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Vijay Amritraj, born on December 14, 1953, kept the Indian flag flying high with his notable performances at the international tennis circuit. Amritraj, along with the father-son duo of Ramanathan and Ramesh Krishnan, is among the handful of Indians to have fared reasonably well in Grand Slam tournaments.
In 1973, he reached the quarterfinal of Wimbledon but lost to eventual champion Jan Kodes in a thrilling five-setter. The same year, in the U.S. Open, he lost the quarterfinal clash to tennis great Ken Rosewall after getting the better of Rod Laver in an earlier round.
In the next year, Amritraj's U.S. Open sojourn made a similar fate when Rosewall again proved his nemesis at the quarterfinal stage. In 1981, Amritraj again reached the quarterfinal of Wimbledon but a spirited Jimmy Connors rallied from a two-set deficit to get the better of the Indian great.
Amritraj had an equally impressive Davis Cup record. In 1974, he teamed up with Shashi Menon, Jasjit Singh and brother Anand Amritraj to take India to the Davis Cup final for the second time. But India refused to play South Africa in protest of the racist regime prevailing there.
Throughout his glorious career, Amritraj distinguished himself by getting the better of some of the greatest names of tennis history. Stalwarts like Bjorn Borg, Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl, John McEnroe and Newcombe fell before his aggressive serve and volley game.
