Tennis On A High

Only a few years back India had a few male tennis players who were hailed as Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi's worthy successors. Among such talents were Syed Fazluddin and Prahlad Srinath. But now they have faded into oblivion. One reason for that may be lack of state or corporate sponsorship, especially since professional tennis is an extremely costly affair. Perhaps the same would not be the case with the likes of Prakash Amritraj and Harsh Mankad. This is because, now tennis getting popular by the day with extensive media coverage and with Indians, Paes, Bhupathi and off-late, Sania Mirza, doing consistently well at the highest level, there is no dearth of sponsorship for those who have the tenacity to survive at the professional level. With Mahesh Bhupathi and Vijay Amritraj providing the professional managerial support, Indians should do well at the professional and international circuits. Apart from Sania, other Indian ladies like Rushmi Chakravarty and Shikha Uberoi, in particular, are also bright prospects for India in women's tennis. Sania Mirza is perhaps right in saying that an Indian revolution is on the cards in tennis.