BASEL — On 8 October 1989, 19-year-old Jim Courier claimed his maiden ATP title at the Swiss Indoors in Basel, upsetting world No 3 Stefan Edberg 7-6, 3-6, 2-6, 6-0, 7-5 in the final at the Halle Saint-Jacques. The five-set victory, the first meeting between the two future rivals, delivered the American his first tour title at the 9,000-capacity indoor venue.
Courier, ranked 35th and playing only his second year on the main tour, arrived as the underdog against Edberg's serve-and-volley game on the fast indoor surface. Edberg, the 1988 Wimbledon champion, recovered from dropping the opener to lead two sets to one, but Courier responded with flawless tennis in the fourth, blasting passing shots to take it 6-0 before edging the decider 7-5. It was his first final on the tour and only his second win against a top 10 player. "This was by far my best tennis," Courier said. "I took advantage of the fact that Stefan could have played better."
Born in 1970 and developed at Nick Bollettieri's academy, Courier was noted for western grips, short backswings often compared to baseball swings, his trademark cap, big serve and inside-out forehand, as well as his work ethic and fitness. He was part of a young American group alongside Andre Agassi, Michael Chang and Pete Sampras, and his best result before Basel had been reaching the fourth round at Roland-Garros after beating world No 5 Agassi 7-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. Edberg, born in 1966, had completed the junior Grand Slam in 1983 and won his first major at the Australian Open in December 1985 against Mats Wilander 6-4, 6-3, 6-3, defending it in January 1987 against Pat Cash 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 6-3, and adding Wimbledon in 1988 against Boris Becker 4-6, 7-6, 6-4, 6-2.
The Swiss Indoors Open, established in 1970, became part of the Grand Prix Circuit in 1977 when Bjorn Borg won the title, with prize money rising through the 1980s to attract the world's best. Previous champions included Ivan Lendl in 1980 and 1981, Yannick Noah in 1982 and 1987, and Edberg himself in 1985, 1986 and 1988. In 1989 Edberg arrived in Basel after losing two major finals in succession — to Chang at Roland-Garros 6-1, 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 and to Becker at Wimbledon 6-0, 7-6, 6-4 — with his only title that year coming in Tokyo against Ivan Lendl 6-3, 2-6, 6-4.
The Basel final started a 10-match rivalry which Courier would lead 6-4. Edberg reclaimed Wimbledon in 1990, became world No 1 weeks later and beat Courier heavily in the 1991 US Open final 6-2, 6-4, 6-0, before Courier took revenge in successive Australian Open finals, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 in 1992 and 6-2, 6-1, 2-6, 7-5 in 1993. Those victories formed part of four Grand Slam titles in less than two years, including the French Open in 1991 and 1992, before his defeat to Sergi Bruguera in the 1993 Roland-Garros final 6-4, 2-6, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. Courier would spend 58 weeks as world No 1, reaching the top at the start of 1992, and won 23 career titles before retiring in 2000.