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Ramanathan Krishnan, born on April 11, 1937, is one of the legends of Indian tennis. In the early part of his career, Krishnan honed his skills under the watchful eyes of his father T. K. Ramanathan, who realized the immense potential of his son.
Krishnan soon made his mark in the national circuit, sweeping all the junior and senior titles. He won the national senior title for eight years at a stretch.
Riding on his national success, Krishnan went on to rub shoulders with the big boys of international tennis and established himself in the top ten of world rankings. He was rated among the top ten in the world on five different occasions and was seeded 4 in the Wimbledon of 1962. In 1960, Krishnan was ranked third in the world behind Neale Fraser and Alex Olmedo.
In 1954, Ramanathan Krishnan became the first Asian to win the Wimbledon junior Singles title by beating Ashley Cooper in the finals. In 1960, as a senior pro, Krishnan reached the semifinals of the Wimbledon but lost to the eventual champion Fraser. He again reached the semifinals next year, but champion Rod Laver got the better of him.
In addition to his glorious run in the Wimbledon, Krishnan was an outstanding Davis Cupper. He has one of the best records in this team event, winning 50 of the 69 Singles and 19 of the 29 Doubles encounters, the latter in partnership with Jaideep Mukherjea.
