Jack Kramer, tennis legend and promoter, died of cancer on September 12, 2009 at his home in Los Angeles. He was 88.

ESPN’s Cliff Drysdale reported the death during the Rafael Nadal-Juan Martin Del Potro semifinal at the U.S. Open.

Kramer,  Wimbledon and two-time United States singles champion, was the leading promoter of the professional tennis tours in Los Angeles for 60 years.  He was a world class tennis player particularly known for his consistent serve and volley attack,  powerful serve and forehand.

“He put more continuing pressure on an opponent than any other player I ever saw or played against,” Ted Schroeder, Kramer’s partner for two United States doubles championships, told The Associated Press in 2002. “That goes all the way back to Bill Tilden.”

Kramer was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame  in 1968. The Los Angeles Tennis Open was known as the Jack Kramer Open — the only World Tour event to be named for a player.