SK Flashback: Remembering 'supermom' Maggie Amritraj on Mother's Day
It was the age when John McEnroe's foul on-court tempers were matched only by his sublime talent, while fellow-countryman Jimmy Connors' grunt was reflective of his never-say-die fighting spirit, which kept the American ace going well past his prime.
Ivan Lendl continued to be stoic as a rock displaying no emotion whatsoever, while Boris Becker charmed the tennis world by capturing Wimbledon at the age of seventeen - and repeated the incredible feat a year later.
The Australians had Pat Cash, while the Swedes had a wealth of talent in Mats Wilander, Stefan Edberg, Anders Jarryd, and Joakim Nystrom - not to be undone, the Indians had Ramesh Krishnan and Vijay Amritraj.
The two had kept India's flag flying high in the world of tennis right from the Bjorn Borg and Rod Laver era - but one achievement, more than all else, took the tennis fraternity by storm.
In the 1987 Davis Cup singles tie against Argentina, Vijay Amritraj was literally staring down a barrel. Trailing by two sets and down 0-3 in the third to Martin Jaite, few would have given the Indian stalwart a chance - when all of a sudden, the tide turned in dramatic fashion.
In what is considered to be one of the most incredible comebacks of all time, the Indian rallied to win the third set – and went to defeat Jaite by bagging the last two sets to catapult India into the Davis Cup semifinal against Israel.
The Indian ace who played a cameo in the 1983 James Bond film Octopussy, had to then utilize his diplomatic skills to enable Israel to play the Davis Cup quarterfinal in India. His efforts reaped rich rewards as the Indians triumphed, before stunning the Aussies, at home, in the semifinals.
Yeah, the hosts did panic, as Wally Masur played the singles instead of Pat Cash - but the Australians were a formidable force to reckon with on home conditions, nonetheless - and India's entry into the Davis Cup final was perhaps one of the greatest moments in the history of Indian sport.
It turned out to be a one-sided final in which the Swedes overpowered the visitors on a specially prepared indoor clay court - just the kind of surface that both Vijay and Ramesh dreaded playing on - but India had become a force to reckon with in the world of tennis.
In many an interview, Vijay Amritraj - and bothers, Anand and Ashok have made it abundantly clear that the credit for all of their achievements are due, in no small measure, to the steely resolve of one woman – mother Margaret (Maggie) Amritraj.
In his autobiography, India's former Davis Cup captain writes,
"Good health was not one of the things I was blessed with as a child, but I had something that was more important - good, strong parents. Without them I'd never have made it."
"But what distant dreams they must have been for Mummy and Daddy as they followed the old dictum of 'nothing ventured, nothing gained' and dug into their pockets for the 2,400 rupees required to set Anand off on the long road under the eagle eye of the man who would play such an important part in our development, coach Rama Rao."
While Ramesh had the support of his father, Ramanathan Krishnan (who was India's first tennis icon), for the Amritraj's, attempting to make it big in the world of tennis, was in many ways equivalent to taking a shot in the dark, as Vijay explains in his book.
"Forgive me if I return to a point made earlier but, looking back now on what all three of us have achieved, I still find it quite extraordinary that one woman, one mother out of all the millions of mothers in India and all the thousands of millions of family units in the world, should have had this driving, obsessive determination to turn all three of her sons into tennis champions."
"One woman from Madras? Why Madras? How many families with all the right connections, facilities and geographical advantages try - and fail - to get one son or daughter through the gates of the All England Club with a competitor's pass tied to their lapel?"
"What kind of absurd vision did it take for one woman to believe that she could-do it with three? I suppose you have to know ray mother to have some idea of the answers to these questions and even then knowing her as well as I do, I am not sure I can fully explain it."
Maggie Amritraj did more to promote Indian tennis than just assist her sons to become world-class players - the Britannia Amritraj Tennis Academy, which she helped set up, also shaped the careers of Leander Paes and Somdev Devvarman before closing down in 2003.
In a country, where most parents are still apprehensive about allowing their children to pursue sporting careers, the vision and untiring efforts of Maggie Amritraj will always shine like a beacon of hope to pave the way for more mothers to follow suit - and live their children's dreams.