrung. Period."--Tom Parry, director of racquet services for the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy
[source: Tennis Match Magazine, Sept/Oct 1996]

MORE ISMS

"It was like an alien abduction out there, someone invaded his body and turned him into the greatest volleyer in the universe," Jim Courier said. "And today he came back to earth a little bit, which was nice." Courier then cracked a smile and addressed British tabloid journalists.
"Feel free to use that one, guys. That's fine. When I get on the Concorde tomorrow morning, I'll pick up the tabloids and see - 'Tim, Alien Abduction.'"

At a recent tryout for a Power Stick ad, Jim Courier sat in front of a camera while a casting director asked him,
"Your game is about power. How do you think about the power? When you're out there sweating, what are you thinking?" Baffled, Courier replied, "Um--where's the towel?" [source: Jay Martel, Vogue Magazine, June 1992]

DAVID HIGDON: What are you going to run?
COURIER: Five 200s, three 400s and this red light
[source: David Higdon, Tennis Magazine, September 1992]