The Hindu : Sport : A trip down memory lane

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Dec 30, 2004

Sport

Sport

A trip down memory lane

By K. Keerthivasan

UNCONQUERED WARRIORS: Ramanathan Krishnan looks on as R. Venkatraman, the then minister of industries in the State, greets Neale Fraser at the all-India hard court tennis championship at the Egmore Stadium in 1962. Krishnan won the first set 19-17 but they shared the trophy after bad light stopped play. — The Hindu Photo Library

CHENNAI, DEC. 29. When Ramanathan Krishnan came to Madras (Chennai now) from Tenkasi near Tirunelveli as a 13-year-old in 1950 accompanied by his father T.K. Ramanathan, he had only one thing in mind — to make it big in tennis. "Madras was geographically better suited for tennis," says Krishnan recalling the decision to shift to Madras.

"There used to be the All-India hard-court (played in clay court) tournament and the South India championship.

It used to alternate between Chennai and Mumbai. In those days the two tournaments were held at the Egmore Stadium," says Krishnan.

In the 50s and 60s, the all-India tournament was a rage. The crowd used to wait patiently to get tickets, unmindful of the big queue. "I remember a man brushing his teeth while waiting to buy tickets," says Krishnan.

Short rallies and powerful shot-making were unheard of in those days. Krishnan says when it was announced that the final would be best of three sets, the "crowd used to shout `best of five', `best of five'."

Memorable matches

Krishnan played some of his best tennis in Chennai. He remembers each one of them as if as it happened yesterday. In the 1952 final of the South-India championship, a 15-year-old Krishnan lost to England's Tony Mottram. "He (Mottram) was a veteran player and I lost to him," says the legend.

Krishnan overcame Ulf Schmidt of Sweden twice in the all-India hard-court tournament finals in `57 and `59. "In one I beat him in three straight sets and the other in five sets," says Krishnan.

He reminds us of the nail-biting five-setter that he lost to R. Osuna of Mexico in the second tie of the Davis Cup inter-zonal final. "It was one of my best matches."

In 1961, an Australian team comprising John Newcombe, Fred Stolle and Bob Hewitt came to Chennai for the third `Test', which was held at the Egmore Stadium. "That was the first time the match was played in the evening under lights and it turned out to be a big success," says Krishnan who won both his singles matches but saw India go down 2-3.

"Tennis was of high order," recounts Krishnan of the 1962 final against Australia's Neale Fraser in the All-India tournament at the Egmore Stadium. After Krishnan won a tough first set 19-17, bad light stopped play, and the Trophy had to be shared. "Fraser was the Wimbledon champion (1960) and was a top-ranked player then. The set went for three hours," adds Krishnan.

Camaraderie, the loser

The twice Wimbledon semifinalist also cherishes the camaraderie he had with his fellow players and officials. "There was a lot of interaction between the public and players, among players themselves and officials and players. It is purely bull-fight now."

While it is becoming increasingly difficult to bring in people to the Stadium with other leisure activities dominating public minds, the scenario was different those days. "There was tremendous crowd of around 10,000 at Egmore Stadium during the all-India tournaments," Krishnan recalls. "Now spectator interest is divided."

Clubs played a major part in conducting tournaments. "There were eight tournaments in the city conducted by various clubs — Cosmopolitan Club, Madras Gymkhana, Madras Cricket Club, SIAA, Republic Club, Mylapore Club and T. Nagar Social Club and Mandavelipakkam Club. They all did a good job."

Krishnan recalls the hospitality given by Mandavelipakkam Ladies Club during the tournaments the club hosted. "The men's tournament conducted by Mandavelipakkam Ladies Club was eagerly looked forward to. At the prize distribution function, the meals used to be cooked by the ladies themselves. The players loved them. It was a friendly atmosphere."

The best part of Tamil Nadu tennis, says Krishnan, is the Stadium at Nungambakkam we possess. "It is a boon to us." Despite the Chennai edition of the ATP Open being held for eight years, none of the Indians have been able to win the singles title in South Asia's only ATP tournament (Leander Paes reached the semifinals in 1998).

Chicken-egg situation

"Why have a new crop of Indian players stopped coming?" Krishnan wonders but he comes up with an explanation. "We have the talent but have been unable to sustain it over a period of time due to lack of finances. It is a chicken-egg situation. There is no solution in sight. It continues to be a puzzle."

What does he see as the best and the worst in the eight years of the ATP Open in Chennai? "(Patrick) Rafter — he performed very well. So did Paradorn Srichaphan and Carlos Moya. What about Leander-Mahesh hat-trick of titles?"

He says the quick exits of Boris Becker and Yevgeny Kafelnikov were bad days. "We want to forget it only," Krishnan concludes.

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