Jim Courier names the toughest opponent he ever faced during his entire tennis career

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Jim Courier looked back on his career and named his toughest ever opponent.

The 54-year-old is now a successful tennis commentator and analyst, but he was a pretty successful player before making that transition.

He claimed four Grand Slam titles and reached the world number ranking, and took on some of the sport’s best players on a consistent basis.

Jim Courier had varying degrees of success against different players, but there was one player who he struggled against more than anybody else.

Jim Courier names his toughest opponent during his career

Courier played from 1988 to 2000 and played against some of the greatest players of all time.

He came through in an era of tennis where the American men dominated the tour, with the likes of John McEnroe and Andre Agassi.

But his other fellow American and 14-time Grand Slam champion Pete Sampras, was the one player he always struggled against.

During an appearance on Alexander Zverev and Mischa Zverev’s podcast, Courier explained why he found it so difficult to play against Sampras.

“I didn’t have a great running forehand. My forehand was good from the left side of the court, not the right,” the two-time French Open winner said.

“Which is why I struggled with Pete [Sampras] so much. Because I would hit the ball to his forehand, he would rip it to my forehand and then I would be in trouble. Trouble!”

When asked if Sampras was his toughest opponent, Courier added in no uncertain terms: “Oh yeah. He was everybody’s toughest opponent in the 90’s! Six straight years world number one, he was pretty good!”

How many times did Jim Courier beat Pete Sampras?

Between 1988 and 1999, Courier and Sampras played one another 20 times on the ATP Tour.

Courier emerged victorious on just four occasions, with one of those victories coming in a five-set thriller at the 1996 French Open.

The pair also played doubles together in 1989, and they reached the second round of the French Open before losing to the German pair of Christian Saceanu and the 1991 Wimbledon singles champion Michael Stich.

They were beaten 3-6, 4-6, the tournament was eventually won by their compatriots Patrick McEnroe and Jim Grabb.

Courier and Sampras played doubles together throughout the 1989 season and defeated Josef Cihak and Cyril Suk to win the Italian Open in the build up to Roland Garros.