Even as the 2021 edition of Wimbledon enters its final phase this weekend, as the semi-final matches unfold and lead to the grand final, it is time to recall the Mylapore – Wimbledon connect of one of India’s best tennis players, Ramanathan Krishnan.
Ramanathan has set a record here – being the only Indian to have played in Wimbledon’s semi-final. And done it twice. In 1960 and in 1961.
In 1954, he became the first Asian player to win the boys’ singles title at Wimbledon.
Krishnan settled down on the southern edge of CIT Colony, where he also has a tennis court, his patch for daily walks in recent years ( he is now in his 80s). And he has had a warm connect with The Mylapore Club where he also played competitive tennis.
You can read a 2020 report that S. Prabhu filed on his meeting with Krishnan – https://www.mylaporetimes.com/2020/05/at-83-tennis-great-ramanathan-krishnan-still-walks-long-around-his-tennis-court/
- Photo courtesy; ESPN
