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26 Years Later …

Who among ye, faithful tennis fans, are growing weary of the Roger Federer Era? Having witnessed the same brilliant player win each of the last three Wimbledon and U.S. Open titles, perhaps the time is right for a return to yesteryear, when the sport’s champions were actually plural, when rivalries meant anyone might win the next Grand Slam event. With that spirit in mind, The Racquet Club of Memphis welcomes the Stanford Championships, a five-day event (October 4th-8th) in the Outback Champions Series that will have you thinking it’s 1985 all over again. Among the eight tennis greats to compete in Memphis will be Mats Wilander (winner of three Grand Slam titles in 1988), Wimbledon champ Pat Cash, and two-time French Open winner Jim Courier. The headliner? Why, none other than seven-time Grand Slam winner John McEnroe (pictured). Merely 26 years after he won the U.S. National Indoor title at The Racquet Club, Johnny Mac will be the crowd favorite for this round-robin tournament. Old guys can’t play tennis? You CANNOT be serious!

Stanford championships, Outback Champions Series, Wednesday-Sunday, October 4th-8th,

at the Racquet Club of Memphis, tickets start at $15

By Frank Murtaugh

Frank Murtaugh is the managing editor of Memphis magazine. He's covered sports for the Flyer for two decades. "From My Seat" debuted on the Flyer site in 2002 and "Tiger Blue" in 2009.