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When one searches for the golden moments in Indian tennis history, there is not much joy to be had. The nation has had doubles success, but as far as the singles category goes, significant victories have been scant.
We did not have many people who could become top level singles players and compete with the best players on the planet.
However, a young lanky Indian from Chennai wrote tennis history for India in 1974, when he beat the then French Open champion and world no.4 player in the US Open. His name was Vijay Amritraj.
US Open 1974 : Where did Bjorn Borg and Vijay Amritraj stand?
Borg was only 18 in 1974 when he won his first Grand Slam, the French Open title. He was the youngest ever male French Open champion at the time. Making steady progress throughout the year, he was ranked no.4 for the US Open, which was held on the grass courts of Forest Hills at that time.
Borg was already tipped for great things then.
Indian prodigy Vijay Amritraj was hailed by many as amongst the best grass court players of his generation. Very early into his career, he was touted as being part of the ABC of tennis (Amritraj, Borg and Connors).
He had secured wins against the likes of Rod Laver on grass and reached the quarterfinals of two Grand Slams in 1973.
So, it was a tantalising encounter between two promising young players, both of whom had a great start to their tennis careers.
Amritraj shows his grass prowess in the first two sets
In their second round encounter, Amritraj came out quick off the blocks, serving great and pushing Borg hard. He also broke Borg’s service twice to won the first set 6-1.
The second set was closer, going to a tie break. The Indian served great at key points to take the tiebreak and gain a 2-0 lead.
Borg had difficulty getting into Amritraj’s serving game, who kept Borg uncomfortable on the return.
Comeback from Borg
Borg is renowned as mentally the toughest player ever, and being extremely cool under pressure. He showed some signs of that nerve in this match too.
After losing the first two sets, he upped his game, started serving better and getting more into Amritraj’s service games. His trademark backhand returns started making a mark and Amritraj seemed to be tiring.
Borg won sets 3 and 4 with scores of 6-3, 6-1 and seemed to have the momentum going into the fifth.
Amritraj summons his best to win the fifth set for a well fought victory
In the fifth set, Amritraj started finding his groove and his serve again. He finally managed to break Borg’s serve in the sixth game and from there on ran away with the match. He won the last four games of the final set to win it 6-2 and gained a big win over Borg.
It was a truly classic match, a clash of two different styles, and two young stars of the game.
Here’s a look at that entertaining encounter:
Borg continued to have troubles at the US Open, where he reached four finals, but could never win the title. It remained the biggest blot on his otherwise unblemished career chart.
Amritraj’s place in Indian tennis history
Vijay Amritraj was undoubtedly India’s biggest ever tennis star. He was a top-notch player, beating all top players of his era, including the likes of Rod Laver, Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg, Ivan Lendl and others.
He reached a career high ranking of 16 in singles and also won 16 ATP singles titles. He also helped India reach two Davis Cup finals in 1974 and 1987. His career head to head with Jimmy Connors, an all time great, stands at 5-6.
Fitness and stamina issues plagued him though and prevented him from attaining Grand Slam glory. However, he was the best and most talented singles tennis player we ever had and continues to be a big inspiration for our young tennis stars.
Hopefully someone can follow in his footsteps and maybe even a bit further to give India its first singles Grand Slam champion.
