Jim Courier had his share of 'beautiful' tennis players to contend with over the years, but it was usually his opponents' forehands, backhands and volleys that caught the eye.

Returning the serve of Maria Julia Mantilla Garcia - the current Miss World - at the Stanford Financial Tennis Celebrity Classic in Miami, was a whole different proposition.

"Tennis is, indeed, a beautiful game," said Courier, as he returned Miss World's serve to officially open the event.

Former World No.1 Courier and Miss World had joined 1986 French Open finalist Mikael Pernfors, Aaron Krickstein, and current top doubles players Todd Woodbridge and Mahesh Bhupathi for the celebrity Pro-Am event at Fisher Island Tennis Club in Miami.

The occasion was organised by the Stanford Financial Group - title sponsors of the Stanford Financial Champions Tour Rankings and the official financial partner of the Delta Tour of Champions - for their clients.

"Our clients work hard and today we gave them the opportunity to play hard against some of the finest champions in the world of tennis", said Alvaro Trullenque, Executive director of Stanford Financial Group.

Courier was the No.1 player in the Stanford Financial Champions Tour Rankings in 2004.