- Ramanathan Krishnan
Ramanathan Krishnan (born
11 April 1937 , in Madras,India ) is a retiredtennis player from India who was among the world's leading players in the 1950s and 1960s. He was at one point ranked the World No. 3 amateurFact|date=August 2008 player – the highest ranking ever achieved by a tennis player fromAsia .Career
Krishnan honed his skills under his father, T.K. Ramanathan. He soon made his mark on the national circuit, sweeping all the junior titles. In 1954, he became the first Asian player to win the boy's singles title at Wimbledon, beating Ashley Cooper in the final.
In 1960, Krishnan reached the semi-finals of the men's singles competition at Wimbledon where he lost to
Neale Fraser . He reached the Wimbledon semi-finals again the next year, losing toRod Laver .Krishnan was ranked among the top-10 amateur players in the world on five different occasions. In 1960, he was ranked No. 3 behind Neale Fraser and
Alex Olmedo .Krishnan was a key member of the Indian team which reached the final of the
Davis Cup in 1966. In the semi-finals againstBrazil he won two singles matches and a doubles rubber (partneringJaidip Mukerjea ) to help India to a 3-2 win. In the final againstAustralia , Krishnan and Mukerjea won the doubles rubber (againstJohn Newcombe andTony Roche ), but he lost both singles matches (againstFred Stolle andRoy Emerson ) as India were defeated 4-1. Krishnan was a regular player on the Indian Davis Cup team between 1953 and 1975, compiling a 69-28 winning record (50-19 in singles and 19-9 in doubles).Krishnan also won the Indian national tennis title for eight years at a stretch.
Current
Krishnan now lives in
Chennai , where he manages a gas distribution agency. His sonRamesh Krishnan emulated his father's achievement of winning the Wimbledon junior title, and went on to become a leading Indian tennis player in the 1980s.Career highlights
*1954 - Wimbledon junior champion.
*1960 - Wimbledon - reached the semi-finals (losing to eventual championNeale Fraser ).
*1961 - Wimbledon - was seeded 4th and reached the semi-finals for the second consecutive time (losing to eventual championRod Laver ).
*1966 - Member of the Indian team which reached the final of theDavis Cup (lost toAustralia in the final).External links
* [http://www.daviscup.com/teams/player.asp?player=10002759 Davis Cup Record]
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