Vijay Amritraj

Vijay Amritraj

Country (sports)	India
Born	(1953-12-14) 14 December 1953 Madras, India
Height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Turned pro	1970
Retired	1993
Plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize money	$1,331,913
Singles
Career record	390–302
Career titles	16
Highest ranking	No. 16 (7 July 1980)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	2R (1984)
French Open	3R (1974)
Wimbledon	QF (1973, 1981)
US Open	QF (1973, 1974)
Other tournaments
WCT Finals	SF (1982)
Doubles
Career record	264–218
Career titles	13
Highest ranking	No. 23 (24 March 1980)
Grand Slam doubles results
Wimbledon	SF (1976)
Team competitions
Davis Cup	F (1974, 1987)
Last updated on: 13 June 2012.

Vijay Amritraj (born 14 December 1953) is a former Indian tennis player, sports commentator and actor.

Vijay was born in Chennai, India to Maggie Dhairyam and Robert Amritraj. He and his brothers, Anand Amritraj and Ashok Amritraj, were the successors of Ramanathan Krishnan in top-flight international tour tennis. They did their schooling in Don Bosco Egmore, Chennai, and later graduated from Loyola College, Chennai. In 1976, the brothers (Vijay and Anand) were semifinalists in the Wimbledon men's doubles. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1983.

Career

After playing his first grand prix event in 1970, Amritraj achieved his first significant success in singles in 1973 when he reached the quarterfinals at two Grand Slam events. At Wimbledon he lost 7–5 in the fifth set to the eventual champion Jan Kodeš and later that summer at the US Open, lost to Ken Rosewall after having beaten Rod Laver two rounds earlier.

Amritraj repeated his feat at Forest Hills in 1974 when he went out in the last eight again to Rosewall after beating a young Björn Borg in the second round. In the years that followed he reached the latter stages of numerous Grand Prix events but failed to meet with success in Grand Slam tournaments. It was not until 1981 when Amritraj again reached the quarterfinals, going out in five sets to Jimmy Connors. This match typified Amritraj's tennis. He was a natural grass-court player who liked to chip-and-charge and serve-and-volley. He could compete against the world's best but often would lose longer matches through a lack of stamina. Against Connors, he was up two sets but lost the last two convincingly in a 2–6, 5–7, 6–4, 6–3, 6–2 loss. A similar Wimbledon result occurred in 1979 in the 2nd round where he looked set to defeat defending champion Borg, up two sets to one and 4–1 in the fourth set, only to lose 2–6, 6–4, 4–6, 7–6, 6–2.

Davis Cup

Amritraj was the captain of the Indian Davis Cup for much of the late 1970s and 1980s, helping India reach the finals in 1974 and 1987. It was here that he revelled as a champion and chalked memorable wins against higher ranked players. A do-or-die five set epic over Martín Jaite of Argentina was the highlight of India's run to the final in 1987.

Amritraj still plays occasionally and has entered the finals of the 2008 Wimbledon Sr. Invitation Gentlemen's Doubles, partnering Gene Mayer. They were seeded number 1. During next years Amritraj participated in Wimbledon Sr. Inviation Gentlemen's Doubles with John Fitzgerald.

Distinctions

• He compiled a career singles win-loss record 384–296, winning 16 singles titles to go along with 13 in doubles.
• He beat the best, including John McEnroe at his peak in 1984 (in the first round in Cincinnati).
• He had five career wins over Jimmy Connors in their 11 matches.
• He reached his career high ranking in singles of World No. 16 in July 1980.
• His son Prakash Amritraj and nephew Stephen Amritraj are professional tennis players.

Acting career

Amritraj also had a brief acting career. His most notable appearance is probably as the MI6 agent Vijay in the 1983 James Bond film Octopussy. His most notable scene was a car chase with the running gag being his abilities as a tennis player. He also appeared briefly in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home as a starship captain.

He was also a regular character in the NBC TV series The Last Precinct and the Yakov Smirnoff comedy What a Country, as well as a guest star on various television shows such as Hart to Hart. He has since gone on to become a sports commentator, has been a judge at the Miss Universe pageant, and has developed a successful multimedia business.

Amritraj is currently the host of Dimensions with Vijay Amritraj on CNN IBN. The show is a one hour sit-down interview, on location, with icons from around the world. Guests include Michael Douglas, Cindy Crawford, Hugh Hefner, Pierce Brosnan, Donald Trump, Sharon Stone, Sugar Ray Leonard, Laffit Pincay, Andre Agassi and Stephanie Graf, Jimmy Connors, and Oscar De La Hoya. This show is rated the number one English show in all of South Asia with a viewership of well over 200 million people.

The Vijay Amritraj Foundation

On 9 February 2001 Vijay Amritraj was appointed UN Messenger of Peace. He has been a committed advocate to people in need, devoting his time to raising awareness on the issues of drugs and HIV/AIDS and in raising funds to fight the spread of AIDS worldwide.

In 2006, after completing his assignment as a "United Nations Messenger of Peace", Vijay Amritraj founded "The Vijay Amritraj Foundation". The foundation's mission is to bring hope, help and healing to the defenceless and innocent victims of disease, tragedy and circumstance in India. Driven by a firm belief that "in giving we receive", the foundation pledges to make a real difference for those who are most in need of the helping hand of humanity. After an extraordinarily successful debut in 2006, the foundation raised enough funds to immediately begin supporting various charitable organisations in India.

A Few of the Charitable Organizations Supported

Prajwala

Founders: Dr Sunitha Krishnan, Bro Jose Vetticatil
Founding Year: 1996
Location: Hyderabad, India
Mission: To prevent women and children from entering prostitution. The organisation is actively involved in second-generation prevention, rescue, rehabilitation, restoration and social reintegration of victims of trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation.

Parikrama Humanity Foundation

Founder: Shukla Bose
Founding Year: 2003
Location: Banglore, India
Mission: To create a sustainable model, a clear way for under-served children to transform their lives through top-class education and in the process be a catalyst for effecting fundamental change in the way the poor are educated and marginalised.

Mitra Jyothi

Founder: Madhu Singhal
Founding Year: 1990
Location: Banglore, India
Mission: To provide education and life skills to blind women.

Naz Foundation

Founder: Anjali Gopalan
Founding Year: 1994
Location: New Delhi, India
Mission: To raise awareness, educate and provide paediatric HIV/AIDS care.

ANEW

Founders: Mr. M.K. Kumar, Ms. Lakshmi Kumar, Ms. Geetha Krishnan Kutty, Mr. M. Ramakrishnan, Ms. Treasure Henderson, Dr. M. Annalakshmi, Ms. Mini Shankar
Founding Year: 1997
Location: Chennai, India
Mission: To provide life skills and employment aid for destitute women.

Noteworthy Persons Associated

The Foundation aims to have a meaningful presence in all the states of the Indian Union, and to make a positive difference in the lives of the less fortunate citizens of these states. Today, many noteworthy persons are associated with the Foundation, including World Leaders, Statesmen, Business Leaders, and Philanthropists; among them, George H. W. Bush -Former President of the United States, Reddy S.J Reddy – Chairman & CEO of Mainspectrum Mediastudios, Shashi Tharoor – Former Under Secretary General of the United Nations, General the Lord Guthrie of Craigiebank – Chief of the Defence Staff of the United Kingdom during the Blair Administration.

Annual Events

The foundation puts on events each year in Southern California. Past events have included golf tournaments and gala dinners. In 2008, Indian pop singer, Sonu Nigam performed at the gala dinner at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. The success of this concert led the foundation to pursue a series of concert style events that have included performance from top singers Kavita Krishnamurthy and Alanis Morissette and legendary bands such as The Beach Boys and Kool and the Gang. The foundation had also held a Tennis Event Classic the past three years, during which notable celebrities such as Matthew Perry and Kaley Cuoco have attended and played against guest tennis stars. Lindsey Davenport, Tracy Austin, Jimmy Connors, and Michael Chang are among the attendees.

Personal life

Amritraj lives in California with wife Shyamala, who is Sri Lankan Tamil, and sons Prakash Amritraj and Vikram.

Career finals

Singles: 25 (18–7)

Legend (Singles)

Grand Slam (0)

Tennis Masters Cup (0)

ATP Masters Series (0)

ATP Tour (12)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Winner	1.	23 July 1973	Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, USA	Clay	Jimmy Connors	7–5, 2–6, 7–5
Runner-up	1.	20 August 1973	South Orange, New Jersey, USA	Grass	Colin Dibley	4–6, 7–6, 4–6
Winner	2.	21 October 1973	New Delhi, India		Mal Anderson	6–4, 5–7, 8–9, 6–3, 11–9
Runner-up	2.	27 March 1974	Tempe, Arizona, USA	Hard	Jimmy Connors	1–6, 2–6
Winner	3.	7 April 1974	Washington DC, USA		Karl Meiler	6–4, 6–3
Winner	4.	10 June 1974	Beckenham, England	Grass	Tom Gorman	6–7, 6–2, 6–4
Winner	5.	18 August 1975	Columbus, Ohio, USA	Hard	Robert Lutz	6–4, 7–5
Winner	6.	17 November 1975	Calcutta, India	Clay	Manuel Orantes	7–5, 6–3
Winner	7.	9 March 1976	Memphis, Tennessee, USA	Carpet (i)	Stan Smith	6–2, 0–6, 6–0
Winner	8.	16 September 1976	Newport, Rhode Island, USA	Grass	Brian Teacher	6–3, 4–6, 6–3, 6–1
Winner	9.	10 January 1977	Auckland, New Zealand	Grass	Tim Wilkison	7–6, 5–7, 6–1, 6–2
Winner	10.	28 November 1977	Bombay, India	Clay	Terry Moor	7–6, 6–4
Winner	11.	25 September 1978	Mexico City, Mexico	Clay	Raúl Ramírez	6–4, 6–4
Runner-up	3.	30 October 1978	Cologne, Germany	Hard (i)	Wojtek Fibak	2–6, 1–0 ret.
Winner	12.	19 November 1979	Bombay, India	Clay	Peter Elter	6–1, 7–5
Runner-up	4.	19 February 1980	WCT Invitational, Maryland, USA	Carpet (i)	Björn Borg	5–7, 1–6, 3–6
Runner-up	5.	24 March 1980	Milan, Italy	Carpet (i)	John McEnroe	2–6, 4–6
Winner	13.	7 July 1980	Newport, Rhode Island, USA	Grass	Andrew Pattison	6–1, 5–7, 6–3
Winner	14.	17 November 1980	Bangkok, Thailand	Carpet (i)	Brian Teacher	6–3, 7–5
Runner-up	6.	9 December 1980	WCT Challenge Cup, Canada	Carpet (i)	John McEnroe	1–6, 6–2, 1–6
Runner-up	7.	15 August 1983	Stowe, Vermont, USA	Hard	John Fitzgerald	6–3, 2–6, 5–7
Winner	15.	14 May 1984	Spring, Texas, USA	Hard (i)	Leif Shiras	7–5, 4–6 7–6
Winner	16.	9 July 1984	Newport, Rhode Island, USA	Grass	Tim Mayotte	3–6, 6–4, 6–4
Winner	17.	16 June 1986	Bristol, England	Grass	Henri Leconte	7–6, 1–6, 8–6
Winner	18.	15 August 1988	New Haven, Connecticut, USA	Hard	Zeeshan Ali	6–3, 6–1

Doubles: 29 (14–15)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents in the final	Score in the final
Runner-up	1.	21 October 1973	New Delhi, India		Anand Amritraj	Jim McManus Raúl Ramírez	2–6, 4–6
Winner	1.	16 November 1974	Bombay, India	Clay	Anand Amritraj	Dick Crealy Onny Parun	6–4, 7–6
Runner-up	2.	19 August 1974	South Orange, New Jersey, USA	Hard	Anand Amritraj	Brian Gottfried Raúl Ramírez	6–7, 7–6, 6–7
Winner	2.	19 August 1974	Columbus, Ohio, USA	Hard	Anand Amritraj	Tom Gorman Robert Lutz
Runner-up	3.	10 February 1975	Toronto, Canada	Carpet (i)	Anand Amritraj	Dick Stockton Erik Van Dillen	4–6, 5–7, 1–6
Runner-up	4.	10 March 1975	Washington DC, USA	Carpet (i)	Anand Amritraj	Mike Estep Russell Simpson	6–75, 3–6
Winner	3.	24 March 1975	Atlanta, Georgia, USA	Carpet (i)	Anand Amritraj	Mark Cox Cliff Drysdale	6–3, 6–2
Runner-up	5.	5 August 1975	Louisville, Kentucky, USA	Clay	Anand Amritraj	Wojtek Fibak Guillermo Vilas
Winner	4.	15 September 1975	Los Angeles, California, USA	Hard	Anand Amritraj	Cliff Drysdale Marty Riessen	7–6, 4–6, 6–4
Runner-up	6.	17 November 1975	Calcutta, India	Clay	Anand Amritraj	Juan Gisbert Manuel Orantes	6–1, 4–6, 3–6
Winner	5.	9 March 1976	Memphis, Tennessee, USA	Carpet (i)	Anand Amritraj	Roscoe Tanner Marty Riessen	6–3, 6–4
Runner-up	7.	14 March 1977	St. Louis, Missouri, USA	Carpet (i)	Dick Stockton	Ilie Năstase Adriano Panatta	4–6, 6–3, 6–76
Runner-up	8.	21 March 1977	Rotterdam, Netherlands	Carpet (i)	Dick Stockton	Wojtek Fibak Tom Okker	4–6, 4–6
Winner	6.	4 May 1977	Masters Doubles WCT, New York, USA	Carpet (i)	Dick Stockton	Vitas Gerulaitis Adriano Panatta	7–6, 7–6, 4–6, 6–3
Winner	7.	13 June 1977	Queen's Club, London, England	Grass	Anand Amritraj	David Lloyd John Lloyd	6–1, 6–2
Winner	8.	25 September 1978	Mexico City, Mexico	Clay	Anand Amritraj	Fred McNair Raúl Ramírez	6–4, 7–5
Runner-up	9.	9 April 1979	Cairo, Egypt	Clay	Anand Amritraj	Peter McNamara Paul McNamee	5–7, 4–6
Runner-up	10.	23 July 1979	Louisville, Kentucky	Hard	Raúl Ramírez	Marty Riessen Sherwood Stewart	2–6, 6–1, 1–6
Runner-up	11.	15 October 1979	Sydney, Australia	Hard	Pat Dupre	Rod Frawley Francisco González
Winner	9.	10 March 1980	Rotterdam, Netherlands	Carpet (i)	Stan Smith	Bill Scanlon Brian Teacher	6–4, 6–3
Winner	10.	17 March 1980	Frankfurt, Germany	Carpet (i)	Stan Smith	Andrew Pattison Butch Walts	6–7, 6–2, 6–2
Runner-up	12.	3 August 1981	Columbus, Ohio, USA	Hard	Anand Amritraj	Bruce Manson Brian Teacher	1–6, 1–6
Runner-up	13.	1 November 1982	Baltimore, Maryland, USA	Carpet (i)	Fred Stolle	Anand Amritraj Tony Giammalva	5–7, 2–6
Winner	11.	30 November 1982	Chicago, Illinois, USA	Carpet (i)	Anand Amritraj	Mike Cahill Bruce Manson	3–6, 6–3, 6–3
Winner	12.	21 February 1983	Kuwait City, Kuwait	Hard	Ilie Năstase	Broderick Dyke Rod Frawley	6–3, 3–6, 6–2
Winner	13.	4 July 1983	Newport, Rhode Island, USA	Grass	John Fitzgerald	Tim Gullikson Tom Gullikson	6–3, 6–4
Runner-up	14.	1 August 1983	Columbus, Ohio, USA	Hard	John Fitzgerald	Scott Davis Brian Teacher	1–6, 6–4, 6–7
Runner-up	15.	29 October 1984	Stockholm, Sweden	Hard	Ilie Năstase	Henri Leconte Tomáš Šmíd	6–3, 6–7, 4–6
Winner	14.	7 July 1986	Newport, Rhode Island, USA	Grass	Tim Wilkison	Eddie Edwards Francisco González	4–6, 7–5, 7–6

Anand and Vijay Amritraj 2000 Wimbledon Sr Invitation Doubles Finals

External links

• Vijay Amritraj at the Davis Cup
• Vijay Amritraj at IMDb
• Vijay Armritraj Official Twitter
• bio – file Interview with Vijay Armritraj