It's all about commitment

INDIAN TENNIS owes a lot to Vijay Amritraj. His contribution as a player may be matched in time, but his position as the sporting ambassador of the nation - with the latest recognition coming in the form of him being appointed as the messenger of peace by the United Nations - is unquestionable.

Though he may not be involved actively round the year with Indian tennis, Vijay has been doing his bit as a television commentator in projecting a positive image of the country. The tennis academy that he opened in Chennai about 15 years ago has played its part in the growth of the game. He has been instrumental in India getting the Challengers, the ATP Tour event and more recently the World Doubles championship.

Vijay is ready to take the next step, and has been guiding his son Prakash judiciously, to help the lad continue the family business, the passion of playing tennis. Rather, playing tennis with a passion. In spending more time with his son, who has been trying his hand in the tournaments in India for the first time, Vijay has been able to think more for Indian tennis.

The game is spreading to more places, the big events are happening at home, but Indian tennis seems to have hit a stagnation point, as far as finding players of the calibre of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi is concerned.

As he relaxes at the CLTA Stadium, after a work-out with his son, Vijay is able to appreciate the serenity of the place, the quality of the tennis facility and the interest of the people who have been trying to promote the game.

``It is a damn good effort to take the game to the smaller cities like Chandigarh. You are much more relaxed in such places. In the metros, it is the same everywhere, in New York, Paris and London. Wimbledon is like a zoo. It is a magnificent zoo, but still it is a zoo'', he says, as he takes one's breath away. It was he who had brought the Challengers initially to the country. The threads have been picked up, much to the delight of Vijay, who had aimed things that way.

``It was done to develop the interest, so that our boys can get more points. That is the goal. You have four wild cards in every tournament, and the boys can get wild cards in the qualifying event. I have always felt that it was very tough to go overseas and get points'', says Vijay, even as he quickly addresses the lack of matching effort from the players.

``It is one thing to get the horse to the water, quite another to make him drink. I feel that it is only that much that the promoters and others can do. Understandably there is always a need for money. There is always a need for coaches, sponsorship and so on. Still 150 per cent has to come from the individual. There is an element of sacrifice that is unimaginable'', says Vijay.

Sacrifice, hours and hours of toiling, team effort and all that goes into the making of a player. But there is no guarantee, that you are going to win two matches, after all that.

``That is the biggest problem we are facing. On the other hand, the guys make two or three lakh rupees in the course of a circuit. They think they would be better off keeping it. My point is the top guys in India, outside of Leander and Mahesh, can take half the money and re-invest it. It is like the stock and share market. You put 10,000 dollars, and when the prices go up 100 per cent, keep the 10,000 dollars and invest the other half back, to be in the game'', he says with simplicity.

It has been quite an experience in recent times to see Leander alone, and to some extent Mahesh, be able to make the best of the tournaments at home, with the rest struggling to win two rounds even at the 10,000 dollar level, with rare exceptions like Prahlad Srinath and Syed Fazaluddin.

``You have to look at boys in the 16 to 20 age group. I think Fazal is a good player. Prahlad is a very good player. I haven't seen (Vishaal) Uppal play, but obviously he is in that group. Mustafa Ghouse is a good potential, and so is Sunil Kumar. We have got some big lads like Manoj Mahadevan. The AITA and the rest of the State units and the promoters have provided the springboard for all these players'', Vijay says, acknowledging the presence of players with potential.

There have been a lot of academies around the country trying to tune the players. The AITA itself has been supporting about 25 players in various academies, but still the results have not been encouraging as yet. Are we in a hurry to get positive results?

``I don't think so. BAT is 16 years old. It has played its part. The first two or three sets had a few good kids, who won the Asian junior championship, etc. Leander came. We had a flow of good kids. You are providing whatever the budget allows. The guy is not paying for anything. But he should not feel that he has made his mark and be happy. It is where the biggest individual commitment comes in'', he says.

Stressing the fact that there is no magic wand or a formula that can be bought from a store, Vijay highlights that things boil down to the basics - the commitment of a 16 year old.

``The commitment means to be able to devote several hours in training, off-court activities, not expecting anything, till the guy is 19 or 20, because we mature late. We have to invest more into one coach for four players at the most, on a long-term basis. Then, we come to the education part. You can't tell the parent that his son will only play and not go to school. Foreigners have no problem, not going to school. That is the hard part. We better do something quick, as we need kids for the next generation'', says the former India captain.

At times it is perplexing as to how despite all their sincere efforts, the players are not able to achieve the desired results, and progress at a faster pace. The example of Mustafa Ghouse who became the national grasscourt champion, but was able to extract only a solitary game from Leander Paes in the Challenger first round in Mumbai has been glaring.

``Well, losing love and one to the country's No.1 player is not a bad thing. It is more a question of faith. You have to tell yourself. `I am not good enough. Whatever I am doing is not enough'. At the same time, we tend to create a high level of expectations from our kids. If they don't live up to a certain extent, we write them off. We are very good at that'', opines Vijay, as he supports the players.

As a father, he gives the best support to his son, but does not place the burden of expectations on him.

``My expectation levels of Prakash are zero. My original idea was to make him good enough for college tennis. Thereafter, it is his passion. We are ready to give whatever you need. And I can also tell him what needs to be done. But that doesn't mean that if you do that you are going to be the champion. Your passion, desire and commitment should drive the tennis career. I leave it at that'', says Vijay, as he emphasises the individual drive, the hunger for success.``Prakash has passion, and that is why I am with him. Otherwise, I will tell him, let us spend time together as a family, and do other things as well. But he has shown that he has strong commitment''.

Having played and watched top quality tennis from close quarters, Amritraj is able to appreciate the qualities that make a champion.``I am not inventing the wheel here. I am telling the same story. Look at Roger Federer, Lleyton Hewitt, Marat Safin, and the new Russian guy Michail Youzhny, who has come into prominence now.

All these guys have absolutely no room for second best. Look at Lleyton Hewitt playing a point. He plays that point like his matchpoint. He is half the size of Sunil Kumar. He has no muscles anywhere. But the guy won't go away. He is not able to take a loss'', says Vijay.

If you cannot achieve that level of passion, then you have to hit 1000 forehands and 1000 backhands, get the legs stronger, work on the upper body, mental toughness, etc. For talent, is relative.

``Lendl was not that talented in my opinion. But his work-ethics put him right on top. McEnroe was quite opposite. He was the genius on the court. What took him 45 minutes, took eight hours for Lendl. But both became No.1'', he says, showing the different routes to the top.When he grew up, Amritraj had a strong commitment, and hated to lose. The hatred towards a loss was to such an extent that he would be working on his game for improvement the same day, after every defeat. He points out that tennis has changed over the years, competition has become a lot stronger, but asserts that the work-ethic does not change.

Even after achieving something of an ultimate acclaim, which he told the CNN in New York was like reaching the Everest of his career, and which he tells us, `in a scale of 1 to 10, it is 11', Amritraj underlines the key factor in his career -``in the whole of my life, I never expect. In which case you are never disappointed. But do the work like there is no tomorrow''.

It is easier said than done. Yet, if the youngsters review their commitment, there is no reason why India cannot get into the World Group again in Davis Cup, have players in the top 100, and juniors competing at the highest level. Even if they cannot pick up anything from the likes of Vijay Amritraj and Leander Paes, the juniors would have done their part, if they just pick up the patriotic fervour, which fuels the fire towards achieving excellence.

KAMESH SRINIVASAN

New Delhi

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