Of maestros, memories and a bright future

CHENNAI: It was back to the days of wooden racquets, soft touches and deft volleys on Sunday evening. The occasion was the Tamil Nadu Tennis Association (TNTA) annual day and 25 years of its association with Sanmar group and many of those who made Chennai the tennis capital of India in the last century were there.
A panel consisting of greats like Ramesh Krishnan and Anand Amritraj made it all the more interesting."I come from a family of tennis players and I did not have any other option but to play the game. I was lucky that my grandfather (TK Ramanathan) was there when I was starting out. Since my father (Ramanathan Krishnan) was travelling professionally, my grandfather took it upon himself to teach me the sport. And let me tell you, he was quite a taskmaster. He did not allow me to play any other sport and my interest in football and cricket was soon quashed by him," said the former India No. 1.
But N Sankar, chairman of the Sanmar Group, and also a tennis student of TK Ramanathan, had a different take. "Ramesh's grandfather was a great coach but he was very strict till Ramesh was born. From what I have seen he had mellowed down after that. I remember when he used to coach us, he would even ration the drinking water so that we would get accustomed to playing in tough conditions. I would say he was a tough coach but a benevolent grandfather. I think we are fortunate that Krishnan and Amritraj families are from this city," said N Sankar.
Taking the conversation forward, PS Sheshadri, who played in the 50s said that even though Kolkata was once the Mecca of tennis in the country, he was happy that the baton was eventually passed on to Chennai.
"Once upon a time it was Kolkata which was of nerve centre of tennis in India and they produced eminent players but gradually Chennai picked up and it gives me immense pleasure to see how much tennis has grown in the city. The Davis Cup team which defeated Australia 3-2 in Sydney to reach the World Group final in 1987 had players from the city like Ramesh and Anand. From there to the latest team where three out of the four players (Ramkumar Ramanathan, Prajnesh Gunneswaran and Sriram Balaji) are from Chennai, shows that there has been an upward rise in the graph."