Ramesh Krishnan thread

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Ramesh Krishnan thread

Post by PKBasu »

Ramesh won the junior Wimbledon title in 1979, and was runner-up in the US Open junior singles the same year.
By the following year (aged 19), he made the third round of Wimbledon, after qualifying in at Roehampton. My memory (of what Calcutta newspapers were saying) was that he was ranked 99 the day Wimbledon began that year. His talent and skills had been very well-husbanded during those crucial months.
During the summer of 1980, he played a number of events on clay in the US, including the big event in Boston (where Vijay and Anand were also in the main draw, and both won two rounds, while Ramesh won one round):
http://www.atptennis.com/en/tournaments ... es=Singles

Then he made the PQF of a 2-week clay event in Washington DC, beating 12th-seeded Pat Dupre in the first round:
http://www.atptennis.com/en/tournaments ... es=Singles

Ramesh had already "arrived" as a pro. At the US Open that year, Ramesh naturally didn't need to qualify in. He beat John Austin (Tracy's brother) in the first round before losing to Eric Van Dillen in four sets in R2. (Vijay made R3 by beating seeded Eddie Dibbs in R2, but then lost to Brian Teacher).

Ramesh's path is instructive for aspiring Indian pros of today and tomorrow (such as Karan, Somdev, Jeevan, Vivek, etc.).
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Ramesh Krishnan thread

Post by PKBasu »

By October 1980, Ramesh was moving up the rankings -- and was seeded 8th at the Tokyo Outdoor. Both he and Sashi Menon (inspired by his younger compatriot no doubt) made the PQF of that event that year:
http://www.atptennis.com/en/tournaments ... es=Singles

A US$125K 64-player event was pretty big in those days (when the US Open offered prize money of only US$300K in a 128-man field).

For other highlights from Ramesh's career, please look at page 2 and 3 of the thread "Golden stars of Indian tennis".
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Ramesh Krishnan thread

Post by punarayan »

Nice to see a thread for Ramesh, who is overlooked for his greatness as a singles player and for his standing among his peers on the pro tour. Sania madness brings back the same excitement of following individual achievement. Doubles is good, but a singles climb up the ladder and individual confrontations are better. More to analyze and dream! In my household and even neighborhood Ramesh stood for everything that was exquisite!
My son and his friends after watching Ramesh play Edberg at the US Open called every soft jumpshot or backhand flick into the net while playing rollerblade hockey a "Ramesh"! New participants had to be briefed on what a "Ramesh" was. So you had this gang of kids playing in the streets of America shout "Ramesh" in appreciation of a delicate shot or pass. Thanks Mr. Basu for you wonderful posts and sense of history.
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Ramesh Krishnan thread

Post by PKBasu »

On this day, as we justifiably bask in the glow of Sania's magnificent achievement in beating the US Open champ last night in Dubai, it is perhaps apt to remember some of Ramesh Krishnan's similar victories.

Perhaps the greatest scalp of all was his victory over Mats Wilander in the second round of the Australian Open in 1989 (Wilander was then the reigning world #1, US Open, French Open and Australian Open champion). At Hong Kong in 1986, Ramesh beat Pat Cash (Wimbledon champ 1987) in the semi-final and Andres Gomez (French champ 1990) in the final, having beaten 8-time Slam winner Jimmy Connors in the quarter-final. In 1984, Ramesh beat Stefan Edberg (gold medalist at that year's Los Angeles Olympics and the following year's Australian Open champion) on grass at Queen's Club. And in 1984, Ramesh beat Mats Wilander (the then-reigning Australian Open champion) in the quarter-finals of the Tokyo Indoor tournament (also called the Gunze World championship). In 1988, Ramesh beat Michael Chang (a few months before Chang won the French Open) at Memphis. Also in Memphis (1984), Ramesh beat 2-time Aussie Open champion Vitas Gerulaitis. And he twice beat 1976 AO winner Mark Edmondson (who reached his career-high ranking in 1982) in Bangkok (1981) and Bristol (1983). Also, Ramesh beat 2-time AO champ Johan Kriek thrice in straight sets (US Open 1987, Key Biscayne 1989, Montreal 1985). And he twice beat Seoul Olympics gold medalist Miroslav Mecir -- at Metz (1984 SF) and Memphis (1985).
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Post by Sandeep »

Wow, that was terrific. I never knew Ramesh had this much history. I always was in impression that Leander is a better singles player than Ramesh. Probably by the time I knew what tennis was (1991), Ramesh was old. Becaue from the time I remeber leander was the only hope for India in davis cup.
Last edited by Sandeep on Wed Mar 02, 2005 2:38 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Ramesh Krishnan thread

Post by PKBasu »

Btw, Punarayan, I loved your story about kids in the streets of America calling subtle shots "a Ramesh". Marvellous story that captures the essence of what Ramesh meant to the tennis fans of his era. I remember cheering him lustily at the US Open, and having a dignified African-American gentleman next to me reminisce about some of his great matches of the past and extol the virtues of his exquisite court-craft.
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Post by gvhvhg »

I always was in impression that Leander is a better singles player than Ramesh.
where on earth did u get that idea from? RK was top 25...Lp top 75.
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Post by Sandeep »

Rankings of different eras can't be compared. When LP was 75, Ramesh wasn't 25. At the time I started watching davis cup, both these players were in team and always LP used to perform better than Ramesh krishnan. That is why i was thinking so. But after joining this forum, i uinderstood what Ramesh krishnan is.
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Ramesh Krishnan thread

Post by knarayen »

Thanks PKB for bringing out those remarkable stats on Ramesh.

I too feel that not enough is written about Ramesh's performance on the tour. He was actually considered to be one of the most consistent players on the tour during the 80's, when he really peaked around 1989. In fact, Leander drew most of his inspiration for Davis Cup from being on the courtside during Ramesh's great Davis Cup performances, especially the one in Australia where he came from behind to beat Wally Masur to clinch the tie 3-2. It was really an amazing match and I could see Paes riveted in his seat cheering Ramesh on. It was quite a sight.

In a similar fashion, RK Senior inspired a whole generation of players like myself to play competitive tennis. The contribution to Indian tennis from those two is equal to none, IMHO.

Cheers,
Krish Narayan USPTA
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Post by jaydeep »

Superb stat which all were missing .. Thanks PKB for reminding greatness of Ramesh Krishnan ... Truely fighter with his limited resources (Like lacking Solid Services and Powerful Shots) ... I also feel he was one of the best Davis Cup captain after Naresh Kumar.

Jaydeep.
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Ramesh Krishnan thread

Post by gbelday »

Thanks PKB - it is nice to see a thread for Ramesh Krishnan - I loved watching his game - touch artist as he was called :) He never had the power but his artistry was marvelous!

I watched the Davis cup tie (on TV) when India beat Aus in Sydney - one of the memorable wins that I remember.

There are very few players whose game I enjoyed watching and Ramesh is on the top of my list (another guy that I loved watching was Miloslav Mecir - anyone remember him? - his two handed backhand and court coverage was so cool!!)
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Ramesh Krishnan thread

Post by Florian Buechting »

For all of you who want to learn more about Ramesh, I just can advise you to read his "A touch of tennis" book written with his father Ramathan. Unfortunately, it is very hard to get at least in Europe (impossible in Germany, I got it with much luck in an English bookstore), like the incredible "Leander" and the "Indian Davis Cup history" books, too. Nevertheless, it is worth every penny you pay for it, very good book.

Unfortunately, I was never able to see Ramesh playing - the Frejus Davis Cup wonder was too early for me. I just met him a couple of times at some tennis events. By the impressions I got from that and and by reading his book, I just can name him one of the most remarkable persons of Indian tennis history.
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Post by gvhvhg »

Yup, I have read the book and have a copy at home. Its really a great book. It is split in to two, first half about Ramanathan second half about Ramesh. The two of them wrote it together alongside Nirmal Shekhar.

Its really good and is a must read to learn about the history of the Krishnan family.
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Vijay Amritraj

Post by Adnan »

Thanks PKB for reviving the memories of the golden era. Vijay was a cavalier and his commitment in the Davis Cup was amazing. Just like the match of Ramesh Krishnan with Wally Masur in which Krishnan had shown great resolve, Amritraj played many similar matches. In fact, there was not much difference in the ranking of Masur and Ramesh then. At the time of the match Ramesh was ranked 29 and Masur was 31. Vijay's win against Masur in the same tie was exceptional. He was old then and had a ranking around 250. He defeated Masur 1-6, 6-3, 12-10, 6-4.
But Amritraj when he played Martin Jaite in the same year of Davis Cup against Argentina was even more maginificent. It was just mind-boggling.
Just remember how Vijay had won the first match against Horacio Delapena and then Ramesh lost to Martin Jaite who was then the most high ranked Argentinian, around 15 I remember. Anyway, the doubles we lost. And now Vijay knew that if he lost another match, there was no way India could go ahead as a loss would have meant facing Israel which he did not want. (India won and still faced Israel that made an upset in the other tie against Miloslov Mecir's Czechoslovakia but that's a different story).
It was the last day of the tie, Vijay played great tennis after losing two sets 3-6, 3-6, then came the third set that will always stuck to the memory of tennis buffs. He won it 6-4. The fourth set he won 8-6 and the last set 6-2 to seal the tie for India. Young Martin Jaite was in a great form then but the 34 yr old Vijay used all his experience to go past him. What was the ranking of Vijay Amritraj then? It was perhaps around 270 because he had by then stopped playing professional tennis regularly. The last match was won by Ramesh who defeated Delapena. That was awesome.
In the same tie, Vijay had won the first match against Delapena 9-7. And later in the tie against Israel, he beat Amos Mansdorf, who had beaten Mecir's czechoslovakia just then. And then in final against Sweden, we lost to Jarryd-Wilander-Nistrom led Sweden with grace.
The next year against Yougoslovia, the aging Vijay-Anand's five setter loss to 'Bobo' Slobodan Zivozinovic (remember the ace-master!) :bounce: was a great performance. And yes a couple of years before that Vijay's win against Wilander in Davis cup. I really feel that I am fortunate to have seen tennis in that great era.
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Post by gvhvhg »

Great post Adnan, and welcome to Sports-India!
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