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Vijay Amritraj Talks About the Road to Wimbledon

Tennis - Former Indian Davis Cupper Vijay Amritraj says that the Road to Wimbledon is a prestigious opportunity for young Indian players to get into the most famous tennis tournament in the world. In an interview with Livemint, Amritraj commented, "It’s something you dream about for the kids. Because you know, this isn’t something we could have even dreamt about when we were playing. And Wimbledon was so far away. UK was so far away, London was so far away. You were left with £3 in your pocket. Today Wimbledon is coming to you, to your doorstep. It’s saying, with your talent, you’re here. With your hard work, you can get to Wimbledon, play on the grass courts, and that’s a very unique opportunity for these 14-year-old boys and girls. I always end with saying that if something like this doesn’t inspire you, you shouldn’t be playing tennis. Go do something else, you know? Because these are all opportunities that are coming to your doorstep. And so, if you like the game, it can’t be treated as work. Because the desire should be so overwhelming, the passion, that it cannot be considered work. The dream of getting to Wimbledon should overshadow everything else."

Speaking about the current crop of Indian players, Amritraj says, "For the country, you really need to have players in the Top 50, otherwise it is difficult to make the World Group in the Davis Cup or the Federation Cup. So the focus needs to be exactly there, so we can get better and better. Prajnesh (Gunneswaran)’s performance at Indian Wells makes a big difference to his performance, in my opinion, for the rest of the year. If he can keep himself fit, I think he can continue this sort of confidence-building experience that he has had here and he can even go further deep into the tournament. Those were huge matches for him to win. Every match makes a huge difference. So now he’s going to get into all the Grand Slams. Which is brilliant. And this gives him the chance to showcase his talent on the biggest stage. And that’s where we need to be."

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