Jim Courier's record on the Delta Tour of Champions so far reads, played two matches, won two matches, and he couldn't be happier about it. The American defeated Henri Leconte 6-3, 6-3 on Wednesday night to put himself in pole position in the Vale du Lobo group.

The top player in each group after all round-robin matches have been played will meet in the final, with the winner of the event getting 400 points and the opportunity to join Thomas Muster at the head of the Stanford Financial Champions Tour Rankings.

"I played hard, but Henri was serving big," said Courier. "I thought I played better tonight than last night. It's good to play with the guys again. We're competing but having a good time at the same time. When we play the points we're serious but in between we can have fun."

The goal for Courier, as for all the players on the Delta Tour of Champions, is to qualify for the season-ending Masters Tennis at the Royal Albert Hall in London (Nov 30 - Dec 5). The top ten players in the Stanford Financial Champions Tour Rankings after all events are complete will qualify automatically, with two further wild cards making up a 12-man field.

Elsewhere on day two, Emilio Sanchez sprung a surprise with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Mats Wilander, and defending champion Stich had to come back from a set down to defeat Joao Cunha Silva 2-6, 6-4, 10-6 on a Champions' Tie-Break.