a contract (with ESPN) before the network came on the air ATP In 1981 Davies left WCT after 13 years and joined his lifelong friend Butch Buchholz as Marketing Director of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). One year later, when Buchholz left the ATP, Davies took over as executive director. The ATP was almost bankrupt at the time, and when Davies left after three years they had over $1 million in assets. He helped consolidate the players' pension plan and created more jobs for players with bigger draws and more tournaments and bigger prize money. MITPC Davies also served on the Men's Pro Council and was chairman of this committee which administered the Men's Professional Circuit, before the ATP. ITF In 1987 Davies joined the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and later moved back to London as general manager and Marketing Director. He was made a full member of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club at Wimbledon in 1990–30 years after they had withdrawn his membership. During these years Davies almost tripled the Sponsorship and International Television revenue for the ITF, and created the Grand Slam Committee which now oversees the four Grand Slam events Grand Slam Cup Davies also created the Grand Slam Cup which was first played in Munich Germany in 1990. This event was for the 16 players who had the best record in the four Grand Slam events. The prize money was $6 million, with $2 million going to the winner of the event. Still the highest prize money per player ever. In 1994 Davies negotiated the largest tennis Television contract which was between German TV, the German Tennis Federation and the ITF for a five-year deal for $200 million. Retirement and death Davies retired in 1995 and moved back to the United States. In 1997, he and Butch Buchholz, took over control of the Pilot Pen Tennis tournament in Connecticut. The tournament is played the week before the US Open in August and is owned by the USTA. Davies has been inducted in 2012 to the International Tennis Hall of Fame for his role in the transformation of the sport into a world-wide concern. Davies died in Sarasota, Florida on 2 November 2015 from mesothelioma at the age of 79. References Sources External links 1936 births 2015 deaths Welsh male tennis players British sports businesspeople History of tennis Sportspeople from Swansea 20th-century Welsh