Personal animosity should not be priority — Amritraj

Bangalore, June 2: Vijay Amritraj felt doubles duo Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi should not have allowed personal differences to come i...

Bangalore, June 2: Vijay Amritraj felt doubles duo Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi should not have allowed personal differences to come in their way of playing together. Amritaj was speaking to the media after the final of the Summer Festival tennis tournament hosted by the Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association at Cubbon Park here.

Amritraj’s association with the sport is not just confined to commentating on TV. He travels a lot and plays exhibition tennis. “I play in a lot of exhibition matches. Last year alone I played in about 55 matches with Borg, Connors, McEnroe. Infact, I travel more now than when I was playing,” he informed.

Amritraj also coaches his sons, aged 16 (who plays in the ITF circuit) and 12. But then he hastened to add: “I am a father first and coach next. If I have to lose one of the two jobs, I’d better lose the job of a coach.”

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DOUBLES INDIA’S FORTE: Non-playing captain of the Indian Davis Cup team Ramesh Krishnan, who was also present alongwith a host former tennis greats, said doubles will be India’s forte despite the rift between Paes and Bhupathi. He said he was hopeful of India pulling off a victory.

Ramesh Krishnan did not accept that there has been a drop in standards in Indian tennis. “It is difficult to compare different eras. Things have changed a lot. Competition is a lot tougher these days as there are more nations taking to the game. It would be wrong to assume that standards have dropped,” he said.

Security personnel lathi-charge protesters during a demonstration over the issue of 'I Love Mohammad' posters, in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, Friday, Sept. 26, 2025. (PTI Photo)

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