Aamir Khan calls on tennis ace Krishnan

BY PRAKASH M SWAMY

Bollywood Superstar Aamir Khan who was in Chennai recently called on

the one of the leading tennis players of the world 86-year-old

Wimbledon and Davis Cup champion legendary tennis star Ramanathan

Krishnan and his son another world class player Ramesh Krishnan at

their house in CIT Colony, Mylapore.

Khan, an active tennis enthusiast was keen to meet the Krishnans and

spent more than an hour inquiring about his health and recalling the

proud moments and glory Krishnans brought to India.

Ramanathan Krishnan born in 1937 is an ace tennis star who was

among the world's leading players in the 1950s and 1960s. He was

twice a semifinalist at Wimbledon in 1960 and 1961 reaching as high as

World No. 3 in Potter's amateur rankings

He led India to the Challenge Round of the 1966 Davis Cup against

Australia and was the non playing captain when Vijay Amirtraj and

Anand Amirtraj led India into the 1974 Davis Cup finals against South

Africa. He was active from 1953 to 1975 and won 69 singles titles.

Krishnan honed his skills under his father TK Ramanathan, a

veteran tennis player from Nagercoil and soon made his mark on the

national circuit, sweeping all the junior titles. He as a 13-year-old school

student sought and got special permission from the Principal of Loyola

College to take part in the Bertram Tournament open only to college

students and won it in 1951.

Krishnan qualified for 953 Wimbledon and reached final of Boys' singles

title losing to Billy Knight. Later he joined and as a student of Loyola

College and won Junior Wimbledon in 1954.

In 1954, he became the first Asian player to win the boys' singles title at

Wimbledon beating Ashley Cooper in the finals. Krishnan reached the

final at the Canadian Open in 1957, losing a close final to Bédard, whom

Krishnan had beaten several times in Britain that season.

Playing for India in the Davis Cup, Krishnan defeated Laver the

Wimbledon runner-up in four sets. Krishnan also defeated Laver at the

1959 Pacific South West tournament in three straight sets. Krishnan

also won the 1959 U.S. Hard Court Championships in Denver with wins

over Gardner Mulloy in the semifinal and Whitney Reed in three

straight sets in the final. Krishnan ranked World No. 3 in Potter's annual

rankings for 1959 in World Tennis.

These performances gained Krishnan seventh seeded status at

Wimbledon in 1960, where he reached the semi-finals. In 1961,

Krishnan again reached the Wimbledon semi-finals by beating Emerson

in straight sets in the quarter-finals but lost in the semis to eventual

champion Laver.

The following season, he reached the quarterfinals at the French Open

in 1962, where he led Emerson two sets to one, but strangely lost the

fifth set at love. Krishnan received his highest seeding at Wimbledon at

No. 4 in 1962 but had to withdraw after three matches due to an

ongoing ankle injury

Krishnan won the 1965 River Oaks International Tennis Tournament at

Houston, Texas with wins over Osuna, Emerson in the semi-final in four

sets, and Richey in the final in four sets. He was given a winner's hug of

congratulations by President George HW Bush after the victory.

Krishnan won the Canadian Open in 1968 in the final. Krishnan lost

to John Newcombe at the inaugural U.S. Open that year. However

Krishnan had a notable win over the hard-hitting Clark Graebner, a

semifinalist at the 1968 U.S. Open

Krishnan was a key member of the Indian team and in 1961 he led the

India team to the Challenge Round of the Davis Cup in 1966, whilst also

reaching the Inter-Zonal final with the team on five other occasions, in

1956, 1959, 1962, 1963 and 1968.

Krishnan was a regular player on the Indian Davis Cup team between

1953 and 1975, compiling a 69–28 winning record Krishnan's playing

style was known as touch tennis. Critics hailed Krishnan as a marvel and

described his tennis as pure oriental charm while another described his

style as Eastern magic

Krishnan received the Arjuna Award in 1961, the Padma Shri in 1962

and the Padma Bhushan in 1967. Ramesh Krishnan emulated his

father's achievement of winning the Wimbledon junior title, and went

on to become a leading Indian tennis player in the 1980s. Ramesh

Krishnan is a tennis coach and former professional tennis player from

India. As a junior player in the late 1970s, he won the singles titles at

both Wimbledon and the French Open. Former India Davis Cup tennis

player Ramesh Krishnan was presented with the Lifetime Achievement

Award by the Rotary Club of Madras

Aamir Khan was welcomed by Lalitha Krishnan wife of Ramanathan

Krishnan, their daughter Gowri Tirumurti, daughter in law Priya

Krishnan, son Ramesh Krishnan and former India’s Permanent

Representative to the UN and retired Secretary Ministry of External

Affairs and son in law T S Tirumurti.