Country (sports) | India |
---|---|
Born | Madras, India | 14 December 1953
Height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
Turned pro | 1970 |
Retired | 1993 |
Plays | Right-handed (one-handed backhand) |
Prize money | $1,331,913 |
Singles | |
Career record | 399–308 [1] |
Career titles | 15 [2] |
Highest ranking | No. 18 (7 July 1980) |
Grand Slam singles results | |
Australian Open | 2R (1984) |
French Open | 3R (1974) |
Wimbledon | QF (1973, 1981) |
US Open | QF (1973, 1974) |
Other tournaments | |
WCT Finals | SF (1982) |
Doubles | |
Career record | 264–218 |
Career titles | 14 |
Highest ranking | No. 23 (24 March 1980) |
Grand Slam doubles results | |
Wimbledon | SF (1976) |
US Open | QF (1973, 1976) |
Team competitions | |
Davis Cup | F (1974, 1987) |
Vijay Amritraj (born 14 December 1953) is an Indian sports commentator, actor and retired professional tennis player from Madras. [3] [4] [5] [6] He was awarded the Padma Shri, the government of India's 4th highest civilian honour, in 1983. [7] [8] In 2022, he was honored for his contributions to tennis in London by the International Tennis Hall of Fame and International Tennis Federation. [9]
Vijay was born in Madras, [10] India to Maggie Dhairyam and Robert Amritraj. [11] [12] He has two brothers, Anand Amritraj and Ashok Amritraj, who were also international tennis players. [13]
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.[ citation needed ] At Wimbledon, he lost in five sets 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.[ citation needed ]
Amritraj beat Björn Borg in the second round in the US Open in 1974, losing to Rosewall in quarterfinals. [14] [15] 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.[ citation needed ] 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.[ citation needed ] 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.[ citation needed ]
Amritraj was part of the India Davis Cup team that reached the finals in 1974 and 1987.[ citation needed ] Amritraj had a career singles win–loss record 384–296, winning 16 singles and 13 doubles titles.[ citation needed ]
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 . [16] He also appeared briefly in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) as an unnamed starship captain. [17]
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 .[ citation needed ] 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.[ citation needed ]
Amritraj lives in Southern California with his wife Shymala and sons Prakash Amritraj and Vikram. [18] [19] [20]
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. [21]
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 |
W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | P# | DNQ | A | Z# | PO | G | S | B | NMS | NTI | P | NH |
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 |
Legend |
---|
Grand Slam (0) |
ATP Masters Series (0) |
ATP Tour (15) |
Result | W/L | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Win | 1–0 | Jun 1973 | Rothmans Chichester, England (ATP Challenger Tour) | Grass | Doug Crawford | 6-1, 7-6 |
Win | 2–0 | Jul 1973 | Bretton Woods, U.S. | Clay | Jimmy Connors | 7–5, 2–6, 7–5 |
Loss | 2–1 | Aug 1973 | South Orange, U.S. | Grass | Colin Dibley | 4–6, 7–6, 4–6 |
Win | 3–1 | Oct 1973 | New Delhi, India | Grass | Mal Anderson | 6–4, 5–7, 8–9, 6–3, 11–9 |
Loss | 3–2 | Mar 1974 | Tempe, U.S. | Hard | Jimmy Connors | 1–6, 2–6 |
Win | 4–2 | Apr 1974 | Washington D.C., U.S. (ATP Challenger Tour) | Carpet (i) | Karl Meiler | 6–4, 6–3 |
Win | 5–2 | Jun 1974 | Beckenham, England | Grass | Tom Gorman | 6–7, 6–2, 6–4 |
Win | 6–2 | Aug 1975 | Columbus, U.S. | Hard | Bob Lutz | 6–4, 7–5 |
Win | 7–2 | Nov 1975 | Calcutta, India | Clay | Manuel Orantes | 7–5, 6–3 |
Win | 8–2 | Mar 1976 | Memphis, U.S. | Carpet (i) | Stan Smith | 6–2, 0–6, 6–0 |
Win | 9–2 | Sep 1976 | Newport, U.S. | Grass | Brian Teacher | 6–3, 4–6, 6–3, 6–1 |
Win | 10–2 | Jan 1977 | Auckland, New Zealand | Grass | Tim Wilkison | 7–6, 5–7, 6–1, 6–2 |
Win | 11–2 | Nov 1977 | Bombay, India | Clay | Terry Moor | 7–6, 6–4 |
Win | 12–2 | Sep 1978 | Mexico City, Mexico | Carpet (i) | Raúl Ramírez | 6–4, 6–4 |
Loss | 12–3 | Oct 1978 | Cologne, West Germany | Hard (i) | Wojciech Fibak | 2–6, 1–0 ret. |
Win | 13–3 | Nov 1979 | Bombay, India | Clay | Peter Elter | 6–1, 7–5 |
Loss | 13–4 | Feb 1980 | WCT Invitational Salisbury, U.S. | Carpet (i) | Björn Borg | 5–7, 1–6, 3–6 |
Loss | 13–5 | Mar 1980 | Milan, Italy | Carpet (i) | John McEnroe | 2–6, 4–6 |
Win | 14–5 | Jul 1980 | Newport, U.S. | Grass | Andrew Pattison | 6–1, 5–7, 6–3 |
Win | 15–5 | Nov 1980 | Bangkok, Thailand | Carpet (i) | Brian Teacher | 6–3, 7–5 |
Loss | 15–6 | Dec 1980 | WCT Challenge Cup, Canada | Carpet (i) | John McEnroe | 1–6, 6–2, 1–6 |
Loss | 15–7 | Mar 1981 | Salisbury WCT, U.S. | Carpet (i) | Bill Scanlon | 6-3, 2-2, 4-6, 6-3, 4-6 |
Loss | 15–8 | Aug 1983 | Stowe, U.S. | Hard | John Fitzgerald | 6–3, 2–6, 5–7 |
Win | 16–8 | May 1984 | Spring, Texas, U.S. (ATP Challenger Tour) | Hard (i) | Leif Shiras | 7–5, 4–6 7–6 |
Win | 17–8 | Jul 1984 | Newport, U.S. | Grass | Tim Mayotte | 3–6, 6–4, 6–4 |
Win | 18–8 | Jun 1986 | Bristol, England | Grass | Henri Leconte | 7–6, 1–6, 8–6 |
Win | 19–8 | Aug 1988 | New Haven, U.S. (ATP Challenger Tour) | Hard | Zeeshan Ali | 6–3, 6–1 |
Result | W/L | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Loss | 0–1 | Oct 1973 | New Delhi, India | Anand Amritraj | Jim McManus Raúl Ramírez | 2–6, 4–6 | |
Win | 1–1 | Nov 1974 | Bombay, India | Clay | Anand Amritraj | Dick Crealy Onny Parun | 6–4, 7–6 |
Loss | 1–2 | Aug 1974 | South Orange, U.S. | Hard | Anand Amritraj | Brian Gottfried Raúl Ramírez | 6–7, 7–6, 6–7 |
Win | 2–2 | Aug 1974 | Columbus, U.S. | Hard | Anand Amritraj | Tom Gorman Bob Lutz | walkover |
Loss | 2–3 | Feb 1975 | Toronto, Canada | Carpet (i) | Anand Amritraj | Dick Stockton Erik van Dillen | 4–6, 5–7, 1–6 |
Loss | 2–4 | Mar 1975 | Washington D.C., U.S. | Carpet (i) | Anand Amritraj | Mike Estep Jeff Simpson | 6–75, 3–6 |
Win | 3–4 | Mar 1975 | Atlanta, U.S. | Carpet (i) | Anand Amritraj | Mark Cox Cliff Drysdale | 6–3, 6–2 |
Loss | 3–5 | Aug 1975 | Louisville, U.S. | Clay | Anand Amritraj | Wojciech Fibak Guillermo Vilas | (not played) |
Win | 4–5 | Sep 1975 | Los Angeles, U.S. | Hard | Anand Amritraj | Cliff Drysdale Marty Riessen | 7–6, 4–6, 6–4 |
Loss | 4–6 | Nov 1975 | Calcutta, India | Clay | Anand Amritraj | Juan Gisbert Manuel Orantes | 6–1, 4–6, 3–6 |
Win | 5–6 | Mar 1976 | Memphis, U.S. | Carpet (i) | Anand Amritraj | Roscoe Tanner Marty Riessen | 6–3, 6–4 |
Loss | 5–7 | Mar 1977 | St. Louis, U.S. | Carpet (i) | Dick Stockton | Ilie Năstase Adriano Panatta | 4–6, 6–3, 6–76 |
Loss | 5–8 | Mar 1977 | Rotterdam, Netherlands | Carpet (i) | Dick Stockton | Wojciech Fibak Tom Okker | 4–6, 4–6 |
Win | 6–8 | May 1977 | Masters Doubles WCT, U.S. | Carpet (i) | Dick Stockton | Vitas Gerulaitis Adriano Panatta | 7–6, 7–6, 4–6, 6–3 |
Win | 7–8 | Jun 1977 | London, England | Grass | Anand Amritraj | David Lloyd John Lloyd | 6–1, 6–2 |
Win | 8–8 | Sep 1978 | Mexico City, Mexico | Carpet (i) | Anand Amritraj | Fred McNair Raúl Ramírez | 6–4, 7–5 |
Loss | 8–9 | Apr 1979 | Cairo, Egypt | Clay | Anand Amritraj | Peter McNamara Paul McNamee | 5–7, 4–6 |
Loss | 8–10 | Jul 1979 | Louisville, U.S. | Hard | Raúl Ramírez | Marty Riessen Sherwood Stewart | 2–6, 6–1, 1–6 |
Loss | 8–11 | Oct 1979 | Sydney, Australia | Hard | Pat DuPré | Rod Frawley Francisco González | walkover |
Win | 9–11 | Mar 1980 | Rotterdam, Netherlands | Carpet (i) | Stan Smith | Bill Scanlon Brian Teacher | 6–4, 6–3 |
Win | 10–11 | Mar 1980 | Frankfurt, West Germany | Carpet (i) | Stan Smith | Andrew Pattison Butch Walts | 6–7, 6–2, 6–2 |
Loss | 10–12 | Aug 1981 | Columbus, U.S. | Hard | Anand Amritraj | Bruce Manson Brian Teacher | 1–6, 1–6 |
Loss | 10–13 | Nov 1982 | Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. | Carpet (i) | Fred Stolle | Anand Amritraj Tony Giammalva | 5–7, 2–6 |
Win | 11–13 | Nov 1982 | Chicago, U.S. | Carpet (i) | Anand Amritraj | Mike Cahill Bruce Manson | 3–6, 6–3, 6–3 |
Win | 12–13 | Feb 1983 | Kuwait City, Kuwait (ATP Challenger Tour) | Hard | Ilie Năstase | Broderick Dyke Rod Frawley | 6–3, 3–6, 6–2 |
Win | 13–13 | Jul 1983 | Newport, U.S. | Grass | John Fitzgerald | Tim Gullikson Tom Gullikson | 6–3, 6–4 |
Loss | 13–14 | Aug 1983 | Columbus, U.S. | Hard | John Fitzgerald | Scott Davis Brian Teacher | 1–6, 6–4, 6–7 |
Loss | 13–15 | Oct 1984 | Stockholm, Sweden | Hard (i) | Ilie Năstase | Henri Leconte Tomáš Šmíd | 6–3, 6–7, 4–6 |
Win | 14–15 | Jul 1986 | Newport, U.S. | Grass | Tim Wilkison | Eddie Edwards Francisco González | 4–6, 7–5, 7–6 |
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