Former director Buford says event was ‘diamond in my life’
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Oste ns i bl y, fo r mer Memphis Open tournament director Tommy Buford was honored after Wednesday night’s feature match between top seed and three-time defending champion Kei Nishikori and American Ryan Harrison for his recent induction in the Southern Tennis Hall of Fame.
But the on-court ceremony doubled as an appreciation for all he did for tennis in the Memphis community. Phil Chamberlain and Peter Lebedevs, the tournament directors who succeeded Buford, and Erin Mazurek, the current director, appeared with Buford and Chamberlain praised Buford for his contributions in amateur and pro tennis. He called Buford “the Grandfather of Tennis in Memphis.”
As the ceremony closed, Mazurek announced Buford, tournament director from 1978 to 2004, as the first inductee in the Memphis Open Hall of Fame as a banner was unfurled from a suite behind the baseline. Buford was moved to tears as he briefly spoke.
Buford, 81, said it was his first trip back to The Racquet Club for the ATP World Tour event since he retired as tournament director. Buford and his wife, Virginia, live in Hidden Springs, Idaho, a community outside of Boise.
During the 1980s and 1990s the champions list read like a Who’s Who of the game’s greatest. The Former Memphis Open director Tommy Buford was honored Wednesday night after the feature match at The Racquet Club for his recent induction into the Southern Tennis Hall of Fame. winners during Buford’s tenure included John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Stefan Edberg, Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, Andy Roddick and Jim Courier.
“As frustrated as you would get at times running a tournament, it was a lot of fun,” Buford said. “Looking back, it was a real diamond in my life.”
Buford, who also taught tennis and served as University of Memphis tennis coach, said he was diagnosed with throat cancer two years ago but was recently told he was cancerfree. He said his connections to the Memphis area aided in his rapid recovery.
Buford said Memphis cardiologist Steve Gubin, whom Buford gave tennis lessons at The Racquet Club as a 10-year-old, was instrumental in Buford’s getting quickly seen and treated at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
Buford, who has spent the past 10 years coaching a boys high school tennis team in Boise, said he was impressed by “the professional look” inside the club promoting the Memphis Open.
“It is going to grow again into (a popular) event,” Buford said, referring to the efforts of Mazurek and Jerry Solomon and Josh Ripple of GF Sports, the event’s owner. “Cosmetically, the club looks great.”
RESUME BUILDER
Americans Austin Krajicek and Nicholas Monroe, who upset the top-seeded team of Mike and Bob Bryan in an opening-round match Tuesday, expect the win to do wonders for their relatively new pairing.
Krajicek and Monroe, playing together for only the ninth time, handed the Bryans their first openinground loss in Memphis in 11 tournaments. The Bryans own a record 109 doubles titles, including three in Memphis.
“It’s massive for us,” Krajicek said. “We’ve been playing on and off for about a year now because of our schedule, but we’ve putting in a lot of time together.
“We came together in the second set (Tuesday). It’s always huge to get a confidence boost against the greatest team ever.”
In addition to the upset by Krajicek and Monroe, Americans Taylor Fritz and Ryan Harrison, playing for the first time, stunned the No. 2- seeded team of Treat Huey and Max Mirnyi in straight sets.