SouthCoastToday.com - New Bedford, MA, USA - Senior tennis has taken on a decidedly youthful look, and more intriguing than the star power present this week at the Gibson Guitar Champions Cup is that five of the eight players competing at the International Tennis Hall of Fame made their mark on the game in the 1990's. And one of the older three players in Newport, R.I., this week is
John McEnroe.
"I didn't stop because I couldn't compete out there, and neither did
Pete (Sampras).
Andre (Agassi) stopped because his back was hurting him; he certainly was still very competitive," said
Jim Courier in April when the Outback-sponsored tour stopped in Boston. "Guys stop — I stopped, Pete stopped — because you can't take the grind anymore. You can't take living without an offseason after doing it for 13 or 15 or 17 years.
"The game, until they rectify the schedule and guys can play manageable schedules, you're going to see shorter careers. That's just what you'll see."
Courier, who plays the third match in today's opening session against Mal Washington, belongs to the last tidal wave of American male tennis supremacy. He won two Australian and two French Opens, fitting nicely as third banana behind Sampras (record 14 majors) and Agassi (career Grand Slam) and ahead of
Michael Chang, who was first among them to break through by winning the 1989 French Open.
