The elegant raconteur that he is, Vijay Amritraj held courtroom effortlessly together with his pleasant manner and fast wit.
| Photo Credit: Sudhakara Jain
Close to 43 years have handed since Vijay Amritraj reached a career-high males’s singles rating of 18. The passage of time, nonetheless, has not diminished his attraction.
Still dapper at 70, Amritraj was the cynosure of all eyes at an occasion hosted by The Leela Palace right here to honour his induction into the Tennis Hall of Fame (contributor class). Amritraj held courtroom effortlessly together with his pleasant manner and fast wit.
Birthplace of tennis
Amritraj can be inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame at Newport (USA) — a metropolis the place he has received three titles (1976, 1980 and 1984). “The setting in Newport is spectacular. It is the place where tennis was born in the USA,” Amritraj mentioned.
Amritraj took a second to recollect his late dad and mom — Robert Amritraj and Maggie Dhairyam. “My greatest talent was being born to the right parents,” Amritraj mentioned.
Amritraj praised Rohan Bopanna, who lately claimed the Australian Open males’s doubles title to turn into the oldest man to win a Grand Slam.
“You must have tremendous support from family, especially your spouse, to stay with it for this long duration of time. To play at 43 — the tough part is all the work that must be put in before matches. As you get older, you slow down. The shot that was once routine is not routine anymore,” Amritraj mentioned,
“The advantage is that Rohan plays doubles. Doubles and singles is like night and day. If you have to run down everything for three hours, as you do in singles, it would have been a nightmare. The good thing is that he has a good serve, so there will always be free points,” he mentioned.
“More than anything else, Rohan is a terrific guy. He’s been a great representative for India,” Amritraj added.
Later this week, India takes on Pakistan in a Davis Cup 2024 World Group I Play-Offs tie at Islamabad (Pakistan). India will slip to Group II if it loses — a situation that doesn’t sit nicely with Amritraj.
“I have never known what it is like to be in Group II. I never even knew a Group II existed. That is not where India belongs. It is the players’ job to get us out of it,” Amritraj mentioned.
Don’t take it flippantly
Amritraj warned in opposition to taking the Pakistan group flippantly. “Firstly, I do not know how good the grass courts are in Pakistan. Their players are generally good on grass. On a normal basis — on hard courts over five sets — there would be no question that India will win. But these circumstances make the teams more equal,” Amritraj mentioned.
