Courier Loses, Fumes

In the end, Jim Courier lost it.

When his final shot fell at the net, Courier picked up the ball and belted it into the upper deck, punctuating his long, hot, frustrating afternoon. Courier knew he blew too many big points in a 7-6 (7-3), 2-6, 7-5 quarterfinal loss to Arnaud Boetsch at the Lipton Championships.

“Put it in perspective?” the seething redhead said. “There’s life, and there’s tennis. There’s your perspective. Don’t dig too much for the story. It’s right there.”

Boetsch became the first Frenchman to reach the Lipton semifinals since Yannick Noah in 1989. On Friday he’ll play No. 3 Andre Agassi, who beat unseeded Michael Joyce 6-4, 6-1.

Sixth-seeded Chanda Rubin advanced to the women’s semifinals by beating No. 4 Gabriela Sabatini 6-3, 5-7, 6-3.