Who is the Greatest Asian Tennis Player?

SHARMISTHA CHAUDHURI

It’s well known that Paes loves to play for the history books. Still fit as a fiddle, updating himself with newer training techniques to stay injury free and healthy, Paes has no intentions of stopping. Without doubt, he is the greatest Asian tennis player in doubles. There is no one who comes even close.

Li Na was the first Asian to win a Grand Slam singles title

It’s well known the two don’t like playing together. In fact, even before the tie began, Bopanna had requested he ‘sit out’ this one. Paes, on the other hand, was making a comeback to the Davis Cup squad. Dropped by former partner and current non-playing captain Mahesh Bhupathi last year, Paes was eager to clinch another record—the most number of Davis Cup doubles wins. He had been stuck on the number 42, tied with Italy’s Nicola Pietrangeli, albeit a while.

The Indians lost the first set 5-7 on the hardcourt of the Tianjin Tennis Centre to their Chinese counterparts Mao-Xin Gong and Ze Zhang. Things weren’t looking that great but out of sheer determination they equalised scores winning the second set in a closely fought tiebreak—7-6(5). It was anybody’s game. After almost two and a half hours of play, the tide turned for India. With the decider again taken to a tiebreaker, Paes and Bopanna upped their game, refusing to give any leeway to the opponents as they wrapped up the set 7-6(3) to provide the visitors a chance to win the Asia/Oceania Group I second round tie. And the team didn’t let the duo’s hard fought battle go to waste. Treating it as the turning point, Ramkumar Ramanathan and Prajnesh Gunneswaran, respectively, quickly wrapped the day’s proceedings to give India a 3-2 victory, keeping the country’s win record against China intact in the tournament.

36 Advantage Tennis Grand Slam Yearbook 2019 Just let that sink in for a moment. It was Paes’ 43rd Davis Cup victory. In a career spanning over three decades, the victory also earned the 44-year-old his 750th doubles match win! He’s only the sixth player in ATP World Tour history to achieve it. America’s Mark Bryan leads the list with 1073 wins. It’s well known that Paes loves to play for the history books. Still fit as a fiddle, updating himself with newer training techniques to stay injury free and healthy, Paes has no intentions of stopping. Adding more records to his already overachieving resume, which include rising to No. 1 on the ranking charts; 54 doubles crowns, eight of which are Grand Slams in men’s doubles and 10 in mixed; and

an Olympic bronze, Paes has his eyes on more laurels. Without doubt, he’s the greatest Asian tennis player in doubles. There’s no one who comes even close.

The argument now turns to whether he is the greatest Asian tennis player of all time. It’s difficult to measure greatness. There’s no doubt about Paes’ distinctive doubles achievements but to not take into consideration the contributions of China’s Li Na, Japan’s Kei Nishikori and Naomi Osaka, home-grown heroes Vijay Amritraj and Ramanathan Krishnan in singles and Sania Mirza in doubles, will skew the debate.

It was 2011 and China’s Li Na was playing her second consecutive Grand Slam final at Roland Garros. Having lost to Kim Clijsters on the hardcourt of Melbourne earlier in the year, the feisty woman was in no mood to let got of this opportunity on clay. Before Italy’s Francesca Schiavone, the defending champion, could realise what was happening. the Chinese had wrapped up the second set at 7-0 in the tiebreak to achieve what no Asian had done before—winning a Grand Slam singles title. Her victory elevated the Asian tennis profile to a new level altogether. Three years later when she won her second singles Major Down Under defeating Dominika Cibulkova, she further cemented her place among the all-time Asian tennis greats. The win took her to a career-high of No 2 in the rankings before a knee injury forced her to retire. Her dry wit off court coupled with an aggressive style on court, made Li Na one of the most popular tennis stars in the world. And despite a retirement, there seems to be no stopping her. Book deals, a clothing line, reality television, maybe even an academy; the 36-year-old mother-oftwo has her hands full.

Today, Naomi Osaka is the talk of the town. The 20-year-old is the reigning US Open champion. She defeated Serena Williams in straight sets in a controversial, yet, entertaining final at Flushing Meadows to win her maiden Major. She maybe shy and soft-spoken off the court but while on it, she fears no one. With her single-minded focus and aggressiveness on court accompanying an incredibly powerful serve, Osaka became the first Japanese player, and second Asian, to win a singles Grand Slam. She represents Japan, her mother’s country. Her father is HaitianAmerican and the family came to the US when Osaka was three. Though Osaka has been producing results since the past four years, 2018 has seen a major breakthrough. Just this year itself, she’s defeated the likes of Maria Sharapova, Simona Halep and Karolina Pliskova among others. Ranked No 7 in the world at the moment, these achievements are just baby steps for the youngster who has a much brighter future ahead.

Among Japanese men, Kei Nishikori may have slipped down on the ranking charts, but in 2014, he became the first Asian male player to reach the final of a singles Major at Flushing Meadows. It was a battle

Leander Paes is considered by many as one of the greatest doubles players

Mirza and Bhupathi have both won numerous doubles titles

among first-timers—Marin Cilic and himself. Nishikori lost in straight sets but it set him on a path of firsts. He became the first Asian to qualify for the ATP World Tour Finals that year in singles of course and since, has racked up 11 titles. Though a wrist injury forced him to cut his season short last year, he made the final of the Monte Carlo Masters in 2018 where he ultimately lost to current world No 1 Rafael Nadal. The former world No 4 fell short of his first Masters title but the 28-year-old couldn’t be happier with his performance. “I think I’m almost there,” he said post the loss.

Then, who can forget Thailand’s Paradorn Srichapan? The 38-year-old paved the path for Asian singles stars when he cracked the ATP rankings top-10, notably the first to do so. Though the Thai former world No 9 never went beyond the fourth round of a Grand Slam, his victories over the likes of Nadal, Andy Roddick and Marat Safin had all talking. “I’m not just representing Thailand, my country, but I feel that I’m representing all the Asian countries, especially in Asian tennis,” is what Srichaphan used to say. Though he doesn’t come close to being called the greatest, he is definitely a notable mention.

Then, who can forget Thailand’s Paradorn Srichapan? The 38-yearold paved the path for Asian singles stars when he cracked the ATP rankings top-10, notably the first to do so. Turning towards home, we need to go back some decades when Ramanathan Krishnan was setting the world of ablaze with his ‘touch tennis’. A maverick to take to the courts in the 1950s and 60s, Krishnan’s subtle grace makes him one of the best Asians to ever have played the sport. At a time when Rod Laver and Roy Emerson were dominating

the Majors, Krishnan notched up victories against both and reached the semifinals of Wimbledon twice in successive years (1960 and 61). Not to mention he became the first Asian player to clinch the boys’ singles title at SW19 in 1954. Playing in the amateur era, he reached a careerhigh of No. 6 in singles and paved the way for the next generation of Indians and Asians in the sport.

Of the Amritraj brothers, Vijay and Anand, carried on the mantle. Vijay’s singles quarterfinal appearances in Wimbledon and the US Open in 1973 was a proud moment. With victories over Laver, Ken Rosewall, Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg, Vijay’s singles career was one of the greatest ever. After reaching a career-high ranking of 16 in 1980, the following year, he lost in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon despite being 2-0 up against Connors. With brother Anand, the duo even made the doubles semifinals at SW19 in 1976. Part of the Indian Davis Cup

squad that reached the finals in 1974 and 1987 (the first time India boycotted the final against South Africa and the second time they lost to Sweden), Vijay took the country’s tennis aspirations a step further, winning 18 singles and 24 doubles crowns in his long career.

In this debate, the inclusion of Sania Mirza is a must. The 31-yearold from Hyderabad brought Indian women’s tennis on the world map with her fantastic achievements. Winning over 40 doubles titles which include three Grand Slam doubles and three mixed, Sania’s ascent to the top of the doubles ranking charted a historic moment in Asian tennis. In singles, she reached a career-high rank of 27 before a wrist injury forced her to concentrate on doubles. With former partner Martina Hingis, ‘SanTina’s’ winning streak reached 41, three short of the longest winning streak since 1990 compiled by Jana Novotna and Helena Sukova. Sania’s on court achievements have led to Time Magazine naming her among ’50 heroes of Asia’ (2005) and ‘100 most influential people in the world’ (2016).

Thus, it’s difficult to determine this debate. As any debate goes, how can one distinguish the greatest Asian tennis player? Does one go by statistics, style of play or a general influence? “Li Na did a phenomenal job opening the door as the first Asian Grand Slam champion in singles, and I think Kei’s feat opened the eyes of a lot of the youngsters in Asia that we can win a men’s (singles) Grand Slam as well,” is what Paes believes, who won his first doubles Major with compatriot Bhupathi in 1999.

Asians have already scaled great heights in tennis. With the sport adapting to newer styles and technologies, it will be interesting to see where Asian tennis goes from here in the coming years. And maybe, just maybe, this debate, too, will be resolved!

Above: Naomi Osaka is only the second player from Asia to win a singles Grand Slam title. Below: Kei Nishikori: World No. 9 and Asia No. 1