No rush for the sons of the famous fathers who take it as it comes’

Prakash began playing the game slightly later, at the lordly age of two and took it more seriously first at seven, and then played in events from the age of 11. Since then, they say, they have grown up on “war stories" about their parents’ experiences on the Tour. They also aim to be as good a combination as their fathers were together. Prakash plays the ad court, while Steven the deuce. Says Steven laughing, “I actually started playing the deuce court because my dad played ad court. I thought it would help when we played together on some occasions."

They live 15 minutes apart and are “best of friends", with “perfect understanding", something they say will help their partnership. The duo is playing together in events in the US and the Caribbean, and in exhibition matches against their dads. They have even beaten the older combine twice recently, not bad going, even given that it has been some time since the senior Amritrajs were in their prime.

While Steven has yet to get into the ITF mould, Steven has been playing junior tournaments for some time now. He is ranked around the 150 mark. Neither Prakash nor Steven admits to feeling any pressure anymore, being the sons of their fathers.

"I really don’t see it as anything but an advantage and in any case, my goal is to be as good, if not better than my dad," says Prakash. Steven agrees. “It’s definitely helped more than hurt us. When I was younger, I used to feel the pressure. People used to constantly tell me that with my advantages I ought to be performing miracles. Now I understand things better and take it as it comes," he says.

Asked whether they believed they were too old in this age of young achievers, Prakash says, " For every Lleyton Hewitt out there (Hewitt is 19), there would be others who begin later and would put in as much effort. There’s no rush."

Both boys have their heads firmly on their shoulders when it comes to careers, and believe that education is also a priority. Though whether that makes for doing well in a game where sacrifices like this are more the norm than not, is another matter. Steven, who is very sure he wants to go to a good school, is quite sure that will not interfere with his tennis. “You never know what will happen in this line (tennis). A good education is a must, and both our fathers believe that."

So where does that place tennis in the priority list? Prakash, who bears a startling resemblance to Vijay, answers that. “We’ll be playing all along and working really hard. The minute our dads feel we’re ready to go into it full time, they’ll just push us in totally. They feel there’s no point going into it full time unless you’re really good enough."

The boys are sure when asked about their greatest ambition. “To play Davis Cup like our dads," they answer in chorus. But who would they love playing Davis Cup for, India or the United States? Prakash first puts things in perspective, saying, “Well, we’re nowhere near being good enough to play Davis Cup or anything for anybody, so this is purely hypothetical. But you know, that is a pretty tough question. The only thing is, I carry an Indian flag in my kit wherever I go."

Steven is more candid. “My mother is American, so that kind of makes things a bit difficult. I guess if and when we become good enough (hesmiles here) and are asked the question by someone, we will have to sit down with our dads and families and talk things over. We’ve always lived in Los Angeles, it would be a really big decision. But yes, I think, even if we don’t say it aloud, we’ve probably dreamed of playing for India."