Courier continues domination of old rival Edberg

Dubai: Stefan Edberg's aim to better his record against long-time nemesis Jim Courier received yet another jolt when he went down in straight sets at The Legends Rock Dubai late on Saturday.

His 6-3, 6-4 loss to Courier was the fifth straight one for the affable Swede, who had billed the final as a revenge encounter for his earlier career losses to the American.

"It was a very tough match, because Stefan always kept the pressure on me," Courier said.

"I knew I had to serve very well, which I think I did. I had to move him around and not let him come to the net, because as we know he is deadly at the net," the American added.

Courier had denied Edberg the Australian Open crown for two successive years in 1992 and 1993.

Those two wins were a revenge for the American, who had been beaten by Edberg in the US Open final in 1991.

Edberg stumbled against Courier again at Wimbledon in 1993 in a four-set semifinal. And two years later, Edberg went down in the last four against the American at the Scottsdale Open.

"I am happy to win in Dubai as this is a fantastic tournament," Courier said.

"It is a great finish to the Outback Champions Series tour," he added, after receiving an additional bonus of $100,000 from series sponsors Stanford.

Meanwhile, Edberg praised his opponent.

"Jim played very well today and he played some fantastic passing shots," he said. "He was better than me today, but I hope there will be a next time."

Edberg will next play at the year-end Black Rock Masters at the Royal Albert Hall in London in the first week of December.

The round-robin group also features Goran Ivanisevic, Greg Rusedski and Guy Forget.