2004 marked the 4th year of the Gibson-Baldwin Grand Slam Jam, a celebrity tennis exhibition founded by former world #1 Jim Courier to combine his two passions, tennis and music, for a good cause. That cause is cancer research, and ALL proceeds from the event go directly to The Hope Foundation for cancer research (www.thehopefoundation.org). This year's legendary lineup boasted John McEnroe, Chris Evert, Corina Morariu, and Jim Courier. Past participants include Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, and Andy Roddick, as well as non-tennis folks Lance Armstrong (Tour de France owner), Mike Mills (R.E.M.), Lars Ulrich (Metallica), and Sean Elliot (pro basketballer and cancer survivor), among others.
Courier is also a music nut, and thus the annual Grand Slam Jam includes multiple concerts here in the Live Music Capital of the World. Courier and McEnroe even get in on the jamming. I remember when I was a kid reading in Tennis magazine that Courier joined R.E.M. onstage in Australia on their world tour, while he was in town for the Australian Open. Very cool.
This was an awesome event to attend to begin with, but having recently gotten back into competitive tennis after 6 years away from the sport that practically raised me, it was even more of a coup. I have never seen a professional tennis match, let alone the likes of Johhny Mac, Crissie E, and Jimmy C (not Connors). The fourth participant this year was Corina Morariu. Never heard of her? Me either. That's because she's a doubles specialist, and doubles never gets any glory. But mind you, she was formerly ranked the #1 doubles player in the world, and has a Wimbledon title under her belt. More importantly, she is a cancer survivor herself. She recently battled through leukemia and made such a strong recovery that she is now back playing competetively on the WTA tour. So yeah, she's good.
So how were the players, you might be wondering? Were they rusty? Old and slow? Out of shape? No, no, no. Evert and her game are and apparently always will be things of beauty, McEnroe still hits that flat ball that has to be hit just right in order to go in, and Courier still touches his butt to the ground on his serve and knocks the cover off the ball. My old coach used to tell me to model my backhand after Jim Courier's. "Shorten your backswing, keep your racket head up, and drive through it," he always told me.
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