Vijay Amritraj
Template:Short description Template:BLP sources Template:EngvarB Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox tennis biography
Vijay Amritraj ({{#invoke:IPA|main}}; born 14 December 1953) is an Indian sports commentator, actor and retired professional tennis player from Madras.<ref name="James Bond">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He was awarded the Padma Shri, the government of India's fourth-highest civilian honour, in 1983.<ref name="award80-89">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In 2022, he was honored for his contributions to tennis in London by the International Tennis Hall of Fame and International Tennis Federation.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> On July 20, 2024 he was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Early lifeEdit
Vijay was born in Madras,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> India to a Tamil Christian Nadar family consisting of parents Maggie Dhairyam and Robert Amritraj, <ref name="hindu_04">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>and brothers Anand Amritraj and Ashok Amritraj, who were also international tennis players.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
CareerEdit
After playing his first Grand Prix event in 1970, Amritraj achieved his first success in singles in 1973 when he reached the quarterfinals at two Grand Slam events.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> At Wimbledon, he lost in five sets<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> to the eventual champion Jan Kodeš and later that summer at the US Open, lost to Ken Rosewall after having beaten Rod Laver two rounds earlier.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Amritraj beat Björn Borg in the second round in the US Open in 1974, losing to Rosewall in quarterfinals.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 1979, he lost in the second round of Wimbledon to defending champion Borg after being up two sets to one and leading 4–1 in the fourth set.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He reached his career-high ranking in singles of world No. 16 in July 1980. In 1981, he reached the quarterfinals of Wimbledon before losing in five sets to Jimmy Connors.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He beat John McEnroe in the first round of Cincinnati Masters in 1984. Overall, he had five career wins over Jimmy Connors in their eleven matches.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Amritraj was part of the India Davis Cup team that reached the finals in 1974 and 1987.Template:Citation needed Amritraj had a career singles win–loss record 405–312, winning 15 singles and 13 doubles titles.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Acting careerEdit
Amritraj has also pursued an acting career. His best known role is probably as the MI6 intelligence operative Vijay in the 1983 James Bond film Octopussy.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He also appeared briefly in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) as starship captain Joel Randolph.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
He was also a regular character in the NBC TV series The Last Precinct and the Yakov Smirnoff comedy What a Country!, as well as a guest star on various television shows such as Hart to Hart.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He has since gone on to become a sports commentator, has been a judge at the Miss Universe pageant, and has developed a multimedia business. Amritraj also hosts a talk show named Dimensions with Vijay Amritraj broadcast on CNN-IBN.Template:Citation needed
Personal lifeEdit
Amritraj lives in Southern California with his wife Shymala and sons Prakash Amritraj and Vikram.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Prakash and his paternal cousin Stephen Amritraj are also professional tennis players.
On 9 February 2001, Vijay was appointed a United Nations Messenger of Peace. He has been raising awareness on the issues of drugs and HIV/AIDS and has raised funds to fight the spread of AIDS worldwide.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
He founded The Vijay Amritraj Foundation in 2006.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
FilmographyEdit
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1983 | Octopussy | Vijay | |
| 1985 | Nine Deaths of the Ninja | Rankin | |
| 1986 | Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home | Starship Captain Joel Randolph | |
| 2015 | Of God and Kings | Duke Bora Swain | |
Career statisticsEdit
Singles performance timelineEdit
| Tournament | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | 2R | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 2 |
| French Open | A | A | 3R | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 1 |
| Wimbledon | 2R | QF | 2R | 2R | 2R | 2R | 2R | 2R | 1R | QF | 3R | 1R | 1R | 4R | 1R | 2R | A | A | 1R | 0 / 17 |
| US Open | 1R | QF | QF | 2R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 3R | 3R | A | A | 2R | 1R | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 12 |
Career finalsEdit
Singles: 27 (19–8)Edit
| Legend |
|---|
| Grand Slam (0) |
| ATP Masters Series (0) |
| ATP Tour (15) |
| Result | W/L | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1–0 | Template:Dts | Rothmans Chichester, England (ATP Challenger Tour) | Grass | Template:Flagicon Doug Crawford | 6-1, 7-6 |
| Win | 2–0 | Template:Dts | Bretton Woods, U.S. | Clay | Template:Flagicon Jimmy Connors | 7–5, 2–6, 7–5 |
| Loss | 2–1 | Template:Dts | South Orange, U.S. | Grass | Template:Flagicon Colin Dibley | 4–6, 7–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 3–1 | Template:Dts | New Delhi, India | Grass | Template:Flagicon Mal Anderson | 6–4, 5–7, 8–9, 6–3, 11–9 |
| Loss | 3–2 | Template:Dts | Tempe, U.S. | Hard | Template:Flagicon Jimmy Connors | 1–6, 2–6 |
| Win | 4–2 | Template:Dts | Washington D.C., U.S. (ATP Challenger Tour) | Carpet (i) | Template:Flagicon Karl Meiler | 6–4, 6–3 |
| Win | 5–2 | Template:Dts | Beckenham, England | Grass | Template:Flagicon Tom Gorman | 6–7, 6–2, 6–4 |
| Win | 6–2 | Template:Dts | Columbus, U.S. | Hard | Template:Flagicon Bob Lutz | 6–4, 7–5 |
| Win | 7–2 | Template:Dts | Calcutta, India | Clay | Template:Flagicon Manuel Orantes | 7–5, 6–3 |
| Win | 8–2 | Template:Dts | Memphis, U.S. | Carpet (i) | Template:Flagicon Stan Smith | 6–2, 0–6, 6–0 |
| Win | 9–2 | Template:Dts | Newport, U.S. | Grass | Template:Flagicon Brian Teacher | 6–3, 4–6, 6–3, 6–1 |
| Win | 10–2 | Template:Dts | Auckland, New Zealand | Grass | Template:Flagicon Tim Wilkison | 7–6, 5–7, 6–1, 6–2 |
| Win | 11–2 | Template:Dts | Bombay, India | Clay | Template:Flagicon Terry Moor | 7–6, 6–4 |
| Win | 12–2 | Template:Dts | Mexico City, Mexico | Carpet (i) | Template:Flagicon Raúl Ramírez | 6–4, 6–4 |
| Loss | 12–3 | Template:Dts | Cologne, West Germany | Hard (i) | Template:Flagicon Wojciech Fibak | 2–6, 1–0 ret. |
| Win | 13–3 | Template:Dts | Bombay, India | Clay | Template:Flagicon Peter Elter | 6–1, 7–5 |
| Loss | 13–4 | Template:Dts | WCT Invitational Salisbury, U.S. | Carpet (i) | Template:Flagicon Björn Borg | 5–7, 1–6, 3–6 |
| Loss | 13–5 | Template:Dts | Milan, Italy | Carpet (i) | Template:Flagicon John McEnroe | 2–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 14–5 | Template:Dts | Newport, U.S. | Grass | Template:Flagicon Andrew Pattison | 6–1, 5–7, 6–3 |
| Win | 15–5 | Template:Dts | Bangkok, Thailand | Carpet (i) | Template:Flagicon Brian Teacher | 6–3, 7–5 |
| Loss | 15–6 | Template:Dts | WCT Challenge Cup, Canada | Carpet (i) | Template:Flagicon John McEnroe | 1–6, 6–2, 1–6 |
| Loss | 15–7 | Template:Dts | Salisbury WCT, U.S. | Carpet (i) | Template:Flagicon Bill Scanlon | 6-3, 2-2, 4-6, 6-3, 4-6 |
| Loss | 15–8 | Template:Dts | Stowe, U.S. | Hard | Template:Flagicon John Fitzgerald | 6–3, 2–6, 5–7 |
| Win | 16–8 | Template:Dts | Spring, Texas, U.S. (ATP Challenger Tour) | Hard (i) | Template:Flagicon Leif Shiras | 7–5, 4–6 7–6 |
| Win | 17–8 | Template:Dts | Newport, U.S. | Grass | Template:Flagicon Tim Mayotte | 3–6, 6–4, 6–4 |
| Win | 18–8 | Template:Dts | Bristol, England | Grass | Template:Flagicon Henri Leconte | 7–6, 1–6, 8–6 |
| Win | 19–8 | Template:Dts | New Haven, U.S. (ATP Challenger Tour) | Hard | Template:Flagicon Zeeshan Ali | 6–3, 6–1 |
Doubles: 29 (14–15)Edit
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
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