Sports Files with Greg Gaston - Feb. 15, 2013

>> female announcer: This is a production of WKNO, Memphis. Production funding for "Sports Files" is made possible in part by... My guest today on "Sports Files" is the Tournament Director of the U.S. National Indoor Tennis Championships, Peter Lebedevs. [instrumental music] ♪♪♪ Since our country's bicentennial year of 1976, professional tennis has been played in the city of Memphis. The U.S. National Indoor Tennis championships will once again be staged this year, beginning this weekend and running through February 24th. The event has produced some of the most notable players in the history of the sport, and the past champions list is a who's who in professional tennis. Borg, McEnroe, Connors, Lendl, Sampras, Aggasi and Roddick are just some of the Giants of tennis who have come into Memphis and hoisted the champions trophy. In 2002, a WTA event was added, making the Memphis stop one of the rare tournaments outside the majors to host both the men and women simultaneously. And while this will be the last year for the women, the last decade has produced some memorable champions in the Bluff City, such as Venus Williams, Lindsay Davenport and Maria Sharapova. The men's tournament will also change next year as the ATP 500 event moves to South America, to be replaced by a 250 event. But never the less, the city of Memphis and the Racquet Club will remain in the tennis tournament business for many years to come. Today, Tournament Director Peter Lebedevs joins me to preview this year's event, and look down the road into the future of professional tennis in Memphis. It's game, set and match next on "Sports Files." [instrumental music] ♪♪♪ >> Gaston: Peter, thanks so much for being with us. >> Lebedevs: Not a problem. It's great to be here. >> Gaston: Always good to talk tennis with you. It's not an overnight thing, putting a field together. It's a lot of hard work-- many, many months. You're getting down to the nitty-gritty but you've put together a very nice field once again. Talk a little bit about some of the entries for this year, both for the men and the women. >> Lebedevs: We've had our best field of top plays in the world. We've had some number ones in our time but this year, we've got 11 guys and in the top 30 in the world which is fantastic. And that's something that they've heard about Memphis. And it took us about six months to get everybody coming but they're excited about it. Young Alex Dolgopolov, he's coming in. He's going to be great to watch. We haven't seen him. He's won another 500 tournament in Washington last year. We got Kei Nishikori coming back and he was here when he was in the qualifying. Now, he's a top 20 player in the world. So, fantastic field. And then Marin Cilic who just won last week in Zagreb, he's already in town practicing getting used to the courts. And he's about 13 in the world. So, there's some guys here that are going to be really, really good. And on the girls' side, we have Sofia Arvidsson's coming back, our champion from last year. So is Maggie Rybarikova who is- two years ago, she won it. And our young American we have is Vicky Duval who is the current 18 and under champion. She's one of the girls that you want to look out for. Last year we had Slone Stephens and she's now top 20 in the world. And so, everybody needs to come see Vicky because she might be that girl again. >> Gaston: Alright, let's get back to the menu. Mentioned some of the names. Of course, Milos Raonic will be back and he's been to fun to watch the last couple of years. You have the Americans, John Isner and Sam Querrey. Tommy Haas is coming back, as well. >> Lebedevs: Yeah, Tommy's an amazing story, you know. If you asked me to bet on whether he was going to make it back to where he was 12 months ago-because 12 months ago, he was not qualifying. Wasn't good enough. And now, he's back as a 22 in the world. He's, you know, fan favorite. They love Tommy. Tommy loves our courts here. He's excited about coming back. So, you know, for him, it's great. Johns excited. John had his injury and couldn't play the straight and open. But I was on the phone to him and his agent and he said he's ready to go and excited about it. And Sam, the 2010 champion. You know he loves Memphis. >> Gaston: You're always making moves all the way up until we start this tournament. James Blake, speaking of fan favorites, he's in for Mardy Fish. So, he gets one of the wild cards. Jack Sock got a wild card and Lleyton Hewitt, if I'm correct. >> Lebedevs: Lleyton Hewitt got a wild card as well. So, we've got former champion is Lleyton and former number one player in the world. Jack, who's on his way up. Got a bit of an injury last year-so, stalled. But still, he's about 120. And we think he could be a great player. And James wasn't quite in. Mardys still having issues with hi heart that side-lined him late last year. And as he said, it's not so much that his hearts not right. He's more worried about being fit enough if he really gets pushed. He wants to wait until he's ready. And so, we appreciate him being upfront and honest about that. But we're lucky enough to have a guy like James who's ready to come in and play. And it's going to be great having James back. >> Gaston: Peter, how strange is it to have a tournament in Memphis without Andy Roddick, who of course, if people don't know, has retired. >> Lebedevs: He's retired. Um, it's very strange. It's been 11 years since we've had Andy here. And I've known Andy since he was 12 years of age. I had him and I coached him. And so, you know, not having him here, it does feel a little bit weird. And, um, we'll see. I think, you know, it's time for the new crew of guys to come along. But it definitely feels a little different. >> Gaston: You've made some changes that we'll talk about in just a moment. You also have plenty of events within the major event, the tournament, that happen each and every year. You always try to better yourself. Tell us about some of the things that will be happening at this year's tournament. >> Lebedevs: One of the things we try to do is the fan experience. There's a lot of tennis but we want the fans to have something else to do. So, one of the things we've got during the day on Wednesday is Ladies' Day. We have a seated luncheon with some featured wines and dessert wines. And then, we're going to have the players coming in. And the players will come in and do a little Q and A with me. And the ladies will able to chat with them. And then, we'll have the photographer go around and take photos. So, the ladies will have a chance to have a photograph with the players. And Verdascos online to do that. And he's always a fan favorite with the ladies. So, that will be fun. On Thursday night, we've got bourbon and barbecue. What we're doing on that night is we're having a couple of teams that won Memphis and May Barbecue Festival. They're going to come in and do a little tasting down in the village. And we have a whiskey that's going to come in there. I'm sorry-a bourbons going to be coming in there. And they're going to be able to have a little taste of that. So, they're going to get a taste of Memphis. And one of the other things we've got, too-really, really, really cool is on Tuesday night, the Bryan Brothers Band. They're going to play a very special little intimate concert in our, um, ball room for 100 people-150 people, actually. And all the proceeds go to St. Jude. And that's going to be really cool. 150 people sitting in a room listening to the Bryan Brothers Band play. The drummer plays with the Counting Crows. >> Gaston: How about that? >> Lebedevs: The lead singer was on American Idol-came in eighth. So, we have a really special little time for that and that's going to be unbelievably fun, we think. >> Gaston: Now, can people still get a ticket? >> Lebedevs: People can still get a ticket. They've just got to call the ticket office. Seven - six - five - four - four - zero - one. We still have a few tickets for all three of those events. The Bryan Brothers one is moving really, really quickly. But the Bourbon and Barbecue is great and so is the Ladies' Day. So, those things-We've got those still going. It's going to be fun--something else to do instead of just tennis all day, every day. >> Gaston: Absolutely, I agree. You also, as I mentioned, made some changes to stadium court and this atmosphere is going to be a little bit different for people. When they come in, they're going to be a little surprised. Tell us all about that. >> Lebedevs: Well, it's-we're still close. We're not too far away. We did made the court a little bigger and that's after last year. The players-It was just getting to where they're so big and fast, they're running out of room. So we expanded the court a little bit so that made it better for them. We also, um, took out our bleacher seats. Even though it's nice to see the old wood out there, we thought it would be better for everybody to have a nice chair back. So, we have taken the bleachers out and we've created better seating for that. We've also added a club lunge area on our west end right under the score board. There's an area where you can sit and have a little bit of food served to you while you're in the stands. We'll have to have a few etiquette pamphlets handed out to make sure that everybody knows how this is. Tennis is not crazy. But again, something a little bit different for our fans to experience when they go in there. We also have-We're unveiling a champions wall that you'll see when you come in to the stadium. You'll see the history of our tournament. But, uh, everybody has to go there to see that one. >> Gaston: Like I said, you're always looking for things to better the tournament. >> Lebedevs: We are. I mean, our fans are fantastic but we need to keep making sure that they say reason to keep coming back year after year. And that's one of those things that we're trying to do is make sure when they tell us, "We want some things," or ,"We want this," or, "We want that," we say, "Hey, we're going to do something for you." And we've tried to do that. And I think over the last few years, we've done well whether it be the court, the venue video boards a couple of years ago. West Clinic's come in, too. So, we have the whole replay system. So each year, we're stepping it up. >> Gaston: Peter, for those who don't know and most have kept up with what's happening with our tennis tournament here in Memphis. But for those who do not know, this will be the last year for the women. It will also change as far as the men's tournament from a 500 to a 250. Can you explain the changes, what it means and what it will mean for the future of the tournament? >> Lebedevs: With the ladies, ladies-their last year. This will be 12 years we've had the ladies. It's great having them and we've had some fantastic players. But going forward without ladies, it allows us to do more things because we have space constraints. So, when the ladies left, that will open up some things for us. In terms of the men's changing, as a 500, it really means more points, more prize money for them. Um, but it's kind of interesting. Nobody really knew about the 500 until we changed it to 250. Now all of a sudden, we get the questions. Really won't make a lot of difference for us because we will still be able to go out and get a very good field. We'll be able to, if there's a play that we really want to go and get, we'll be able to kind of pinpoint that a little bit more. And that gives us more flexibility. And here, I think we like the flexibility to do more things and create more things. So, the fans won't see any difference. If anything, I think they'll see an improvement on amenities and other things at the club. So, you know, that goes back to our ownership group though. When we did sell the sanction, they said, "We want to make sure the professional tennis stays in Memphis." They weren't going to sell it and not have tennis. They committed to our city and making sure that we have professional tennis for years to come. >> Gaston: And along those lines, there's not a player that leaves Memphis and is disappointed with the venue, the atmosphere, the experience. So, those players, many of them who are playing this year, will come back. >> Lebedevs: They will, they will. You know, their schedule dictates what they can do-- you know, if they've got tournaments coming up in terms of Davis Cup commitments and things like that. But, they have that room in their schedule and we're always one of the top places to coming here. A couple of years ago, a player, he was from Serbia and he's now a top 10 player. He said, "You know, I'd heard about Memphis and I was worried because I heard there were, you know, there was lots of, with girls and guys, you always get worried." And he comes and he says, "It's great. "There's no problems." And, you know, that's kind of really good to hear because he chooses where he comes to play and he chose Memphis. And Andy Roddick loved it. And I'll say that we helped him and his wife get together because that's where the first time they came to before she got married. And they had such a good time that, you know, maybe that's why they did it. >> Gaston: Peter, you have your finger on the pulse with tennis, especially here in the states. We talk about a lot of these young up and coming women, girls to women and some in this tournament. People always ask me about tennis and about the men. Where's the future in American men's' tennis. Where do we stand? >> Lebedevs: We're in pretty good shape. We've been spoiled over the years by having your Changs and your Agassis and your Samprases. Tennis doesn't have that 17- year-old teenager phenom anymore. All of the guys just seeing their in the top 10 in the world, they're all 24, 25. So our young guys coming up, Jack Sock, Ryan Harrison. These guys and even Sam Querrey, you know, they're early 20s. So they're just getting to their physical peak. And that's where the physicality of tennis has changed. So, we have some young guys coming up. Ryan Williams from Knoxville, Tennessee. He played at UT. We've given him a wild card in the qualifying. He's going to be one of those guys. Looking for him. But again, if you look at him versus- They're just physically not quite the same. Hitting the ball, it's kind of close there. So, I think American tennis is still in good shape. We're going to have a little bit of a wait to see. But we've got the talent here. The other part is in the US, we have these other games called football, basketball and baseball which takes some of our top athletes. And John Isner is a classic case. John Isner could have been a great basketball player, no doubt about it. He chose tennis. We just need a few more of those guy to choose tennis over some of those other sports. And the USTA is doing great job of promoting some new initiatives in the younger ages to make tennis more accessible and more fun. I think you're going to see probably five or six years- You're going to start seeing more of those top Americans coming through. But we still have a good crew, it's just we're used to having number ones all the time. And we just got-You know, I think tennis right now with the guys, they've got their. I don't know if you've ever had three guys that have been that good at any sport almost. It's impressive. >> Gaston: Tennis being now a power game for the most part as opposed to years ago when I was ago, the finesse game. Is it because of the equipment or the players getting bigger and stronger or a combination? >> Lebedevs: It's a little bit of a combination but it's more of just the players are more physical. I mean, the average size is about six foot four and about 185. And 15 years ago, it was five ten, 155. That's just a better athlete. The string that are part of the equipment that have made the biggest difference. Everybody tends to think it's the racket. It's really the strings. They have this new kind of poly- string. I'm not good enough to take advantage of it. Um, but, when those guys are swinging that hard, it keeps the ball and they can create angles. So, it's mostly the players and then a little bit of the equipment. And then you put that together and you know, you're just seeing better tennis. They're unbelievable, these guys now. >> Gaston: Peter, real quick. Once again, give the phone number for everybody to call to get tickets. >> It's seven - six - five - four - four - zero - one. Or they can go online at Memphistennis-dot-com. >> Gaston: We like to end our interviews with something we call five for the road. So I'm going to give you five questions. Quick, first thing that comes to your mind here. What is your favorite sports team? It doesn't have to be in this country, either. Maybe some soccer team. >> Lebedevs: I'll actually say the West Coast Eagles which is an Australian rules football team. >> Gaston: Okay, you and Australia. Is he going to go soccer or Australian rules football? How about your favorite athlete of all time? >> Lebedevs: Favorite athlete of all time. I'd have to probably say it's Federer. I mean, I'm a tennis guy. Somebody you admire like that, it's hard to go past him. >> Gaston: Who was it when you were growing up in tennis? When you were growing up, who did you want to emulate? >> Lebedevs: Oh, it was probably Bolgar. You know, when you see Bol play that match, Bolg and McEnroe would go down the courts. Wimbledon for hours until 3:00 in the morning. Everybody had a headband and hitting two-handed back hand. >> Gaston: Fire and ice, absolutely. >> Lebedevs: How about your favorite musician or group? What music do you like to listen to? When you're kicking back and not trying to get some player to come here to Memphis? >> Lebedevs: You know, actually, I kind of like Pearl Jam a little bit which is a little different. But I quite like them. When I'm on the block, I like that. >> Gaston: What's not to like about Pearl Jam? Favorite movie of all time. >> Lebedevs: Favorite movie of all time.. Um,-- >> Gaston: Don't say that movie Wimbledon. >> Lebedevs: No, no, no, no, no, no. That was actually on the other night. Um, my favorite movie of all time-I'm not sure. It's actually, um, it was a James Bond movie, "Live and Let Die." >> Gaston: "Live and Let Die." So, that was which Bond? >> Lebedevs: That was Roger Moore. The soundtrack is what I remember so much as a kid. It was just unbelievable. >> Gaston: Paul McCartney, and, uh- >> Lebedevs: And Wings. >> Gaston: And Wings! There you go! Okay, we'll wrap it up with your favorite TV show. What do you like to watch? >> Lebedevs: Favorite TV show would have to be "Modern Family." You know, it's funny and there's always a little point at the end of it. >> Gaston: Well, there's nothing funny about the hard work you guys have put into putting this tournament together each and every year. It's going to be fantastic-more than a week now. Its starts this weekend so it's going to go by in nine days. And Peter, always a pleasure. Thank you so much. We appreciate it. See you next week at the Racquet Club of Memphis. >> Lebedevs: Absolutely. >> Gaston: Well, Lauren, how much fun is this? This team is playing so well. You're the second leading scorer in division III in the entire nation. You've got a big smile on your face. What's it like out there? >> Avant: It's just great being able to play and go out there and have fun with my teammates every single weekend. >> Gaston: How about the fact that you guys are so successful playing so well? >> Avant: It's just great because we've put on a lot of work this season. We had a really intense preseason this year and we amped it up. And I think that it's showing. We're getting the results that we wanted. >> Gaston: Last year, your first year at Rhodes after transferring from Tennessee, you had the Achilles injury. You only played in 14 games. Although you made your mark, you were 13. Then, SCAC. And now, of course you've changed leagues. But this year, it's not like you're injury free. You're playing with an injury to your foot. Tell everybody about that. >> Avant: Um, I think right before the season, um, I ended up getting a stress fracture. And I just kept playing on it.- Well, practicing on it. And it ended up being like some kind of weird break where it's like broken in a couple pieces. And I'm playing every game with a carbon fiber insole. So, I can't actually bend my left foot at all while I'm playing. >> Gaston: Let me get this straight, you have a broken foot of some sort but it's okay with the doctors that you could play. And you're playing obviously at a high level. How is that happening? >> Avant: Um, they said if I can tolerate the pain, then I can play. >> Gaston: How painful is it for you? >> Avant: Um, I have a high pain tolerance. So, it's okay. I'm able to manage and get by. >> Gaston: What is it like for you here with these young ladies that play at Rhodes. You are a former Tennessee play. Obviously highly sought after after a great career here in Memphis. You decided to go to Tennessee. Then, you decided to transfer. Open arms, they welcomed you. >> Avant: Yes sir, definitely. I was welcomed by everyone: the faculty, administration. Everyone just welcomed me and really embraced me. And they helped me deal with my first year with all my injuries and, you know, tearing the Achilles. They just helped me as far as school and have made the adjustment, as far as playing basketball again, really easy. >> Gaston: What was it like from the fact that you're on planes with Pat Summit and now, I'm sure, on the bus with Coach Dean at Rhoads. A little bit of a culture shock. >> Avant: It's definitely a culture shock at first but I've come to love it. And I think that just the closeness of his kind of built this new form of comradery that I've never seen before. It went from being, you know, playing at really high competitive level and now, it's more so, you know, playing at a competitive level but still playing for fun and being able to have academics first. And, I mean, I'm just really enjoying the entire process. >> Gaston: Coming out of Lausanne and putting together that amazing career and then deciding on Tennessee with a lot of schools going after you, what were your goals back then before you made the move to college? What were you trying to accomplish in college knowing that you were going to go play for Pat Summit in Tennessee? >> Avant: I was, you know, I committed at a really young age. I think it was my freshman year and my goals then were different. Then, I wanted to come out and, you know, play at the highest level that I possibly could at Tennessee. And then hopefully, after that I was going to plan to enter medical school. And if that didn't work out, then somehow get back in to coaching. And, you know, since then, I pretty much have the same plans. I've just, you know, kind of adjusted them because over the years, I accumulated so many injuries. But now, I just really want to put my body first. >> Gaston: Was it the injuries and the illnesses that you had in your one year at Tennessee that told you, "Look, I want to come back home. "I want to go and play somewhere else. "I want to go to Rhodes." Or were there other factors that played in to your big decision? >> Avant: It was definitely just the injuries. I complied a lot and, you know, a couple concussions before I even went to Tennessee. So, I mean, I just decided that I really need to put my body first. You know, I love Tennessee and I'll always be their biggest fan and biggest supporter but I just had to do what was best for my body at the time. >> Gaston: Do you just play with reckless abandon? Is that what it is? >> Avant: Pretty much. That's what I've come to realize. I find myself on the floor a lot and it's just become a trend over the course of my career. >> Gaston: So give me the, uh, what went down with Coach Dean and Rhodes. And here you are, this former star prep player in Memphis who signed with Tennessee, full ride. And now, you and Coach talk about coming here to play at Rhodes. How did that work out. >> Avant: Um, during time the time that I decided I wanted to leave, I knew I wanted to go to a program where I can really, you know, put my body first and it wouldn't be, you know, as stressful on my body, you know, everyday, day-in and day-out. So, I knew I wanted to come down to a lower competitive level, either D II or D III. And it just so happened that my best friend, who's also an All- American here last year, um, attended Rhodes. And she kind of had a lot of influence in my decision and partly, I just wanted to come home. And I knew that Tennessee-well, Memphis, specifically, had, you know, great medical programs here. And I knew that Rhodes has like a really high entrance rate in to medical school. So, I knew that this had everything that I was looking for. >> Gaston: Academics first, basketball now second or maybe in a little bit different years prior to that. Coach D, what type of Coach is he? >> Avant: He's great. He's a players' coach. He's like the kind of father that you want. You know, he's definitely been a father figure for me since I've been here and he's just definitely helped me integrate into the Rhodes culture. >> Gaston: so, you're a bio pre- med major. Okay, which is-Whew! Way over my head! But, you said you may wait a little bit on grad school. You may take grad school classes while pursuing coaching. So, it looks like coaching now is at the top of what you want to do with your life. >> Avant: Yes sir, as I've made these adjustments and, you know, transferred and come back to Memphis, I had the ability to do things during the summer that I don't think I'd have the opportunity to do. I had time to really train younger athletes and even athletes around my age. And I realized that basketball is my passion and it's something that I wanted to pursue long after my career. So, I wanted to get in coaching the best way that I could. And I wanted to also take classes because, you know, I want to further my education also. So, hopefully I get a coaching job somewhere upon graduation. Lauren and her Rhodes teammates are in action tonight and will play their regular season finale on Sunday at home before they get set for the Southern Athletic Association Tournament. Also, The NBA All-Star game takes place Sunday in Houston, Texas. And we want to send out a good luck and congratulations to Grizzlies Forward Zach Randolph, who is making his 2nd appearance in the midseason classic. Go get em ZBo. And that will do it for this week's show. As always, you can see any of our previous shows by heading to our website at WKNO-dot-org and clicking on KNO Tonite. And we'll see you next time.