“CELEBRATING 25 YEARS OF INDIAN TENNIS” Sania Mirza at DSCL Open Nationals in 1999 FOREWORD SANIA MIRZA It was many years ago, when I played the tournament. It was the most important tournament of the season. I was very young, and played all the events. One thing I remember very well was winning the doubles National title with Ankita Bhambri. We beat Rushmi Chakravarthi and Sai Jayalakshmy who were the undisputed best team at that time. We were only 14 or 15. It was an amazing memory for me. It used to be the DSCL National championship. It was always more of a spectacle. Literally, thousands of players used to come for the tournament. It was one tournament nobody wanted to miss. It was like a festival. Always used to be held over two weeks. The beauty of the tournament was that all age groups used to be held together. It was one of the best at that time, played on good courts. We could meet all the players from all over the country. All the people associated with tennis assembled. It was very prestigious. It served as a stepping stone to one’s career. If you won the national title, you got selected for the Davis Cup. Sunil Kumar winning it when he was 16 was unforgettable. I hope they make the National championship count the way it used to be in those days. I remember winning the mixed doubles with Rohan Bopanna. I was 14 at that time, if I remember right. He was also emerging as a good player. It was the first mixed doubles that I had played. When you see the old photos, of course a lot of memories come gushing. DSCL was so much part of every player’s life. One of the favourite from the players point of view. It used to be very competitive. There used to be another national championship in Kolkata, on grass. I think there was a lot of importance attached to the national championship when we were growing up. I am talking about 20 years ago. I am 33 now! It was the most important event for the players. I hope they do something to bring back the importance for the national championship again. It helped everyone gauge how good you were as a player. Of course, a lot of factors have seen the National championship losing its importance. I am glad that the suggestion for equal prize money for women was so quickly implemented when I attended the presentation function some years ago. It was the right thing to do. I think the tournament deserves a little more publicity. When we used to play, the whole country knew about it. MESSAGE FROM VICE PRESIDENT MESSAGE FROM THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR MESSAGE FROM CHIEF MINISTER MESSAGE FROM THE SPORTS MINISTER MESSAGE FROM MR ANIL KHANNA ALL INDIA TENNIS ASSOCIATION S. M. KRISHNA YASHWANT SINHA ANIL K. KHANNA H O N. L I F E P R E S I D E N T S PRAVEEN MAHAJAN HIRONMOY CHATTERJEE PRESIDENT HON. SECRETARY GENERAL SUMAN KAPUR ANIL DHUPAR HON. JOINT SECRETARY HON. JOINT SECRETARY RAKTIM SAIKIA HON. TREASURER MESSAGE It is heartening to welcome the 25th edition of the Fenesta Open National Tennis Championship commencing from 30 September to 12 October 2019 at the DLTA Complex. The event brings back very fond memories from its inception and has gone on to evolve as a bigger and better championship over the years. I convey my heartiest compliments and good wishes to the entire team of DLTA along with the team of Fenesta & DCM Shriram for their commitment, hard work and endeavor towards tennis development in India. Special mention goes to my dear friend Mr. Ajay Sriram , for his vision and commencement of this illustrious tennis journey of the Fenesta Open National Tennis Championships. This event is much awaited and welcomed annually by the entire tennis fraternity of our country. It is the largest championship on the domestic circuit, spread across age categories of Men, Women, U-18, U-16, & U-14 Boys & Girls. I am sure the event will create an atmosphere of healthy competition for the players and will provide a healthy tennis feast to the sports fraternity in Delhi & India. I once again convey my best wishes to the organizers and good luck to all the participates for having a memorable and successful championship in 2019. Best regards, ANIL K. KHANNA HON.LIFE PRESIDENT R .K. Khanna Tennis Stadium, Africa Avenue, New Delhi – 110 029, India Off: + 91-11- 2617 6280-81, 26176283-85, Fax: 91 – 11 – 26173159 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.aitatennis.com MESSAGE FROM MR AJAY S SHRIRAM CHAMPIONS IN THE MAKING 1992 The Beginning of the Tennis Championship was in 1992 at DLTA Stadium under the aegis of All India Tennis Association and was called ‘SHRIRAM OPEN’ as it had open entries. This was the Delhi State Open Championship and led to the beginning of the ‘Nationals’ in 1993. 2 Dr. Bharat Ram, Chairman Emeritus, DCM Ltd. giving trophy to S. Narendra Nath (Runners-Up), Mens Singles, Shriram Open 1992 Shalini Thakur during the final set of the Womens Singles Match, Shriram Open 1992. Source : DCM Shriram Archives 3 1993 Syed Fazaluddin and Sahiba Chadha emerge the champions YED FAZALUDDIN HAD BEEN making the waves, but it was the Shriram Open that helped him establish his tennis career. The elder son of Dronacharya awardee football coach Syed Naeemuddin had failed to draw the attention of Ramanathan Krishnan and Sumant Mishra during the trials to select trainees for the AITA Academy in the Capital. He had lost to Lavnish Chatrath in the national junior championship final on grass in Lucknow. S It was a remarkable performance by the energetic Fazal as he came through the qualifying rounds and beat a strong field that had quality players like K. G. Ramesh, S. Narendra Nath, Anand Sukumar, Manoj Kumar and Nitin Kirtane apart from several talented youngsters. A stint with coach Akhtar Ali had helped Fazal sharpen his game after he had been kept out of the fray in the Limca junior tournament because of examinations. He had to overcome a back injury that had stopped him from picking up a tennis racquet for two months earlier. In beating Vasudeva Reddy, a trainee of the AITA Academy, 6-0 in the second and final set, Fazal emphasised his immense potential. It was not a surprise that in later years, he went on to represent the country in Davis Cup. In a thriller of a final, Fazal held his nerves when it mattered to emerge a worthy winner. Sahiba Chadha, the only girl to have had training at the BAT Centre in Chennai, a stable that had tuned players like Leander Paes, Asif Ismail, 4 Intikhab Ali, Y Sandeep, Vishal Uppal, Jahnvi Parekh and Uzma Khan Winners of Shriram Open Junior Nationals 1993 Gaurav Natekar and Rohit Rajpal, played hard doubles titles. enough to win the women’s title. She, however, Vishaal Uppal won the under-18 title with a could not match Jahnavi Parekh in the under-18 quality fare. He had his chances against Manoj girls final. In fact, the women’s and junior fields Kumar in the men’s event, but was unable to were almost similar. drive home the advantage in the climax. He Rushmi Chakravarthi and Sai Jayalakshmy did mature into a quality player, and went on won the women’s doubles title. In the years to represent the country in Davis Cup and had ahead, they were to make a strong bond that a memorable pairing with Leander Paes in the would see them win numerous international doubles rubber against the Koreans in Delhi a 5 VISHAAL UPPAL I always looked forward to playing the Fenesta/Shriram nationals. I have had some amazing memories from this event over the years both in triumph, in defeat and injuries. The organising team has always been friendly and welcoming to all players. I have made many good friendships over the years through this event. The event is always run professionally and the whole team works tirelessly and exhaustively to make it a Mr. Anil K. Khanna presenting trophy to Sahiba Chadha (Winner) Womens Singles, Shriram Open 1993 success each year. Can’t thank Mr. Ajay Shriram and the entire team at his organisation enough for their continued support and encouragement of tennis through this event. I wish everyone associated with this event the very best always. I hope this event keeps growing in stature with each passing year. Winning the Fenesta Nationals was always a highlight while growing up. It is the most prestigious national event and winning it really meant a lot. When I was playing then, almost every top player played it so the competition was tough, which made it that much more special and meaningful. Mr Ajay S. Shriram presenting trophy to Syed Fazaluddin, Mens Singles (Winner) I think every player in India Shriram Open 1993 should aspire to win this coveted title and have it in their resume whether as a junior or a senior. 6 few years later. Sandeep, Ajay Ramaswami, Shriranga Sudhakar Intikhab Ali was able to master the under-16 and Jay Patel delighted with their game in the boys field, while the Chennai left-hander Aparna under-14 section to project a bright future. Ravi was impressive in beating local girl Swati Sandeep had the strength of concentration to Rao in three sets in the final. Aparna was to reach outplay Ajay Ramaswami in the final. The trainee the women’s singles semifinals the following of AITA Academy indeed made his coach T.