CHENNAI: In Indian sports packages come in four, like the vaunted spin quartet, the fab four, and gregarious foursome of Ramanathan Krishnan, Jaidip Muk herjea, the late Premjit Lal and SP Mishra, who escalated India to the fore in world tennis en route their 1966 Davis Cup final appearance.
Even as their eyes beamed with pride when they were felicitated with Davis Cup insignia embossed wrist watches, they spoke at length on various issues pertaining to India tennis, mainly the Indian players inability to make the transition from junior to senior levels. “In our days, we played the best in the w orld because players were invited a nd their entry weren’t based on p o ints as it is now. I think a lot of juniors should play in senior tournaments,” said Ramanathan Krishnan.
His partner during their landmark victory over Australian pair Tony Roche and John Newcombe (4-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-4), Mukerjea seconded him. “Those days, a lot of good internat i o n al players used to visit India.
But n ow not even the best in India are p laying in domestic tournaments. A nd there’s only one domestic tourn a ment. We should have more,” he said. Krishnan also pointed out the need for sponsorship. “In the ATP circuit, only the top 30-40 players get it. Even someone like Somdev isn’t getting enough sponsorship. They need financial support,” he said.
All the same, Davis Cup coach Mishra was upbeat of India’s depth in Davis Cup.
“I think Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi should play for some more time, and Somdev has improved. Then we have Yuki Bhambri, Rohan Bopanna and Sanam Singh coming up well. Playing in Russia in sub-zero conditions would be tough. But we will fight and see if we can win it,” he said.
On the sidelines, Krishnan termed his and Mukerjea’s doubles win as the greatest victory in Indian tennis. “Roche and Newcombe were the best doubles players around. But that day, we played our best tennis against them,” he recollected.