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To serve with love

Vijay Amritraj's savoir-faire, conviction, and his spirit as a truly global citizen is impressive

PHOTO: K. BHAGYA PRAKASH

ALWAYS GAME Tennis legend Vijay Amritraj

Vijay Amritraj is a man of polish, and has a suaveness anyone would love to have. He is also a man of conviction. Doing the best with what he has on hand and doing an honest job of whatever he does — tennis commentary to U.N. peace work. And always knowing that one is what one is because someone else somewhere made selfless gestures. He is also a man who has travelled a great deal, which he has said has been his "greatest learning experience". His commitments take him abroad once every month in a year. That makes three great qualities you envy him for. And, of course, one more that he himself is very proud of: "If I am not enjoying what I do, I quit." India's tennis legend on and off the court and one of its finest ambassadors shares a few thoughts on Sania Mirza, tennis commentary, his work for the United Nations, and Bangalore.

Tennis in India now is so much Sania. The pride is there, but so is the scrutiny. Are we getting too much of her?

No question about it. She has performed very well over the last 12 months and now expectations are high. It is important to let her do her job and get on with it. She knows what she does best. We should leave her alone.

Can Sania get better from here? It must be enormously difficult to make it to the top 10.

Very difficult. You are talking about the best players in the world and you have to beat the best to be the best. Sania has achieved a great deal in just 12 to 14 months. She has the potential, she is hard working, she is eager. There's no reason why she can't get better.

Should Sania's inconsistency be cause for worry? What do you have to say of her game?

It is difficult for me to comment on this. It becomes an opinion. It is for her coach to do this. When he watches her play, he looks at it differently. He knows how and where she needs to get better. When we watch her play, we watch as Indians. We enjoy the match. But yes, everybody is inconsistent. It happens often. Nobody wins all the time.

Your divide your time between your company, tennis commentary, and U.N. work. How do you manage?

It is a lot of time management. But to be able to do all this at my age is a blessing. To be able to be busy at this stage of life is a blessing from God. I try to spend time with my sons now that they are getting into tennis. I work with my company though I wouldn't want to say much about it. I like my commentary and, of course, my U.N. job. My commitments take me abroad once every month.

You are a United Nations Ambassador for Peace. What are the ways in which the role helps?

The most important thing is to be able to give. To be able to ask whether we have helped made people's lives better. Have we made promises? Have we delivered? If we haven't, why haven't we? You can also help keep things on the front page that people tend to forget about. You can highlight social issues and you are able to persuade governments to address those issues. There are a lot of things you can do. I am fortunate to be able to do them.

You sure have come across places with social problems all around the world. What hits you most?

I have been to Bhuj to look at the consequences of the earthquake; Phuket and Sri Lanka during the tsunami; and Croatia and Bosnia. I am on my way to Africa. I will be going there for the first time. There are bad spots everywhere in the world. I have learnt that you can't say one disaster is worse than the other. You lose loved ones everywhere.

You're one of the most exciting and perceptive commentators in world tennis today. You seem to love this job so much.

You have to say something more than just the forehand and the backhand. People, after all, are watching the game. What are you going to tell them that they don't already know? I try to give them something more.

Is anyone surprised that an Indian is doing so well in that role?

All the emails I've received, personal comments at airports... they've always been positive. It's not really about culture or where you come from, but how good you are. You try to be the best you can be. I am trying to do as honest a job as I can.

PRASHANTH G.N.

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