Courier Eases Past Henman, Earns 20th Career Tennis Title

Jim Courier won his 20th career title and deprived Tim Henman of his first ATP trophy, beating the Brit 7-5, 6-7 (5-7), 6-2 in Sunday’s final of the Qatar Open in Doha, Qatar.

The match, which lasted 2 hours, 24 minutes, was played in bitterly cold wind.

Courier’s experience was pivotal in the deciding set. He took a 4-0 lead as Henman committed a series of unforced and sloppy errors.

The match ended when Henman carelessly netted a return, allowing Courier to collect the $84,000 top prize.

Courier, a former world No. 1, will rise to No. 15 in the rankings which should guarantee him a seeded place at the Australian Open this month. Despite the defeat, Henman will rise to a career high 25.

Third-seeded Elena Likhovtseva of Russia, down a set and behind 4-1 in the second, rallied to beat Ai Sugiyama of Japan 3-6, 7-6 (9-7), 6-3 and capture the Gold Coast Classic in Gold Coast, Australia.