Mayotte quick to swing into action

A couple of weeks ago, Tim Mayotte and Jim Courier were hitting tennis balls together and Mayotte let Courier, the founder of the Champions Series, know that he'd be ready to play, if needed. He didn't think it meant much.

Then on Wednesday, Courier sent Mayotte an e-mail saying he might want to bring some extra rackets to Boston (Mayotte already was scheduled to be in town for a benefit) in case somebody got hurt.

"I figured he was talking about himself, because I know he's had trouble with his back," said Mayotte.

But the next day, Courier called Mayotte and asked him to report to Agganis Arena for the Champions Cup Boston to replace Mats Wilander, who had bowed out with back spasms.

"An hour later, I was playing John McEnroe," said Mayotte, 46. He lost, and on Friday he lost to Pete Sampras. Yesterday, Mayotte lost to Petr Korda, 6-3, 6-2, thus being eliminated from the round robin tournament. In the other afternoon match, Todd Martin defeated Courier, 6-3, 3-6, 10-8 (tiebreaker). In action last night, Wayne Ferreira beat Pat Cash, 6-3, 7-6 (7-0), and Sampras defeated McEnroe, 6-3, 6-4 .

The youngest of eight children, Mayotte grew up in Springfield playing tennis with his siblings in Forest Park. He went to Stanford for three years then turned pro, playing on the tour from 1981-92. Afterward, he stayed in the game as a broadcaster and president of the players' council of the ATP. He later finished his undergraduate degree from Stanford, and earned his master's from Union Theological Seminary.

Mayotte was ranked as high as No. 7 in the world in singles , and won a silver medal at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul. He won the Paris Open in 1987, and the Queen's Club Tournament, a Wimbledon prep, in 1986. He reached the semifinals of Wimbledon in 1982, and the Australian Open in 1983.

Yesterday, it was serious tennis again, even though the format is designed to be entertaining, too.

"I played OK, [Korda's] just too tough for me. He hit the ball harder and moves better," said Mayotte, who admitted he has to lose a few pounds to get down to playing weight.

Both players had fun interacting with each other, the ball boys, and the fans. Mayotte expressed shock at a spectator -- "He's talking on the phone" -- and another who loudly tripped over a chair -- "That's OK, just put a brown bag over your head, no one will notice."

And he often offered kudos to Korda -- "nice shot, good serve" -- who held Mayotte without a point in the last two games. Mayotte exulted, egging on the crowd, when he did win a point.

Mayotte said Courier didn't have to coach him on what to do, it just made sense.

"To me, these events are as much about interacting with the crowd as they are about the tennis," he said. "It's much more relaxed than the tour.

"Everybody wants to win," he said. "Once you get out there, the juices start to flow, there's money on the line, and all those things come together. Especially being in front of people I know, I want to put on a good show, not only entertainment-wise but playing-wise. So that drives you to do the best you can."

Susan Bickelhaupt can be reached at bickelhaupt@globe.com.