Company name	HSBC Holdings plc
Company logo
Type	Public limited company
traded as
Foundation	1991(HSBC Holdings plc)1865(The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited)
Founder	Sir Thomas Sutherland
Location	8 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London, United Kingdom
Locations	7,500 offices in 87 countries & territories
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Douglas Flint (Group Chairman) Stuart Gulliver (Group Chief Executive)
Industry	BankingFinancial servicesInvestment services
Products	Finance and insuranceConsumer BankingCorporate BankingInvestment BankingInvestment ManagementGlobal Wealth ManagementPrivate EquityMortgagesCredit Cards
Revenue	US$ 98.918 billion (2010)
Operating income	US$ 19.037 billion (2010)
Net income	US$ 13.159 billion (2010)
Assets	US$ 2.454 trillion (2010)
Equity	US$ 147.667 billion (2010)
Num employees	276,300 (2011)
Subsid	HSBC Bank plcThe Hongkong and Shanghai Banking CorporationHSBC GLT IndiaHSBC Bank USAHSBC Bank Middle EastHSBC MexicoHSBC Bank BrazilHSBC Finance
Slogan	"The Worlds Local Bank"
Homepage	HSBC.com
Intl	yes }}

HSBC Holdings plc is a global banking and financial services company headquartered in Canary Wharf, London, United Kingdom. it is the world's second-largest banking and financial services group and second-largest public company according to a composite measure by ''Forbes'' magazine. It has around 7,500 offices in 87 countries and territories across Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and South America and around 100 million customers. As of 30 June 2010, it had total assets of $2.418 trillion, of which roughly half were in Europe, a quarter in the Americas and a quarter in Asia.

HSBC Holdings plc was founded in London in 1991 by The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation to act as a new group holding company and to enable the acquisition of UK-based Midland Bank. The origins of the bank lie in Hong Kong and Shanghai, where branches were first opened in 1865. Today, HSBC remains the largest bank in Hong Kong, and recent expansion in mainland China, where it is now the largest international bank, has returned it to that part of its roots.

HSBC is a universal bank and is organised within four business groups: Commercial Banking; Global Banking and Markets (investment banking); Personal Financial Services (retail banking); and Private Banking.

HSBC's primary listing is on the London Stock Exchange and it is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It has secondary listings on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (where it is a constituent of the Hang Seng Index), the New York Stock Exchange, Euronext Paris and the Bermuda Stock Exchange. As of August 2010, it was the largest company listed on the London Stock Exchange, with a market capitalisation of £115.8 billion.

History

Development of the bank

HSBC (abbreviation origin: the "Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation") was founded in the former British colony of Hong Kong (in March 1865) and Shanghai (one month later) by Scotsman Sir Thomas Sutherland (1834–1922). HSBC Holdings plc established in 1990 became the parent company to The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation in preparation for its purchase of Midland Bank in the United Kingdom and restructuring of ownership domicile for the impending transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong to China. HSBC Holdings acquisition of Midland Bank gave HSBC Group a substantial market presence in the United Kingdom which was completed in 1992. As part of the takeover conditions for the purchase of Midland Bank, HSBC Holdings plc was required to relocate its world headquarters from Hong Kong to London in 1993.

Major acquisitions in South America started with the purchase of the Banco Bamerindus of Brazil for $1bn in March 1997 and the acquisition of Roberts SA de Inversiones of Argentina for $600m in May 1997. In 1980, HSBC acquired a 51% shareholding in Marine Midland Bank, which it extended to full ownership in 1987. In May 1999, HSBC continued its US acquisitions with the purchase of Republic National Bank of New York for $10.3bn.

Expansion into Continental Europe took place in April 2000 with the acquisition of Crédit Commercial de France, a large French bank for £6.6bn.

In July 2001 HSBC bought Demirbank, an insolvent Turkish bank. Then in August 2002 HSBC acquired Grupo Financiero Bital, SA de CV, Mexico's third largest retail bank for $1.1bn.

The new headquarters of HSBC Holdings at 8 Canada Square, London officially opened in April 2003.

Then in September 2003 HSBC bought Polski Kredyt Bank SA of Poland for $7.8m.

In June 2004 HSBC expanded into China buying 19.9% of the Bank of Communications of Shanghai.

In the United Kingdom HSBC acquired Marks & Spencer Retail Financial Services Holdings Ltd for £763m in December 2004.

Acquisitions in 2005 included Metris Inc, a US credit card issuer for $1.6bn in August and 70.1% of Dar Es Salaam Investment Bank of Iraq in October.

In April 2006 HSBC bought the 90 branches in Argentina of Banca Nazionale del Lavoro for $155m.

In December 2007 HSBC acquired The Chinese Bank in Taiwan.

In May 2008 HSBC acquired IL&FS; Investment, an Indian retail broking firm.

Subprime crisis

In November 2002 HSBC expanded further in the United States. Under the chairmanship of Sir John Bond, it spent £9bn (US$15.5bn) to acquire Household Finance Corporation (HFC), a US credit card issuer and subprime lender. In a 2003 cover story, ''The Banker'' noted "when banking historians look back, they may conclude that [it] was the deal of the first decade of the 21st century". Under the new name of HSBC Finance, the division was the second largest subprime lender in the US.

In March 2009, HSBC announced that it would shut down the branch network of its HSBC Finance arm in the U.S., leading to nearly 6,000 job losses and leaving only the credit card business to continue operating.

Chairman Stephen Green stated, "HSBC has a reputation for telling it as it is. With the benefit of hindsight, this is an acquisition we wish we had not undertaken."; analyst Colin Morton said, "the takeover was an absolute disaster".

Although it was at the centre of the subprime storm, the wider group has weathered the financial crisis of 2007–2010 better than other global banks. According to Bloomberg, "HSBC is one of world’s strongest banks by some measures." When HM Treasury required all UK banks to increase their capital in October 2007, the group transferred £750 million to London within hours, and announced that it had just lent £4 billion to other UK banks. In March 2009, it announced that it had made US$9.3bn of profit in 2008 and announced a £12.5bn (US$17.7bn; HK$138bn) rights issue to enable it to buy other banks that were struggling to survive. However, uncertainty over the rights' issue's implications for institutional investors caused volatility in the Hong Kong stock market: on 9 March 2009 HSBC's share price fell 24.14%, with 12 million shares sold in the last few seconds of trading.

Recovery

On 11th May 2011 the new chief executive Stewart Gulliver announced that HSBCs would refocus its business strategy and that a large-scale retrenchment of operations, particularly in respect of the retail sector, was planned. HSBC would no longer seek to be 'the world's local bank', as costs associated with this were spiralling and US$3.5bn needed to be saved by 2013, with the aim of bringing overheads down from 55% of revenues to 48%. Gulliver stated that HSBC would focus on the business of wealth management in dynamic and developing markets, principally in the UK and far east. Immediate judgement was passed on this plan, with the share price shrinking 1.5%. Gulliver also added that a decision on whether or not to relocate its head office out of the UK tax domain would be made at the end of the year.

2010 Management Shakeup

In 2010, then-chairman Stephen Green planned to depart HSBC to accept a government appointment in the Trade Ministry. Current chief executive Geoghegan was expected to become the next chairman. However, while many current and former senior employees supported the tradition of promoting the chief executive to chairman, many shareholders instead pushed for an external candidate. Geoghegan's detractors noted that while he was effective at getting things done, they argued that his blunt style was unsuited to leading the board and representing HSBC with heads of government, and his appointment as chairman would also flout UK governance guidance that barred chief executives becoming chairman. Geoghegan had reportedly threatened to quit if he was passed over in favour of former Goldman Sachs President John Thornton. HSBC's board of directors had reportedly been split over the succession planning, and investors were alarmed that this row would damage the company.

On 23 September 2010, Geoghegan announced he would step down as chief executive of HSBC. He was succeeded as chief executive of HSBC by Stuart Gulliver, while Green was succeeded as Chairman by Douglas Flint; Flint was serving as HSBC's finance director (chief financial officer).

Curtailments

August 2011: Inline with the profit growth of just 3 percent and a plan to save money as $3.5 billion over the next 2 years, HSBC will cut 25,000 jobs and exit from 20 countries by 2013 as addition of 5,000 jobs cut already announced by the bank earlier in the year. The consumer banking division HSBC will focus on the UK, Hong Kong, high-growth markets such as Mexico, Singapore, Turkey and Brazil, and smaller countries where it has leading market share.

Divestments

August 1, 2011 "to align our U.S. business with our global network and meet the local and international needs of domestic and overseas clients", HSBC Holding Plc, agreed to sell 195 branches in New York and Connecticut for around $1 billion to First Niagara Financial Group Inc. HSBC will also close 13 branches in Connecticut and New Jersey in 2012. The rest of HSBC's U.S. network will only be about half from a total 470 branches before divestments.

Operations

Corporate profile

In February 2008, HSBC was named the world's most valuable banking brand by ''The Banker'' magazine. Not known for marked fluctuations in securities exchanges around the world relative to its rivals, HSBC is more well known in banking circles for its conservative and risk-averse approach in its business operations – a company tradition going back to the 19th century. In its technical management, however, HSBC has recently suffered a series of headline-making incidents in which some customer data were allegedly leaked or simply went missing. Although the consequences turned out to be small, the embarrassing effect on the group's image did not go unnoticed.

As of 2 April 2008, according to ''Forbes'' magazine, HSBC was the fourth largest bank in the world in terms of assets ($2,348.98 billion), the second largest in terms of sales ($146.50 billion) and the largest in terms of market value ($180.81 billion). It was also the most profitable bank in the world with $19.13 billion in net income in 2007 (compared to Citigroup's $3.62 billion and Bank of America's $14.98 billion in the same period).

HSBC is the largest bank both in the United Kingdom and in Hong Kong and prints most of Hong Kong's local currency in its own name. Since the end of 2005, HSBC has been rated the largest banking group in the world by Tier 1 capital. The HSBC Group has a significant presence in each of the world's major financial markets, with the Americas, Asia Pacific and Europe each representing around one third of the business. With around 8,000 offices in 87 countries & territories, 210,000 shareholders, 300,000 staff and 128 million customers worldwide, HSBC arguably has the most international presence among the world's multinational banking giants.

The HSBC Group operates as a number of local banks around the world, which explains its advertising tagline "The World's Local Bank." In response to ongoing discussions about the survival strategies for banks, and the suggestion of "Living Wills" HSBC explains its structure as "separately incorporated and capitalised" the structure is based on a lead bank in each region, which has responsibility for the group's operations in that area, as listed below. For details of other group companies see :Category:HSBC.

Latin America

HSBC Mexico SA ''HSBC Bank Brazil SA, Banco Multiplo'' ''HSBC Bank Argentina SA''

Asia Pacific

The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd ''Hang Seng Bank Ltd'' ''HSBC Bank (China) Company Ltd'' ''HSBC Bank Malaysia Berhad''

Middle East

HSBC Bank Middle East Ltd ''HSBC Bank Egypt SAE'' ''The Saudi British Bank''

North America

HSBC Bank USA Inc ''HSBC Finance Corporation'' ''HSBC Bank Canada''

Europe

HSBC Bank plc ''HSBC France'' ''HSBC Trinkaus und Burkhardt AG'' ''HSBC Private Bank (UK) Ltd''

Global product lines and programmes

Group Service Centres

As a cost saving measure HSBC is offshoring processing work to lower cost economies in order to reduce the cost of providing services in developed countries. These locations take on work such as data processing and customer service, but also internal software engineering at Pune (India), Hyderabad (India), Vishakhapatnam (India), Kolkata (India), Guangzhou (China), Curitiba (Brazil) and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia).

Chief Operating Officer Alan Jebson said in March 2005 that he would be very surprised if fewer than 25,000 people were working in the centres over the next three years: “I don’t have a precise target but I would be surprised if we had less than 15 (global service centres) in three years’ time.” He went on to say that each centre cost the bank from $20m to $30m to set up, but that for every job moved the bank saves about $20,000 (£10,400).

Trade unions, particularly in the US and UK, blame these centres for job losses in developed countries, and also for the effective imposition of wage caps on their members. Currently, HSBC operates centres out of eight countries, including Brazil (Curitiba), The Czech Republic (Ostrava), India (Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Visakhapatnam, Mumbai, Gurgaon and Pune), China (Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen), Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur), Poland (Krakow), Sri Lanka (Rajagiriya) and Philippines (Manila). The Malta trial for a UK high value call centre has resulted in a growing operation that country. An option under consideration is reported to be a processing centre in Vietnam to access the French skills of the population and therefore cut costs in the bank’s French operations.

On 27 June 2006, HSBC reported that a "small number" of customers had suffered from fraud totalling £233,000 after an employee at the Bangalore call centre supplied confidential customer information to fraudsters.

HSBC Private Bank

HSBC Private Bank is the group's private banking operation, providing private banking and trustee services to wealthy individuals and their families worldwide. The Private Bank has in excess of 60 offices worldwide, with the major centres being Miami, New York, London, Geneva and Hong Kong.

HSBC Premier

HSBC Premier is the group's premium financial services product. The exact benefits and qualification criteria vary depending on country, but typically require deposits and investments of at least $100,000, £50,000, or €100,000. Alternatively those who have an individual annual income of at least £100,000 paid into their HSBC Premier Bank Account and are a customer of the bank's Independent Financial Advisory Service. Customers have a dedicated Premier Relationship Manager, global 24 hour access to call centres, free banking services and preferential rates. A HSBC Premier customer receives the HSBC Premier services in all countries that offer HSBC Premier, without having to meet that country's qualifying criteria.

HSBC Advance

HSBC Advance is the group's product aimed at working professionals. The exact benefits and qualifications vary depending on country, but typically require a transfer of Salary of USD 1,500 or more every month or Maintain USD 25,000 of deposits in a Savings/Current Account or investments. Advantages include and may vary depending on country this include day-to-day banking services included but not limited to Platinum Credit Card, Advance ATM Card, Current Account and Savings Account. Protection plans and Financial Planning Services. A HSBC Advance customer enables the customer to open accounts in another country and transfer their credit history.

HSBC Bank International

HSBC Bank International is the offshore banking arm of the HSBC Group, focusing on providing offshore solutions and cross border services to expatriates and migrants. It provides a full range of multi-currency personal banking services to a range of customer segments, including a full internet banking and telephone banking service. Sometimes referred to as "HSBC Offshore", the business also offers independent financial planning, and has representative offices all over the world, often working alongside local HSBC operations in those regions.

HSBC Bank International originated from the business started by Midland Bank and is based in the Channel Islands with further operations on the Isle of Man. Its operations in the Channel Islands are centred around its registered headquarters on the seafront in St Helier, Jersey. Named 'HSBC House', the building comprises departments such as Premier, Global Funds & Investments, e-Business and a 24 hour 'Direct Banking Centre'.

HSBCnet

HSBCnet is a global service that caters to local business needs by offering specialised functionality for different regions worldwide.

The system provides access to transaction banking functionality – ranging from payments and cash management to trade services features – as well as to research and analytical content from HSBC. It also includes foreign exchange and money markets trading functionality.

The system is used widely by HSBC's high-end corporate and institutional clients served variously by the bank's global banking and markets, commercial banking and global transaction banking divisions.

HSBCnet is also the brand under which HSBC markets its global e-commerce proposition to its corporate and institutional clients.

HFC Bank (UK Operation) is a wholly owned subsidiary, with 135 High Street branches in the UK selling loans to the "sub-prime" market. During 2007 and 2008, it has been trying to fend off a union recognition campaign by the Trade Union Unite.

HSBC Direct

HSBC Direct is a telephone/online direct banking operation which attracts customers through mortgages, accounts and savings. It was first launched in the USA in November 2005 and is now available in Britain, Canada, Taiwan, South Korea and France. Poland is launching business direct in September 2009. In the US, HSBC Direct is now part of HSBC Advance

Brand and advertising

The group announced in November 1999 that the HSBC brand and the hexagon symbol would be adopted as the unified brand in all the markets where HSBC operates, with the aim of enhancing recognition of the group and its values by customers, shareholders and staff throughout the world.

Logo

The hexagon symbol was originally adopted by The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation as its logo in 1983. It was developed from the bank’s house flag, a white rectangle divided diagonally to produce a red hourglass shape. Like many other Hong Kong company flags that originated in the 19th century, and because of its founder's nationality, the design was based on the cross of Saint Andrew. The logo was designed by graphic artist Henry Steiner.

Sponsorship

Having sponsored the Jaguar Racing Formula One team since the days of Stewart Grand Prix, HSBC ended its relationship with the sport when Red Bull purchased Jaguar Racing from Ford. HSBC has now switched its focus to golf, taking title sponsorship of events such as the HSBC World Match Play Championship, HSBC Women's World Match Play Championship (now defunct), HSBC Champions and HSBC Women's Champions.

In football HSBC sponsors French club AS Monaco and Mexican club C.F. Pachuca, and in rugby league, HSBC sponsors Telford Raiders in the Rugby League Conference. In Australia, HSBC sponsors the New South Wales Waratahs rugby team in the Super 15 rugby union competition, as well as the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League.

HSBC’s other sponsorships are mainly in the area of education, health and the environment. In November 2006, HSBC announced a $5 million partnership with SOS Children as part of Future First.

HSBC sponsors the Great Canadian Geography Challenge, which has had around 2 million participants in the past 12 years. Since 2001, HSBC has sponsored the Celebration of Light, an annual musical fireworks competition in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. In 2007 HSBC announced it would be a sponsor of the National Hockey League's Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames. HSBC has also sponsored a professional gaming team that was disbanded late 2007.

HSBC sponsored the 2009 British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa.

HSBC is the official banking partner of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, providing banking facilities on site and renaming the Road to Wimbledon junior event, as The HSBC Road to Wimbledon National 14 and Under Challenge.

HSBC was named the 'Official Banking Partner' of The Open Championship, in a five year deal announced in 2010.

Customer groups

HSBC splits its business into four distinct groups:

Retail Banking and Wealth Management

HSBC provides more than 100 million customers worldwide with a full range of personal financial services, including current and savings accounts, mortgage loans, car financing, insurance, credit cards, loans, pensions and investments.

Retail Banking and Wealth Management was previously referred to as Personal Financial Services. This rename was announced during HSBC's 2011 Investor Day.

Commercial banking

HSBC provides financial services to small, medium-sized and middle-market enterprises. The group has more than 3 million of such customers, including sole proprietors, partnerships, clubs and associations, incorporated businesses and publicly quoted companies.

Global banking and markets

Global Banking and Markets is the investment banking arm of HSBC. It provides investment banking and financing solutions for corporate and institutional clients, including corporate banking, investment banking, trade services, payments and cash management, and leveraged acquisition finance. It provides services in credit and rates, foreign exchange, money markets and securities services, in addition to asset management services.

Global Banking and Markets has offices in more than 60 countries and territories worldwide, and describes itself as "emerging markets-led and financing-focused".

Global Banking and Markets is currently being led by former fixed-income trader Samir Assaf, who was promoted from global head of markets on 10 December 2010.

Private banking

HSBC Private Bank is the marketing name for the private banking business conducted by the principal private banking subsidiaries of the HSBC Group worldwide. HSBC Private Bank, together with the private banking activities of HSBC Trinkaus, known collectively as Group Private Banking, provides services to high net worth individuals and their families through 93 locations in some 42 countries and territories in Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, the Americas, the Middle East and Africa. As of December 2007, profits before tax were US$1,511 million and combined client assets under management were US$494 billion.

In September 2008, HSBC announced that it would combine its two Swiss private banks under one brand name in 2009, with HSBC Guyerzeller and HSBC Private Bank to be merged into one legal entity, under the newly appointed CEO of HSBC Private Bank, Alexandre Zeller.

See also

HSBC Buildings

List of banks in the United Kingdom

List of buildings and structures in Hong Kong

Primary dealers

Notes

External links

HSBC Group site

HSBC Private Bank

HSBC To Cut 30,000 Jobs Worldwide

Category:Banks established in 1865 Category:Callable Bull/Bear Contracts issued in Hong Kong Stock Exchange Category:Companies listed on the London Stock Exchange Category:Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange Category:Companies of Hong Kong Category:Credit cards Category:Financial services companies based in London Category:Hang Seng Index Constituent Stocks Category:Investment banks Category:Primary dealers Category:Registered Banks of New Zealand Category:Warrants issued in Hong Kong Stock Exchange

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{{infobox person| name	Jerome Corsi
birth name	Jerome Robert Corsi
birth date	August 31, 1946
birth place	East Cleveland, Ohio
residence	New Jersey
known for	Co-author of ''Unfit for Command'', author of ''The Obama Nation''
education	BA Case Western Reserve, magna cum laudePhD Harvard
occupation	Writer
party	Constitution Party
religion	Roman Catholic
spouse	Monica CorsiJoy Dugan
children	Alexis Corsi, daughter
parents	Louis E. CorsiAlice Hanlon Corsi
footnotes	}}

Jerome Robert Corsi (born August 31, 1946) is an American author, political commentator and conspiracy theorist best-known for his two ''New York Times'' bestselling books: ''The Obama Nation'' and ''Unfit for Command'' (with co-author John O'Neill). Both books, the former written in 2008 and the latter in 2004, attacked Democratic presidential candidates and were criticized for including numerous inaccuracies.

In other books and columns for conservative websites such as WorldNetDaily and Human Events, Corsi has discussed topics that are considered conspiracy theories in some circles, such as the alleged plans for a North American Government, the theory that President Barack Obama is not an American citizen; criticism of the United States government for allegedly covering up information about the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, promoting the Abiogenic hypothesis of the origin of oil (arguing that oil is produced from chemical reactions in the Earth, in contrast to the general consensus of the scientific community that oil is produced from organic materials, such as zooplankton and algae), and alleged United States support of Iran in its attempts to develop nuclear weapons.

Early life

Jerome Corsi was born in East Cleveland, Ohio, to Louis E. Corsi, a union public relations director, and Alice Corsi, née Hanlon. He married Joy Dugan on May 8, 1970. The marriage ended in divorce. He married Monica Corsi in 1991.

He graduated from St. Ignatius High School in 1964. He earned a B.A. from Case Western Reserve University in 1968, and was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa Society. He earned a Ph.D. in political science from Harvard University in 1972.

Career

In 1972 Corsi researched the political protests around the 1972 Democratic and Republican National Conventions in Miami Beach, and the involvement of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War. His research was then published by the Lemberg Center for the Study of Violence (Brandeis University, 1974).

Corsi went into banking and finance in 1981. In 1995 Corsi helped launch a mutual fund to invest in formerly Communist Poland after the fall of the Soviet Union, which eventually lost $1.2 million, much of it from a group of about 20 Minnesota investors. Some of the investors blamed the organizers, including Corsi, for their investment in the former Communist country. Two investors sued Corsi and his partners on the basis that the organizers had given their personal guarantee backing up the investment, and won judgments against them. They did not collect from Corsi because, as one investor claimed, the money "had been moved into his wife's name ... There was nothing to get out of him." The FBI found no basis for bringing criminal charges. Until his 2004 book, Corsi was a financial services marketing specialist.

In January 2005, Corsi told the ''Boston Herald'' that he planned to bid for John Kerry's Senate seat in Massachusetts in 2008 as a Republican or Independent candidate. He later said his wife had "vetoed" this plan. Then Corsi stated "Howard Phillips of the Constitution Party asked me to consider seriously running for president in 2008 and I am doing so." He then agreed to be nominated at the Constitution Party National Convention, but he dropped out in July 2007.

Writings and conspiracy theories

Corsi has written about a variety of subjects, including Democratic politicians and conspiracy theories. According to ''The Guardian'', Corsi — who is Catholic — has been accused by the American press "of being anti-Islamic, anti-Catholic, anti-Semitic and homophobic, and of exploiting racial prejudices in an attempt to 'scare white America'." In 2004, Corsi wrote a critical biography of then Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry called ''Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry''. In 2005 he published ''Atomic Iran: How the Terrorist Regime Bought the Bomb and American Politicians'', which claimed Democratic politicians are corrupted by Iranian money and are helping the Ulemas, who seek nuclear weapons, in Tehran. That same year he co-authored ''Black Gold Stranglehold: The Myth of Scarcity and the Politics of Oil'' (2005) with Craig R. Smith.

In 2006, he co-authored ''Showdown with Nuclear Iran: Radical Islam's Messianic Mission to Destroy Israel and Cripple the United States'' with Michael D. Evans. In August 2006 he published ''Minutemen: The Battle to Secure America's Borders'' with Minutemen founder Jim Gilchrist. This book criticized President George W. Bush's border protection policies, accusing him of furthering plans to create a North American Union. In May 2006, Corsi co-wrote the book ''Rebuilding America'' with Kenneth Blackwell, then Ohio secretary of state and a Republican candidate for Governor of Ohio.

In March 2008 Corsi reported in WorldNetDaily that a "Muslim terrorist group with ties to criminal drug networks and al-Qaida" has given "strong support" to John McCain.

In 2007 Corsi wrote that he himself is not a Republican and complained that "the Republican Party is controlled by what used to be called the 'Rockefeller Wing'." In addition, Corsi called for the impeachment of George W. Bush." On August 15th, 2008, Corsi endorsed Constitution Party presidential candidate Chuck Baldwin, who had campaigned to reopen the investigation into the September 11, 2001 attacks in support of the 9/11 Truth Movement.

Corsi has also referred to Martin Luther King, Jr. as a "shakedown artist".

Factcheck.org called Corsi's ''The Obama Nation'' "a mishmash of unsupported conjecture, half-truths, logical fallacies and outright falsehoods." Obama's campaign has criticized Corsi as a "bigoted fringe author" for these claims, as well as "the bizarre, conspiratorial views that Jerome Corsi has advocated in his broader work." Corsi has also appeared on ''INN World Report'', a news program on Free Speech TV, to advance his claims.

''Unfit for Command''

In August 2004, Corsi's ''Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry'', with attributed coauthor John O'Neill, was published by Regnery Publishing. The book sold more than 1.2 million copies.

The main theme of Corsi's portion of the book was to criticize Kerry's antiwar activities after returning from Vietnam, and to dispute many of his and other antiwar activists' assertions that U.S. soldiers had committed war crimes and atrocities, burned down villages, and murdered innocent civilians in Vietnam. Kerry gained notoriety, the book argues, by bringing to light such horrific events as the My Lai Massacre, thus damaging the image of the U.S. Military in the Winter Soldier hearings.

The other theme of the book was that Kerry's four month tour in Vietnam had been marked by cowardice under fire and fraudulently obtaining medals. In that regard, the book contained statements by some veterans of the Vietnam War who served with John Kerry on Swift Boats, several of whom executed affidavits in support of their claims; these claims were repudiated by other veterans who served with Kerry and often were disproven by outside sources, including the Navy's official records.

After controversial comments Corsi had made at the ''Free Republic'' website were publicized by the Media Matters for America website, John O'Neill claimed that Corsi was not actually a co-author of the book ''Unfit for Command'', but rather was "simply an editor." Nevertheless, O'Neill described Corsi as the book's "coauthor" in a 2007 letter to the ''New York Times''. Scott Swett and Tim Ziegler describe Corsi's efforts in writing the book, referring to him as one of its "authors," in their book ''To Set the Record Straight''.

In 2007 Corsi, along with Bill Gertz, Lt. Col. Robert (Buzz) Patterson, Joel Mowbray and Richard Miniter, sued Regnery's parent company, Eagle Publishing, claiming the company "orchestrate[d] and participate[d] in a fraudulent, deceptively concealed and self-dealing scheme to divert book sales away from retail outlets and to wholly owned subsidiary organizations within the Eagle conglomerate." The suit was dismissed on June 30, 2008

''The Obama Nation''

Corsi's book ''The Obama Nation: Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality'' was released on August 1, 2008, and is critical of Barack Obama and his candidacy for President. In response, the Obama campaign issued a 40 page rebuttal called "''Unfit for Publication''" on his website FightTheSmears.com, alleging factual errors. Corsi proclaimed the Obama report a confession that the most serious charges against Obama were true, because (he said) the campaign report cited minor issues, responded to charges different from those that Corsi had made, and implicitly confirmed many of Corsi's allegations.

According to various American news sources, many of the accusations made in the book are unsubstantiated, misleading or inaccurate.

According to ''The New York Times'', "Significant parts of the book, whose subtitle is 'Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality,' have been challenged in the days since its debut on Aug. 1." The book made its first appearance on ''The Times''' best-sellers list for nonfiction hardcovers at No. 1. Corsi conducted over 100 interviews promoting the book, including a scheduled appearance on ''The Political Cesspool'', a white supremacist radio talk show. He previously appeared on the show on July 20, but he canceled his August 17 appearance because of a change in "travel plans". In August 2008, Corsi appeared on Alex Jones' radio show and promoted ''The Obama Nation''.

Paul Waldman criticized ''The Obama Nation'' as "filled with falsehoods." In a debate with Corsi on ''Larry King Live'', Waldman accused him of using baseless innuendo as a tactic to 'smear' Obama.

On October 7, 2008, Corsi and his media consultant Tim Bueler were detained by immigration authorities in Kenya while doing further research related to the book, allegedly for failure to have a work permit. Corsi had scheduled a press conference to announce new research proving that Obama had raised a million dollars for the election campaign of Kenyan prime minister Raila Odinga, and had helped run Odinga's campaign as a strategist, including setting the stage for the campaign of violence and bloodshed that had brought Odinga to power after a disputed election. The meeting was interrupted by Kenyan immigration officials when they detained Corsi. Corsi was eventually deported.

''Black Gold Stranglehold''

Corsi has also promoted the concept of abiotic oil production (as opposed to the theory for formation of petroleum from biological matter); the idea that oil is naturally produced underground through chemical processes under extreme heat and pressure, rather than by the conversion of biological material. In his book ''Black Gold Stranglehold: The Myth of Scarcity and the Politics of Oil'', Corsi questions the "truism that oil is fossil fuel." As oil wells have drilled ever deeper, and discovered oil at 30,000 feet beneath the surface (5½ miles) it becomes clear, Corsi argues, that no dinosaur remains were buried 30,000 feet under ground. Corsi argues that oil men have long noticed that oil wells pumped dry sometimes "refill" with oil, suggesting a much deeper source for the oil, rising up under pressure to refill oil wells. Meanwhile, scientists have detected the presence of "fossil fuels" or hydrocarbons on Saturn's moon Titan. Furthermore, Corsi, argues, science has never put forward a satisfactory explanation for how a dinosaur can turn into oil.

Corsi suggests that the world buys into scientific views of petroleum formation because it would be "disastrous — both to oil companies and to politicians in office" in terms of pricing to admit that oil is not a scarce commodity. The abiotic oil theory is in conflict with scientific consensus.

On the inside flap of the book:

Jerome R. Corsi and Craig R. Smith expose the fraudulent science that has been sold to the American people in order to enslave them — the belief that oil is a fossil fuel and a finite resource. On the contrary, this book presents authoritative research, currently known mostly in the scientific community, that oil is not a product of decaying dinosaurs and prehistoric forests. Rather, it is a natural product of the Earth. The scientific evidence cited by Corsi and Smith suggests that oil is constantly being produced by the Earth, far below the planet's surface, and that it is brought to attainable depths by the centrifugal forces of the Earth's rotation.

''Atomic Iran''

In 2005 Corsi's ''Atomic Iran: How the Terrorist Regime Bought the Bomb and American Politicians'' was published by WND Books with an introduction by Craig R. Smith. In the book he claims Democratic politicians are corrupted by Iranian money and are helping the mullahs, who seek nuclear weapons, in Tehran. Corsi accused an aide for John Kerry of helping the mullahs, who strongly rejected the claim. To promote the book, Corsi appeared in conservative venues such as on ''Hannity & Colmes'' on April 8, 2005, at the Heritage Foundation, and on WEJEW Radio.

On the topic in April 2005, Corsi wrote "An atomic Iran is imminent ... mullahs may have bomb by June." One year after the publication, Corsi wrote in his WorldNetDaily column, "I told you so", and claimed his book was right about failed talks. The book was taken as highly controversial, generating opposing views.

''Where's the Birth Certificate?''

Corsi wrote ''Where's the Birth Certificate?'', a book that questions Obama's American citizenship. Prior to its May 2011 release, the book enjoyed a buzz-building teaser article in the heavily-trafficked Drudge Report website, but Obama released his long-form birth certificate three weeks before the book was published. Shortly after the book's publication, ''Esquire'' issued a satirical report that the book had been recalled, which prompted Corsi to sue ''Esquire'' for damages of over $285 million.

North American Union conspiracy theories

Corsi claims that "President Bush is pursuing a globalist agenda to create a North American Union" a theoretical continental union of Canada, Mexico and the United States, that will supplant the United States. In 2007 he predicted an amero currency to replace dollar for this union will happen within 10 years. The "Union" is a theme in two of his books ''The Late Great U.S.A.: The Coming Merger With Mexico and Canada'' (2007) and ''Minutemen: The Battle to Secure America's Borders'' (2006) as he explained on The Conservative Caucus's TV show. On December 15, 2006 Corsi reported for the first time he "had found a major intellectual leader behind the push to integrate North America suggesting that a crisis of 9-11 proportions might be just what was needed to advance the process toward establishing a North American Union and the amero."

In 2007 he claimed a North American Union driver's license was created and that the U.S. State Department was in talks to "move toward a transatlantic union." That same year he claimed, "Virgil Goode, R-Va., has introduced a House of Representatives resolution expressing congressional opposition to construction of a NAFTA Super Highway System or entry into a North American Union with Mexico and Canada." The validity of those claims was criticized in ''Newsweek'' and the author noted: "Corsi offered a warning: President Bush's supposed determination to force North American integration, he told the audience, could cost the GOP the 2008 presidential election. Corsi may have a conspiratorial bent. But he sure knows how to spin stories that shake up an election — and at least one candidate seems happy to help him."

John Hawkins, a fellow writer for ''Human Events'', responded: "Yesterday, Jerome Corsi was prattling on about the North American Union again after Michael Medved deservedly spanked him for spreading conspiracy theories. While I don't think Corsi is any more worthy of being taken seriously than those who think Jews rule the world or the 'Truthers' who think President Bush is responsible for 9/11, I thought I would respond to him one last time." Michael Medved, a conservative writer, listed Corsi as number three on his list of "The Most Annoying People on the Right", and wrote: "Nobody has worked harder to convince people that the completely moronic North American conspiracy theory is real than the right's version of Dylan Avery, kooky Jerome Corsi." Additionally, conservative Hugh Hewitt said Corsi is "from the fringe."

In October 2009, his book ''America for Sale: Fighting the New World Order, Surviving a Global Depression, and Preserving USA Sovereignty'' was published, which alleges "the globalists' plan to put America on the sale block, from financial services firms to public infrastructure such as highways and airports." To promote the book, he appeared on Sean Hannity's show on Fox News and then discussed the issue on ''Coast to Coast'' with George Noory.

9/11 conspiracy theory

According to Corsi, "A video clip widely circulated on the Internet shows a test that pulverized an F-4 fighter on impact with a hardened target, providing evidence to answer 9/11 skeptics who question why so little identifiable airplane debris remained after the hijacked American Airlines Boeing 757 hit the Pentagon." Audio]and a Youtube video has been circulated, especially among those questioning Corsi's credibility, of Corsi's January 29, 2008 interview on conspiracy theorist Alex Jones' radio show. In the interview Corsi discusses "the findings of Steven Jones, physicist and hero of the '9/11 Truth' movement who claims to have evidence that the World Trade Center towers collapsed due to explosives inside the building, not just the planes hitting them, during the attacks." Corsi cites Jones' findings of microscopic forensic evidence which seemingly negates the U.S. government hypothesis that the aircraft's jet fuel fired heat, alone, was sufficiently hot enough to collapse the steel superstructure of the buildings.

Accusation of plagiarism

Conservative author and pundit Debbie Schlussel has accused Corsi of plagiarizing elements from columns that she has published, and subsequently posting them under his byline in his ''WorldNetDaily'' column.

Selected works

Lewis, Ralph G. and Jerome R. Corsi. ''To Make the World Safe for Picnics: The 1972 Political Conventions in Miami Beach''. 1974

O'Neill, John E. and Jerome R. Corsi. ''Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry''. Regnery Publishing, 2004. ISBN 0-89526-017-4.

Blackwell, Kenneth and Jerome R. Corsi. ''Rebuilding America: A Prescription for Creating Strong Families, Building the Wealth of Working People, and Ending Welfare''. WND Books, 2006. ISBN 1581825013

Corsi, Jerome R. ''The Late Great U.S.A.: The Coming Merger With Mexico and Canada''. WND Books, 2007, ISBN 0979045142.

See also

Swiftboating

William Estabrook Chancellor

Francis Alphonse Capell

References

Further reading

Swett, Scott and Tim Ziegler, ''To Set The Record Straight: How Swift Boat Veterans, POWs and the New Media Defeated John Kerry'', New American Media Publishing, 2008. ISBN 978-0-9799841-5-0

External links

Column archive at ''WorldNetDaily''

Column archive at ''Human Events''

Jerome Corsi on The Dangers of the "North American Union" from The Conservative Caucus

Unfit For Publication: An Investigative Report On The Lies In Jerome Corsi's "Obama Nation" – Obama for America official response

*Unfit for Publication from Obama for America

Video discussion/debate with Jane Hamsher on Bloggingheads.tv

Category:1946 births Category:Living people Category:American political pundits Category:American political writers Category:Conspiracy theorists Category:Harvard University alumni Category:Case Western Reserve University alumni Category:People from Cleveland, Ohio Category:Human Events people Category:Constitution Party (United States) politicians

name	Pete Sampras
country
residence	Los Angeles, California
nickname	Pistol Pete, King of swing
birth date	August 12, 1971
birth place	Potomac, Maryland
height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
weight
spouse	Bridgette Wilson (2000–present)
turnedpro	1988
retired	2002
plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
racket	Wilson Pro Staff Original
careerprizemoney	US$ 43,280,489
tennishofyear	2007
tennishofid	pete-sampras
singlesrecord	762–222 (77.44%)
singlestitles	64
highestsinglesranking	No. 1 (April 12, 1993)
australianopenresult	W (1994, 1997)
frenchopenresult	SF (1996)
wimbledonresult	W (1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000)
usopenresult	W (1990, 1993, 1995, 1996, 2002)
othertournaments	Yes
masterscupresult	W (1991, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999)
olympicsresult	3R (1992)
doublesrecord	64–70
doublestitles	2
Grandslamsdoublesresults	yes
Australianopendoublesresult	2R (1989)
Frenchopendoublesresult	2R (1989)
Wimbledondoublesresult	3R (1989)
Usopendoublesresult	1R (1988, 1989, 1990)
highestdoublesranking	No. 27 (February 12, 1990)
updated	July 5, 2008 }}

Petros "Pete" Sampras () (born August 12, 1971) is a retired American tennis player and former World No. 1. During his 15-year tour career, he won 14 Grand Slam singles titles and became recognized as one of the greatest tennis players of all time.

Sampras debuted on the professional tour in 1988 and played his last top-level tournament in 2002 when he won the US Open, defeating rival Andre Agassi in the final. He was the year-end World No. 1 for six consecutive years (1993–1998), a record for the open era. His seven Wimbledon singles championships is a record shared with William Renshaw. He spent 286 weeks at number 1, the most of any player. His five US Open singles titles is an open-era record shared with former World No. 1 players Jimmy Connors and Roger Federer. He won five ATP World Tour Finals, a record shared with Ivan Lendl and Federer. Sampras is the last American male to win Wimbledon (2000) and ATP World Tour Finals (1999).

Tennis career

Early life and career

Pete Sampras was born in Potomac, Maryland, and is the third child of Sammy and Georgia Sampras. His mother immigrated from Sparta, Greece, and his father was born in the United States to a Greek immigrant father and a Jewish mother. Greek culture played a big role in his upbringing. Pete attended regular services of the Greek Orthodox Church on Sundays. From an early age, Sampras showed signs of outstanding athletic ability. At age 3 Sampras discovered a tennis racket in the basement of his home and spent hours hitting balls against the wall. In 1978, the Sampras family moved to Palos Verdes, California, and the warmer climate there allowed seven-year-old Pete to play more tennis. From early on, his great idol was Rod Laver, and at 11 Sampras met and played with him. The Sampras family joined the Jack Kramer Club, and it was here that Sampras's talent became apparent. He was spotted by Peter Fischer, a pediatrician and tennis enthusiast, who coached Sampras until 1989. Fischer was responsible for converting Sampras's double-handed backhand to single-handed with the goal of being better prepared to win Wimbledon.

1988–1990

Sampras turned professional in 1988, at the age of 16, and finished the year ranked World No. 97 after starting the year at World No. 893. His first professional match was a loss to Sammy Giammalva, Jr. at the February Ebel U.S. Pro Indoor in Philadelphia. But just one week later at the Lipton International Players Championships in Miami, Sampras defeated two top-40 players before losing to World No. 18 Emilio Sánchez. He did not defeat another top-40 player for almost six months, when he defeated World No. 39 Michiel Schapers at a US Open warm-up tournament in Rye Brook, New York. In his first Grand Slam singles match, Sampras lost to World No. 69 Jaime Yzaga of Peru in the first round of the US Open 6–7(2), 6–7(4), 6–4, 7–5, 6–2. Sampras did not advance past the quarterfinals in his next three tournaments, although he did record wins over World No. 79 Jim Courier, in their first career match-up, and World No. 8 Tim Mayotte.

The following year, Sampras slightly improved his ranking to a year-ending World No. 81. He lost in the first round of the 1989 Australian Open to Christian Saceanu and the first round of Wimbledon to Todd Woodbridge 7–5, 7–6(5), 5–7, 6–3. He won a Grand Slam singles match for the first time at the French Open before losing in the second round to eventual champion, 17-year-old Michael Chang, 6–1, 6–1, 6–1 in their first career match-up. At the US Open, Sampras defeated defending champion and fifth-seeded Mats Wilander in the second round 5–7, 6–3, 1–6, 6–1, 6–4 before losing to World No. 13 Jay Berger in the fourth round. To end the year, Sampras lost in the first round of four consecutive tournaments.

Sampras finished 1990 at World No. 5, having started the year ranked World No. 61 just prior to the start of the Australian Open. He lost to Wilander in the quarterfinals of the tournament in Sydney. At the Australian Open, Sampras upset twelfth-ranked Mayotte in the first round 7–6(6), 6–7(5), 4–6, 7–5, 12–10 before losing to thirteenth-ranked Yannick Noah in the fourth round in four sets. His first professional singles title came in February at the Ebel U.S. Pro Indoor in Philadelphia, where he defeated sixth-ranked Andre Agassi, eighth-ranked Mayotte, and eighteenth-ranked Andrés Gómez in the final. This title elevated his ranking into the top-20 for the first time. Sampras did not play the French Open and again lost in the first round of Wimbledon, this time to Christo van Rensburg 7–6(4), 7–5, 7–6(3). Sampras played seven consecutive weeks during the North American summer hard court season. He defeated John McEnroe in the quarterfinals of the Canadian Open but then lost to Chang in the semifinals. He also reached the semifinals of the tournament in Los Angeles where he lost to World No. 2 Stefan Edberg. He did not advance past the quarterfinals in his next three tournaments, losing to Chang, Richey Reneberg, and Goran Ivanišević. In September, he captured his first Grand Slam title at the US Open. Along the way, he defeated sixth-ranked Thomas Muster in the fourth round and third-ranked Ivan Lendl in a five-set quarterfinal, breaking Lendl's streak of eight consecutive US Open finals. He then defeated 20th-ranked McEnroe in a four-set semifinal to set up a final with fourth-ranked Agassi. Sampras beat Agassi in straight sets to become the US Open's youngest-ever male singles champion at the age of 19 years and 28 days. He played five more tournaments and won the Grand Slam Cup to complete his year.

1991–1992

Sampras in 1991 captured the first of his five career titles at the year-end Tennis Masters Cup. Upon entering the US Open as the defending champion that year, he caused controversy when, after losing in the quarterfinals to Jim Courier, Sampras said that he was not disappointed and felt relieved that the pressure to defend his title was no longer on him. This led to widespread criticism, which included disparaging remarks from Courier and Jimmy Connors.

In 1992, Sampras reached the quarterfinals of the French Open for the first of three consecutive years, made it to the Wimbledon semifinals, and was the runner-up at the US Open to Stefan Edberg. Sampras later stated that his loss in the US Open final that year was a "wake-up call" and that he needed to figure out how to become the World No. 1. He also played doubles with John McEnroe on the US team that won the Davis Cup, duplicating the feat in 1995.

1993–1996

Sampras reached the semifinals of the Australian Open in early 1993, and matched the previous year's quarterfinal performance at the French Open. In April 1993, Sampras attained the World No. 1 ranking for the first time. His rise to the top of the rankings spot was controversial because he had not recently won any Grand Slam titles, but he justified his ranking three months later by claiming his first Wimbledon title, beating former World No. 1 Jim Courier in the final. This was followed by his second US Open title. He finished the year as the clear No. 1 and set a new ATP Tour record that year by becoming the first player to serve more than 1,000 aces in a season.

Except for a loss in the 1996 quarterfinals to eventual winner Richard Krajicek, Sampras would continue to win at Wimbledon for the rest of the decade, becoming the most successful male player in Wimbledon history.

Sampras won the first of his two Australian Open titles in 1994, defeating American Todd Martin in the final. In 1995 Sampras experienced one of the most emotional matches of his career when he played Courier in the quarterfinals. Sampras's longtime coach and close friend, Tim Gullikson, had mysteriously collapsed during the tournament and was forced to return to the United States. Gullikson was later diagnosed with brain cancer to which he succumbed the following year. Saddened by Gullikson's illness, Sampras began visibly weeping during the match, but managed to win. He lost the final to Agassi. Paul Annacone took over as Sampras's full time coach after Gullikson's illness made it impossible for him to continue coaching.

Sampras's best surface was undoubtedly the fast-playing grass courts. He was also known for his all-round game and strong competitive instinct. He won back-to-back US Open titles in 1995 and 1996, despite in the 1996 quarterfinals against Àlex Corretja, vomiting on the court at 1–1 in the tiebreak due to dehydration. Sampras's only real weakness was on clay courts, where the slow surface tempered his natural attacking serve-and-volley game. His best performance at the French Open came in 1996, when he lost a semifinal match to the eventual winner, Yevgeny Kafelnikov. Despite his limited success at Roland Garros, Sampras did win some significant matches on clay. He won a 1992 clay court tournament in Kitzbühel, defeating Alberto Mancini in the final. He won the prestigious Italian Open in 1994, defeating Boris Becker in the final, and two singles matches in the 1995 Davis Cup final against Russians Andrei Chesnokov and Yevgeny Kafelnikov in Moscow. Sampras also won a 1998 clay court tournament in Atlanta, defeating Jason Stoltenberg in the final.

1997

Sampras won his second and final Australian Open title in January, defeating Carlos Moyà in the final; in July he won Wimbledon for the fourth time, defeating Cédric Pioline in the final. Sampras also won singles titles in San Jose, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Munich, and Paris and the ATP Tour World Championships in Hanover, Germany. He became the only player to win both the Grand Slam Cup and the ATP Tour World Championships in the same year.

He had a 10–1 win–loss record against top 10 opponents and was undefeated in eight singles finals. He held the World No. 1 ranking for the entire year and joined Jimmy Connors (1974–1978) as the only male players to hold the year-end World No. 1 ranking for five consecutive years. His prize money earnings of US$6,498,211 for the year was a career high.

1998

In 1998, Sampras's number-one ranking was challenged by Chilean player Marcelo Ríos. (In 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, and 1997, Sampras had dominated the ATP tour.) Sampras failed to defend his Australian Open title, losing in the quarterfinals to Karol Kučera, and won Wimbledon only after a hard fought five-set victory over Goran Ivanišević. Sampras lost a five-set US Open semifinal to the eventual winner Patrick Rafter after leading the match two sets to one. He lost another semifinal at the Tennis Masters Cup to eventual champion Àlex Corretja. Nevertheless, Sampras finished the year as the top ranked player for the sixth year in a row.

1999

1999 also started out disappointingly, as Sampras withdrew from the Australian Open and failed to win a title during the early part of the season. However, he then went on a 24-match winning streak, including the Stella Artois Championships, Wimbledon (equaling Roy Emerson's record of 12 Grand Slam singles titles), Los Angeles, and Cincinnati. His victory over Agassi in the Wimbledon final is often cited as one of Sampras's greatest performances (despite this, he lost his No.1 ranking to Agassi the following day, when ATP Tour rankings were updated). That run ended when he was forced to retire from the RCA Championships and the US Open because of a herniated disc in his back. Sampras's ranking was hurt through a combination of withdrawing from the Australian and US Opens, tournaments in which he had strong performances during the previous year, and the resurgence of longtime rival Andre Agassi, putting an end to Sampras' six consecutive years of finishing as the World No. 1. Agassi took over the top ranking and held it for the rest of the season, but Sampras recovered and managed to beat him in the season-ending Tennis Masters Cup for the fifth and final time, enabling Sampras to place 3rd in the rankings.

2000s

Sampras reached the semifinals of the Australian Open in early 2000 (falling to the eventual champion Agassi in a five-set match) and won the Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida for the third time in March. He then won a record-breaking 13th Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, battling through tendonitis in his right shin and a painful back injury in the process. This victory was his eighth consecutive win in a Grand Slam final (starting at 1995 Wimbledon), which remains a record. After this victory, Sampras did not win another title for more than two years. He lost in the finals of the 2000 and 2001 US Open to Marat Safin and Lleyton Hewitt, respectively, leading many to speculate that Sampras would never capture another major title. At the 2001 Wimbledon Championships, Sampras lost to Roger Federer, who was 19 at the time, 6–7(7), 7–5, 4–6, 7–6(2), 5–7 in the fourth round, ending Sampras's 31-match winning streak at Wimbledon. The match also marked the first and only time that the two men ever played each other on the ATP tour.

2002

In 2002, Sampras suffered his second consecutive early exit from Wimbledon, losing in the second round to 145th ranked George Bastl of Switzerland, whose best surface was red clay. Sampras had a relatively poor summer leading up to the US Open. Greg Rusedski, whom Sampras had defeated in a long five-set third round match at the US Open, said that Sampras was "a step and a half slower" and predicted that Sampras would lose his next match. Sampras, however, then defeated two young and upcoming stars of the game, Tommy Haas in the fourth round and Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals. He then defeated Sjeng Schalken in the semifinals to reach his third straight US Open final, and eighth US Open final overall, tying Ivan Lendl's all-time record. This time, he faced Agassi, whom he had met in his very first Grand Slam final 12 years earlier. After a four-set battle between the two veterans, Sampras claimed a then record 14th Grand Slam singles title and matched Jimmy Connors's record of five US Open singles championships.

He played no tour events in the following 12 months, but did not officially announce his retirement until August 2003, just prior to the US Open. He chose not to defend his title there, but his retirement announcement was timed so that he could say farewell at a special ceremony organized for him at the open. At the time of his retirement, many regarded Sampras as the greatest player of all time.

Sampras won 64 top-level singles titles (including 14 Grand Slam titles, 11 Super 9 / ATP Masters Series titles, and five Tennis Masters Cup titles) and two doubles titles. He was ranked the World No. 1 for a record 286 weeks and was year-end No. 1 for a record six consecutive years from 1993 through 1998.

Rivalry with Andre Agassi

Sampras won 20 of the 34 matches he played against Agassi.

The 1990 US Open was their first meeting in a Grand Slam tournament final. Agassi was favored because he was ranked World No. 4 compared to the World No. 12 ranking of Sampras and because Agassi had defeated Sampras in their only previously completed match. However, Agassi lost the final to Sampras in straight sets.

Their next meeting in a Grand Slam was at the 1992 French Open, where they met in the quarterfinals. Although Sampras was higher ranked, Agassi prevailed in straight sets. Their next Grand Slam meeting was at the quarterfinals of Wimbledon in 1993, where Agassi was the defending champion and Sampras was the newly minted world number one. Sampras prevailed in five sets, and went on to win his first Wimbledon championship.

With both Sampras and Agassi participating, the U.S. won the Davis Cup in 1995. Notable Sampras-Agassi matches of 1995 included the finals of the Australian Open, the Newsweek Champions Cup, the Lipton International Players Championships, the Canadian Open, and the US Open, with Sampras winning the Newsweek Champions Cup and the US Open.

The next time Sampras and Agassi met in a Grand Slam final was at Wimbledon in 1999, where Sampras won in straight sets. For both, it was considered a career rejuvenation, as Sampras had suffered a string of disappointments in the last year while Agassi was regaining his status as a top-ranked player after winning the French Open. Sampras forfeited the World No. 1 ranking to Agassi when injury forced Sampras to withdraw from that year's US Open. They faced each other twice in the season-ending ATP Tour World Championships, with Sampras losing the round robin match but winning the final.

They played each other only once in 2000. The top-ranked Agassi defeated World No. 3 Sampras in the semifinals of the Australian Open 6–4, 3–6, 6–7(0), 7–6(5), 6–1.

In arguably their most memorable match, Sampras defeated Agassi in the 2001 US Open quarterfinals 6–7(7), 7–6(2), 7–6(2), 7–6(5). There were no breaks of serve during the entire match. Reruns of the match are frequently featured on television, especially during US Open rain delays.

The final of the 2002 US Open was their first meeting in a US Open final since 1995. The match also was notable because they had defeated several up-and-coming players en route to the final. Sampras had defeated World No. 3 Tommy Haas in the fourth round and future World No. 1 Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals while Agassi had defeated World No. 1 and defending champion Lleyton Hewitt in the semifinals. Sampras defeated Agassi 6–3, 6–4, 5–7, 6–4. This was the final ATP tour singles match of Sampras's career.

On August 2010 Sampras played an exhibition game with Andre Agassi at the indoor arena: Coliseo Cubierto El Campin in Bogotá, Colombia.

Rivalry with Patrick Rafter

Sampras won 12 of the 16 matches he played against Rafter, including eight of their first nine. Their rivalry began to truly develop after Rafter shocked the tennis world by winning the 1997 US Open, a tournament that many expected Sampras to win, having won in 1995 and 1996; the win catapulted Rafter to the year-end number two ranking behind Sampras. Many, including seven-time Grand Slam champion John McEnroe believed Rafter to be a "one-slam wonder", since it was only his second career ATP title.

In 1998, after Rafter defeated Sampras in the Cincinnati Masters final, Sampras, at the time winner of 11 Grand Slams, when asked about the difference between himself and Rafter, famously stated "Ten grand slams", that a controversial line-call cost him the match, and that a player had to come back and win another Grand Slam title in order to be considered great. The two met in the semifinals of the 1998 US Open, with Rafter winning in five sets. Sampras cited a leg injury as the reason Rafter won, an attitude that upset the generally mild-mannered Aussie: "He really does say some funny things at the wrong time", said Rafter, "We are out there busting our guts and he doesn't show a lot of respect at the end of the day. He tries to play down the reason why he lost, giving no respect to the other player, and that is what really upsets me about him and the reason I try to piss him off as much as I can."

Following his successful defense of his 1997 U.S. Open title by defeating Mark Philippoussis in the 1998 final, when asked about Sampras' earlier comments about having to win another Grand Slam in order to be considered great, Rafter replied: "Maybe you can ask him that question, if he thinks that now. For me, I won another Slam, and it hasn't sunk in yet. It's very, very exciting for me, especially to repeat it". Although Sampras throughout his career modeled himself after "those classy Aussies" including Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall, and Roy Emerson, he admitted about Rafter: "When I see him holding the US Open trophy, it pisses me off."

After losing for a third consecutive time against Rafter, Sampras won their final four meetings, including a four-set victory in the 2000 Wimbledon final after being down a set and trailing in the second-set tiebreaker. The victory gave Sampras his 13th Grand Slam title, breaking the record of 12 by Roy Emerson and at that time giving Sampras the most Grand Slam titles in history, until his record was eclipsed by Roger Federer following the 2009 Wimbledon final.

Equipment

Sampras used one racket type, the Wilson Pro Staff Original, for his entire professional career – a racket first introduced in 1983. He played with Babolat natural gut, with all his rackets re-strung before each match (used or not) at 75 lbs tension (more or less depending on conditions). His rackets had weight added to bring them close to 400 g, but the proper frame was a production model manufactured from St. Vincent, an island factory in the Caribbean. The handles were custom-built.

Post-retirement, Sampras has used the slightly modified Pro Staff Tour 90 and in 2008 had a new version of the original Pro Staff produced, with in-between head size of 88 square inches and heavier weight at 349 grams unstrung.

Since mid-2010, however, Sampras has been spotted at multiple exhibitions playing with a Babolat Pure Storm Tour, along with Babolat's popular RPM Blast strings.

"I need a little more pop...I need it if I'm going to play some tennis," he said after playing Gael Monfils in an exhibition at the SAP Open.

Post-retirement activity

On April 6, 2006, three and a half years after his retirement, Sampras resurfaced and played his first exhibition match in River Oaks, Houston, Texas against 23 year old Robby Ginepri. Ginepri won the match 6–3, 7–6(10). Sampras later announced that he would be playing in World Team Tennis events.

2007 saw Sampras announcing that he would play in a few events on the Outback Champions Series, a group of tournaments for former ATP players who have met certain criteria during their careers. Sampras won his first two events on tour, defeating Todd Martin in both finals (one of which included Sampras's first trip to his ancestral homeland, Greece). Many observers noted that despite his lengthy layoff from competitive tournaments, Sampras still possessed many of the previous skills he had displayed while on the ATP tour, with tennis legend John McEnroe going as far as to say that Sampras would be worthy of a top five seeding at Wimbledon were he to enter the tournament.

On November 20, 2007, Sampras lost the first of three exhibition matches in Asia against Roger Federer losing 6–4, 6–3 in Seoul, Korea. Two days later in Kuala Lumpur, Sampras again lost to Federer, 7–6(6), 7–6(5). However, Sampras was able to win the last match of the series, winning 7–6(8), 6–4.

On February 18, 2008, in an exhibition match during the SAP Open, Sampras defeated another active player, former World No. 2 Tommy Haas. Sampras dispatched the German, 6–4, 6–2 in 43 minutes.

On March 10, 2008, Sampras played another exhibition match against World No. 1 Roger Federer at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Sampras once again lost the match 6–3, 6–7(4), 7–6(6).

In 2009, Sampras won two Outback Champions Series titles. He defeated McEnroe in the final of the Champions Cup Boston in February and Patrick Rafter in the final of The Del Mar Development Champions Cup in March.

Sampras was present at the 2009 Wimbledon final between Andy Roddick and Roger Federer to witness Federer eclipse his mark of 14 major titles and become the most successful man in Grand Slam history. Sampras's record of 14 majors had lasted for seven years.

The following year, along with Federer, Andre Agassi and Rafael Nadal, he played an exhibition doubles match at Indian Wells to raise money for the people of Haiti that had been affected by the earthquake.

In November 2010, Sampras reported that many of his trophies and other memorabilia had been stolen from a West Los Angeles public storage facility. The loss included only one of his 14 Grand Slam title trophies, from his first Australian Open victory, but also included two Davis Cups, an Olympic ring and six trophies for finishing top in the year-end rankings. Most of the stolen items have since been recovered and returned.

Playing style

Sampras was an all-court player who would often serve and volley. Possessing an all-around skill, in the early years of his career, when not serving, his strategy was to be offensive from the baseline, put opponents in a defensive position, and finish points at the net. In his later years, he became even more offensive and would either employ a chip-and-charge strategy; just chip back the return and run up to the net, waiting for a volley or try to hit an offensive shot on the return and follow his return to the net.

He was known for producing aces on critical points, even with his second serves. He had an accurate and powerful first serve, one of the best of all time. His second serve was nearly as powerful as his first, possibly his most dangerous weapon. He had great disguise on both his first and second serves.

Sampras was able to hit winners from both his forehand and backhand wings from all over the court. He was also especially known for having arguably the best "running forehand" of all time. He was able to catch attacks wide to his forehand using his speed and hitting a forehand shot on the run. When successfully executed, he won many points outright or put opponents immediately on the defensive, due to the extreme pace and flat nature of the shot. He also popularized the jump smash, or "slam dunk", where he jumps and then hits the smash in mid-air.

Many players tried (especially late in his career) to serve a high "kicker" out to the Sampras backhand in an attempt to draw a weak return. A similar tactic was employed by many players in rallying Sampras; they would play shot after shot to the Sampras backhand, hoping to wear him down. Still, most of the time, he will handle them with either topspin or slice backhand deep to his opponent's court to change defense to attack.

Personal and family life

Sampras's older sister Stella is the women's tennis head coach at UCLA, and his younger sister, Marion, is a teacher in Los Angeles. His older brother, Gus, has been tournament director at the Scottsdale ATP event, but from 2007 he became president of the firm managing Pete's business activities.

On September 30, 2000, Sampras married American actress and former Miss Teen USA, Bridgette Wilson. On November 21, 2002, their son Christian Charles was born. On July 29, 2005, the couple welcomed their second son, Ryan Nikolaos.

Sampras has β-thalassemia, a genetic trait that sometimes causes mild anemia.

Career statistics

Records and achievements

Records

These records were attained in Open Era of tennis.

^ Denotes consecutive streak.

Years 1995–2000 1993–2000 1993–2000 1993–2000 1990–2002 1990–2002 1991–1999

width=200	Championship	|	Record accomplished	Player tied
Grand Slam	|	8 consecutive wins in Grand Slam finals	Stands alone
Grand Slam	|	8 consecutive years with a victory in a slam	Björn Borg Roger Federer
Wimbledon	|	7 wins overall	Stands alone
Wimbledon	|	List of Wimbledon Open Era Singles Finals appearances#Gentlemen>7 finals overall	Boris BeckerRoger Federer^
U.S. Open	|	5 wins overall	Jimmy ConnorsRoger Federer^
U.S. Open	|	List of US Open Singles Finals appearances#Men>8 finals overall	Ivan Lendl^
ATP World Tour Finals	|	5 wins overall	Ivan LendlRoger Federer

Sampras has won 14 Grand Slam titles, second only to Federer's 16.

Sampras is the first male player to win more than 12 Grand Slams, surpassing the old record of 12 Grand Slams by Roy Emerson

Sampras finished the year ranked World No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for a record six years. He is the only player to have been ranked Year End World No. 1 by the ATP for six consecutive years (1993–98).

Sampras was ranked World No. 1 by the ATP for a record 286 weeks.

William Renshaw and Sampras share the record for most Wimbledon men's singles titles won, with seven titles each. Sampras never lost a Wimbledon final.

Sampras is the only male player to win the same Grand Slams (Wimbledon) 7 times in the span of 8 years.

Sampras is the only male player to have won at least three consecutive Wimbledon singles titles twice (1993–95 and 1997–2000).

Sampras is the only male player in the history of tennis to win his first and last Grand Slam 12 non calender years apart and 13 calender years apart(1990 & 2002 US Open).

Sampras is the first player to win combination of 7 Wimbledon and 5 US Open. Nobody has else matched or surpassed this combination of Grand Slam wins.

Only Sampras (1997–2000), Federer (2003–07), and Borg (1976–80) have won at least four consecutive Wimbledon singles titles. During the open era, only Borg (1978–81 French Open and 1976–80 Wimbledon), Sampras (1997–2000 Wimbledon), Federer (2003–07 Wimbledon and 2004–08 US Open), and Rafael Nadal (2005–08 French Open) have won at least one Grand Slam tournament four consecutive times.

Sampras was included in the year-end ATP top ten rankings for 12 years. Only Connors (16), Ivan Lendl (13), and Andre Agassi (16) have stayed in the ATP top ten longer.

Sampras earned US$43,280,489 in prize money (2nd Overall only to Roger Federer).

Sampras captured 64 ATP singles titles, which makes him fifth on the all-time list, behind Connors (109), Lendl (94), McEnroe (77) and Federer (67).

Sampras won 11 ATP Masters Series titles. Only Nadal (19), Agassi (17), and Federer (17) have won more of those titles.

Sampras appeared in at least one Grand Slam final for a record 11 consecutive years (1992–2002) (a record shared with Lendl (1981–91)). Sampras won at least one of those finals for a record eight consecutive years (1993–2000), a record shared with Borg (1974–81) and Federer (2003–10).

Ken Rosewall and Sampras are the only men to have won Grand Slam singles titles as a teenager, in their 20s, and in their 30s.

Sampras won at least one title for 11 consecutive years (1990–2000) and 12 of 13 (except 2001). He won at least four titles per year from 1990 through 1999 and captured at least two per year from 1990 through 2000.

Sampras compiled a 19–9 career Davis Cup record (15–8 in singles) and was a member of the winning teams in 1992 and 1995.

Sampras served a career-high 1,011 aces in 1993 and 974 aces in 1995 to lead the ATP tour.

Sampras won a career-high 10 titles and compiled a personal-best 29-match winning streak in 1994.

Sampras won a career-best 85 matches in 1993 and on April 12 of that year became the 11th player in the history of the ATP rankings to reach World No. 1.

Sampras was the youngest US Open men's singles champion at 19 years, 28 days in 1990.

Sampras won 40 of the 42 singles matches he played on Wimbledon's Centre Court and 63 of the 70 singles matches he played at the All England Club.

Sampras compiled a 762–222 win–loss record in singles during his 15 years on the ATP tour, winning more than 77% of his matches.

Sampras won singles titles in 11 different countries: Austria, Australia, Belgium, People's Republic of China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States.

Sampras is the only male player during the open era who played in at least seven singles finals at two different Grand Slam tournaments (8 US Open and 7 Wimbledon).

Sampras is the only male player to have won the same Grand Slam singles tournament 7 times (Wimbledon).

Only Sampras and Lendl have appeared in 8 finals of the same Grand Slam (US Open).

Sampras won two grand slams in a calendar year four times: (1993–95, 97). Roger Federer surpassed this former record by winning Wimbledon in 2009, the 5th time he has won at least 2 slams in a calendar year. (2004–07, 09)

Only Sampras (2000–02), Federer (2004–09), Lendl (1982–89) and McEnroe (1979–81) have appeared in 3 or more consecutive US Open finals.

Only Sampras (1997–2000), Becker (1988–91), Federer (2003–09), McEnroe (1980–84) and Borg (1976–81) have appeared in 4 or more consecutive Wimbledon Finals.

Sampras won 12 Grand Slam in 8 year periods (1993–2000).

Sampras was the only greek/american to win a grand slam

Awards

Summary of professional awards. Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Player of the Year for six consecutive years from 1993 through 1998. International Tennis Federation World Champion for six consecutive years from 1993 through 1998. U.S. Olympic Committee "Sportsman of the Year" in 1997. He was the first tennis player to receive this award.

GQ Magazine's Individual Athlete Award for Man of the Year in 2000.

Selected the No. 1 player (of 25 players) in the past 25 years by a panel of 100 current and past players, journalists, and tournament directors to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the ATP in 1997.

Voted 48th athlete of Top 50 Greatest North American Athletes of ESPN's SportsCentury (also youngest on list).

In 2005, TENNIS Magazine named Sampras the greatest tennis player for the period 1965 through 2005, from its list, "The 40 Greatest Players of the TENNIS Era".

See also

List of Grand Slam Men's Singles champions

References

Further reading

Video

''Wimbledon Classic Match: Federer vs Sampras (2001)'' Standing Room Only, DVD Release Date: October 31, 2006, Run Time: 233 minutes, ASIN: B000ICLR98.

''Legends of Wimbledon – Pete Sampras (2006)'' Standing Room Only, DVD Release Date: October 31, 2006, Run Time: 60 minutes, ASIN: B000ICLR84.

''The Netjets Showdown: Pete Sampras vs. Roger Federer (2008)'' Arts Alliance Amer, DVD Release Date: April 22, 2008, Run Time: 180 minutes, ASIN: B0013PVGN6.

External links

Text, Audio, Video of Sampras' International Tennis Hall of Fame Induction Speech

{{navboxes|title=Pete Sampras in the Grand Slam Tournaments |list1= }} {{navboxes|title=Pete Sampras career statistics |list1= }}

Category:1971 births Category:Living people Category:American male tennis players Category:American people of Greek descent Category:Australian Open (tennis) champions Category:Eastern Orthodox Christians from the United States Category:Greek Orthodox Christians Category:Olympic tennis players of the United States Category:People from Los Angeles County, California Category:People from Washington, D.C. Category:International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees Category:Tennis people from California Category:Tennis people from Washington, D.C. Category:Tennis players at the 1992 Summer Olympics Category:United States Open champions (tennis) Category:Wimbledon champions Category:World No. 1 tennis players

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Name	Jim Courier
Country	United States
Residence	New York City, United States
Birth date	August 17, 1970
Birth place	Sanford, Florida, United States
Height
Weight
Turnedpro	1988
Retired	2000
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Careerprizemoney	$14,034,132
tennishofyear	2005
tennishofid	80
Singlesrecord	506–237 (at ATP Tour, Grand Prix tour and Grand Slam level, and in Davis Cup)
Singlestitles	23 (27th in overall rankings)
Highestsinglesranking	No. 1 (February 20, 1992)
Australianopenresult	W (1992, 1993)
Frenchopenresult	W (1991, 1992)
Wimbledonresult	F (1993)
Usopenresult	F (1991)
Doublesrecord	124–97 (at ATP Tour, Grand Prix tour and Grand Slam level, and in Davis Cup)
Doublestitles	6
Highestdoublesranking	No. 20 (October 9, 1989)

James Spencer "Jim" Courier, Jr. (born August 17, 1970) is a former world number one professional tennis player from the United States. During his career, he won four Grand Slam singles titles – two at the French Open and two at the Australian Open. He holds the record for being the youngest person to have reached the finals of all four Grand Slam singles tournaments. He also won five Masters 1000 series titles.

Tennis career

As a junior player in the 1980s, Courier attended the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy and won the prestigious Orange Bowl in 1986 and 1987, as well as the French Open junior doubles title in 1987.

Courier turned professional in 1988 and made his Grand Slam breakthrough at the 1991 French Open when he defeated Stefan Edberg and Michael Stich to reach his first Grand Slam final. In the final, he defeated his former Bollettieri Academy roommate Andre Agassi in five sets to win his first Slam. He made the quarterfinals of Wimbledon before losing to eventual champion Stich. At the US Open, he defeated defending champion Pete Sampras in the quarterfinals and then Jimmy Connors in the semifinals before losing the final to Edberg.

1992 saw Courier defeat Edberg to win the Australian Open; he then followed this result by defeating future Grand Slam champions Thomas Muster, Goran Ivanišević, Agassi and Petr Korda to successfully defend his French Open title. Afterward, Courier charmed the Parisian crowd by delivering a victory speech in French. Courier also enjoyed a 25-match winning streak during the season. In February of that year, he became the tenth player to reach the World No. 1 ranking since the ranking system was implemented in 1973, and first American since John McEnroe; he finished 1992 as the World No. 1 ranked player. Courier also was a member of the US team that won the 1992 Davis Cup. In 1992, Courier was the top seeded player at the Olympics in Barcelona where he lost in the third round to eventual gold medalist Marc Rosset from Switzerland.

In 1993, Courier again won the Australian Open, defeating Edberg in the final for the second consecutive year. He reached his third consecutive French Open final, which he lost to Sergi Bruguera in five sets. He also reached the 1993 Wimbledon final, defeating Edberg in the semifinals, and lost to Sampras in four sets. By reaching the Wimbledon final, Courier had reached the finals of all four Grand Slams at the age of 22, a record which still stands. Courier also became the first player since Rod Laver to reach the finals of the Australian, French and Wimbledon in the same season; the feat was not matched until 2006 by Roger Federer. Courier again was part of the US team that won the 1995 Davis Cup.

In retrospect, 1993 represented the peak of Courier's career, as he was never able to regain his clay-court dominance after losing the French Open final to Bruguera. Furthermore, the emergence of Sampras as the dominant figure of tennis (against whom Courier was 1–6 in majors after 1991) prevented him from reaching another Grand Slam final after 1993. Courier attracted some additional attention when he thumbed his way through a novel during the changeovers in a loss to Andrei Medvedev in the 1993 ATP Tour World Championship. "He's not himself right now", said Courier's coach after the match. "He's obviously not emotionally or psychologically at a level to compete with these guys. Toward me he's the same, but there are probably a lot more things going on in his life than in the first year we started working together. I think it's understandable. Most of the top players go through something like this. They have a little letdown, and then they regroup.". His year end ranking reflected this trend, going from 13, 8, 26, 21, 77, 34, 290 in the years 1994–2000.

Courier captured a total of 23 singles titles and 6 doubles titles during his career. He spent a total of 58 weeks ranked as the World No. 1 in 1992 and 1993. He reached the finals of all four major championships during his career, a feat accomplished by only seven other players in the Open Era. Courier retired from the ATP tour in 2000. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2005.

After retirement from top-level tennis

Since his retirement as a top-level player, Courier has served as a tennis analyst and commentator for the USA Network, NBC Sports, TNT and the Seven Network. Since 2005 Courier has headed the commentary for the host broadcaster of the Australian Open, The Seven Network. Courier calls all centre court men's singles matches for the network. He also conducts the post match on-court interviews with the winning player.

In 2004, Courier founded InsideOut Sport & Entertainment, a New York-based event promotion company that owns and operates the Champions Series, the Ultimate Fantasy Camp, and the Legendary Nights exhibition series.

He also founded Courier's Kids, a non-profit organization that supports tennis programs in the inner city of St. Petersburg, Florida. Courier serves on the board of directors of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, Courier's Kids, First Serve, and The Gullikson Foundation.

Courier currently competes on the BlackRock Tour of Champions and the Champions Series and in various charity exhibition matches. In 2004, he won three of the six BlackRock tournaments he played. In 2005, he finished as the No. 1-ranked player on that tour with two more tournament wins.

In March 2006, Courier won the Outback tournament in Naples, Florida, defeating Pat Cash in the final, and in Charlotte, North Carolina, defeating Todd Martin in the final. Courier finished the year as the No. 1 player in the Outback series. Courier is currently scheduled to play in the Outback Champions Series tournaments in Naples, Boston, Newport, Charlotte, Dallas, Houston and Dubai as well as select exhibitions and events worldwide.

Jim Courier was married to Susanna Lingman August 21, 2010, at Pelican Hill Resort Newport Beach, Ca.

On October 27, 2010, Courier was named captain of the United States Davis Cup team team, replacing Patrick McEnroe.

Records

These records were attained in Open Era of tennis.

width=50 1991–1993 1991–1993 1992 1993 1992–1993 1991–1993

width=200	Grand Slam	Years ||	Record accomplished	Player tied
French Open and Australian Open	|	Simultaneous holder of consecutive Australian and French Open titles	Stands alone
Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, U.S. Open	|	Youngest to reach the finals of all four Grand Slams (22)	Stands alone
Australian Open and French Open	|	Simultaneous holder of Australian and French Open titles in calendar year	Rod Laver Mats Wilander
Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon	|	Finalist in each during same calendar year	Rod Laver Roger Federer
Australian Open	|	2 consecutive wins	Ken Rosewall Guillermo Vilas Johan Kriek Mats Wilander Stefan Edberg Ivan Lendl Andre Agassi Roger Federer
Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, U.S. Open	|	Finalist in all four majors	Rod Laver Ken Rosewall Ivan Lendl Stefan Edberg Andre Agassi Roger Federer Rafael Nadal

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 7 finals (4 titles, 3 runner-ups)

ATP Tour Championships finals

Singles: 2 finals (2 runner-ups)

Masters Series finals

Singles: 5 finals (5 titles)

Grand Slam, ATP Tour, and Grand Prix circuit career finals

Singles (36)

Wins (23–13)

{| width=53% | valign=top width=33% align=left |

Legend

Grand Slam (4–3)

Year-End Championships (0–2)

ATP Masters Series (5–0)

ATP Championship Series (5–3)

ATP World Series (9–5)

| valign=top width=33% align=left |

Titles by Surface

Hard (17–6)

Grass (0–1)

Clay (5–2)

Carpet (1–4)

|}

Doubles (11)

Wins (6)

Runner-ups (5)

Major tournament singles performance timeline

! Tournament !! 1987 !! 1988 !! 1989 !! 1990 !! 1991 !! 1992 !! 1993 !! 1994 !! 1995 !! 1996 !! 1997 !! 1998 !! 1999 !! 2000 !! Career SR !! Career Win-Loss

style="background:#EFEFEF;"

style="background:#EFEFEF;"

style="background:#EFEFEF;"

style="background:#EFEFEF;"

style="background:#EFEFEF;"

style="background:#EFEFEF;"

style="background:#EFEFEF;"

style="background:#EFEFEF;"

style="background:#EFEFEF;"

style="background:#EFEFEF;"

style="background:#EFEFEF;"

style="background:#EFEFEF;"

A = did not participate in the tournament

SR = the ratio of the number of singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played

Outback Champions Series titles

2005: Stanford Cup Houston – defeated Todd Martin 6–2, 6–3

2006: Champions Cup Naples – defeated Pat Cash 6–4, 7–6(8)

2006: The Championships at the Palisades – defeated Martin 5–7, 7–6(6), 10–4 (tiebreaker)

2008: The Residences at the Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman Legends Championship – defeated Wayne Ferreira 7–6(3), 7–6(1)

NOTE: In Outback Champions Series tournaments, there are only two sets. A tiebreaker to ten is held instead of a third set.

References

External links

{{navboxes|title=Jim Courier in Grand Slam Tournaments |list1= }}

Category:1970 births Category:Living people Category:American male tennis players Category:American tennis coaches Category:Australian Open (tennis) champions Category:Australian television presenters Category:French Open champions Category:French Open junior champions Category:Olympic tennis players of the United States Category:People from New York City Category:People from Seminole County, Florida Category:Tennis commentators Category:International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees Category:Tennis people from Florida Category:Tennis people from New York Category:Tennis players at the 1992 Summer Olympics Category:World No. 1 tennis players

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