Ramesh Krishnan

Ramesh Krishnan

Ramanathan Krishnan and Ramesh Krishnan called on the Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Dr. M.S. Gill, in New Delhi, 26 November 2009.
Country (sports)	India
Born	(1961-06-05) 5 June 1961 Chennai, India
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Turned pro	1978
Retired	1993
Plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize money	$1,263,130
Singles
Career record	319–285
Career titles	8
Highest ranking	No. 23 (28 January 1985)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	3R (1983, 1984, 1987, 1988, 1989)
French Open	3R (1982)
Wimbledon	QF (1986)
US Open	QF (1981, 1987)
Doubles
Career record	36–69
Career titles	1
Highest ranking	No. 114 (14 September 1987)
Team competitions
Davis Cup	F (1987)

Ramesh Krishnan (born 5 June 1961) is a tennis coach and former professional tennis player from India. As a junior player in the late 1970s, he won the singles titles at both, Wimbledon and the French Open. He went on to reach three Grand Slam quarterfinals in the 1980s and was a part of the Indian team captained by Vijay Amritraj which reached the final of the Davis Cup in 1987 against Sweden. Krishnan also beat then-world No. 1, Mats Wilander, at the 1989 Australian Open. He became India's Davis Cup captain in 2007.

Early life

Ramesh was born in Madras, India, and is the son of Ramanathan Krishnan who reached Wimbledon SemiFinal twice in the 1960s. Ramesh emulated an achievement of his father's by winning the Wimbledon junior title in 1979. He also won the French Open junior title that year, and was ranked the No. 1 junior player in the world.

Career

At the senior level, Ramesh reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon once (1986) and the US Open twice (1981 and 1987). He was admired for his touch, anticipation and all-round game, but his lack of a killer stroke or a strong service kept him from reaching the very top of the men's game.

Ramesh was a key member of the Indian team which reached the Davis Cup final in 1987. In the semifinals against Australia, he beat John Fitzgerald in four sets the opening singles match, and then defeated Wally Masur in straight sets the decisive fifth rubber to give India a 3–2 victory. However, in the final against Sweden, India was defeated 5–0 with Krishnan losing two singles matches to Mats Wilander and Anders Järryd and with the Indian team managing to win only one set. Ramesh was a stalwart on India's Davis Cup team from 1977 to 1993, compiling a 29–21 winning record (23–19 in singles and 6–2 in doubles).

At the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Ramesh reached the men's doubles quarterfinals partnering Leander Paes.

Ramesh retired from the professional tour in 1993. Over the course of his career, he won eight top-level singles titles and one doubles title; he also won four challenger singles titles (defeating the young Andre Agassi in the Schenectady final in 1986). His career-high singles ranking was world No. 23, in January 1985.

In 1998, Ramesh was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in recognition of his achievements and contributions to Indian tennis.

Ramesh runs a tennis academy in Chennai, set up along the lines of similar institutions in the United States. He became India Davis Cup team captain in January 2007.

ATP Tour career finals

Singles: 12 (8 titles, 4 runner-ups)

Result	W/L	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1–0	1981	Manila, Philippines	Carpet (i)	Ivan Dupasquier	6–4, 6–4
Win	2–0	1982	Stuttgart, West Germany	Clay	Sandy Mayer	5–7, 6–3, 6–3, 7–6
Win	3–0	1984	Metz, France	Carpet (i)	Jan Gunnarsson	6–3, 6–3
Loss	3–1	1985	Cologne, West Germany	Carpet (i)	Peter Lundgren	3–6, 2–6
Win	4–1	1986	Tokyo Outdoor, Japan	Hard	Johan Carlsson	6–3, 6–1
Win	5–1	1986	Hong Kong, UK	Hard	Andres Gomez	7–6, 6–0, 7–5
Win	6–1	1988	Wellington, New Zealand	Hard	Template:Country data URS Andrei Chesnokov	6–7, 6–0, 6–4, 6–3
Loss	6–2	1988	Auckland, New Zealand	Hard	Amos Mansdorf	3–6, 4–6
Loss	6–3	1988	Bristol, UK	Grass	Christian Saceanu	4–6, 6–2, 2–6
Loss	6–4	1988	Rye Brook, US	Hard	Milan Srejber	2–6, 6–7
Win	7v4	1989	Auckland, New Zealand	Hard	Amos Mansdorf	6–4, 6–0
Win	8–4	1990	Schenectady, US	Hard	Kelly Evernden	6–1, 6–1

Doubles: 1 (1 title)

Result	W/L	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1–0	1987	Nancy, France	Carpet (i)	Claudio Mezzadri	Grant Connell Larry Scott	6–4, 6–4

ATP Challenger finals

Singles: 4 (4 titles)

Result	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1.	1986	Schenectady, US	Hard	Andre Agassi	6–2, 6–3
Win	2.	1987	Nagoya, Japan	Hard	Jay Lapidus	6–3, 6–0
Win	3.	1989	Nagoya, Japan (2)	Hard	Jonathan Canter	6–1, 6–3
Win	4.	1990	Nagoya, Japan (3)	Hard	Brian Garrow	6–2, 6–4

Doubles: 1 (1 runner-up)

Result	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponents	Opponents	Score
Loss	1.	1989	Nagoya, Japan	Hard	Jonathan Canter	John Letts Bruce Man-Son-Hing	5–7, 6–4, 0–6

Career highlights

• 1979 – Wimbledon and French Open junior singles champion.
• 1981 – Reached the quarterfinals of the US Open.
• 1981 – Won his first ATP singles title in Manila.
• 1986 – Reached the quarterfinals of Wimbledon.
• 1986 – Won the Japan Open.
• 1987 – Reached the quarterfinals of 1987 South Australian Open and 1987 Heineken Open in back to back weeks in January.
• 1987 – Reached the quarterfinals of the US Open.
• 1987 – Member of the Indian team which reached the final of the Davis Cup. (Krishnan won the decisive singles rubber against Australia in the semifinals. India went on to lose to Sweden in the final.)
• 1988 – Won the Wellington Open; runner-up in the ATP Auckland Open, Bristol Open and Rye Brook (New York) Open.
• 1989 – Defeated the then world No. 1, Mats Wilander, in the second round of the Australian Open.
• 1989 – Won the Auckland Open, reached the quarterfinals of the Schenectady Open and Washington DC Open in back to back weeks in July. He reached the quarterfinals of the 1989 Livingston Open.
• 1990 – Won the Schenectady Open and reached the semifinals of the 1990 Heineken Open.
• 1991 – Reached the quarterfinals of the Wellington Open.
• 1992 – Reached the semifinals of the Singapore Open.
• 1992 – Reached the quarterfinals of the men's doubles competition at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona with Leander Paes.

External links

• Ramesh Krishnan at the Association of Tennis Professionals
• Ramesh Krishnan at the International Tennis Federation
• Ramesh Krishnan at the Davis Cup