Vijay Amritraj is a glorious chapter in the history of Indian tennis. One of the best the country has ever produced, his exploits at Grand Slams — particularly Wimbledon and the US Open — are legendary. He may not have won a major title, but the big boys of the tennis world feared the serve-and-volleyer.
A successful commentator now, Amritraj was at the KSLTA, one of his famous hunting grounds, early this week for a promotional event. Deccan Herald caught up with the reflective 53-year-old . Excerpts:
Tennis has been rocked by match-fixing allegations in recent times…
I feel that it has suddenly come up. It has always been a clean sport. I think we are making a mountain out of a molehill. I can't find any really good reason to do it because, for us, the gold standard — the most important thing — is the ATP ranking.
So, if a guy is taking money to lose matches, he can't do it for more than one month because the ranking is going to drop constantly. And by the time the 12 months comes around, you are off the computers. You have no chance to play any more.
The chances of that happening, to me, are just remote. It can never happen to the top guy because the money is too great. What are you going to pay them to tank a match? That doesn't make any sense. I feel that we are making a lot out of maybe some rumours or the odd instances here and there.
Are the middle and lower rung players involved?
Can they do a one-off thing? I don't know. Maybe they can. It makes no sense because at the end of the day, the ranking matters. If you don't get into the tournament, how are you going to do anything? To maintain your ranking in the 50s or 60s, you better be damn consistent, all year long. You have got only 12 months to do it. It doesn't matter how you did two years ago, it is only the last 12 months that matter. It seems rather odd that it can be a general issue. I think it is more of a smoke than anything else.
Were there instances of fixing during your playing days?
None. It wasn't even a rumour. It is a very odd thing, especially in our sport. It is not a one-off thing.
What about drugs in the sport?
I believe we are a non-seasonal sport, which means that it is not like I have to win this particular race, only this marathon or where you are working towards only one race. In tennis, you are looking at a longish career -- 10-12 years. You wouldn't want to hurt anything in your body to hurt that career. There maybe the odd instance here and there, but nothing serious.
Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi don’t have many years ahead of them. What do you think of the future of Indian tennis?
We have always had a good bunch of youngsters. Even after (Rohan) Bopanna and Prakash (Amritraj), I think there are other boys in the younger age groups who are good. That’s why I feel that a series like our Good Earth Series that highlights the 14 to 16-year-olds has a role.
It makes a big difference as far as locating the talent, making sure the right kids are coming to the top, making sure the commitment is there, the desire is there, the work ethics is there. Events like the Good Earth Series help really rejuvenate that process.
We always have had somebody who takes over after somebody as we move on from generation to generation. But our improvement in India, perhaps in most sports, is not as rapid as improvement overseas. That is why we're having a little bit of a shortfall, which we have to start to look at very closely.
Is the younger bunch (Bopanna, Prakash, Karan Rastogi and others) ready to take over the reins of Indian tennis from the two ageing stalwarts?
Well, we have to have a mix of both. The thing about tennis is it is an individual sport, so it is not like a team sport like cricket where you can actually have four senior guys and four junior guys in the team and they help each other out.
Whereas in tennis, you put the guy, he is by himself on the court. It makes it a lot more difficult. But there comes a time when boys become men. In some cases, it happens in the teens and in come cases, it happens in the early 20s.
Prakash has been off the circuit for some time now. When is he going to make a comeback?
He had a left wrist surgery. He tore a ligament and was in a cast for eight weeks and is making a huge comeback now. The first event he will be playing will be the Chennai Open.
Do you think Sania Mirza has arrived, and is here to stay?
Absolutely. She is in the top-50, she has been very consistent. She has good wins, she is very athletic and she is working hard. The most important thing for her now is to stay healthy.
