Depicting dead grass and India’s glorious history of tennis | Tennis news

It used to be called grass field. And the sport stayed true to its name, Jaidip Mukerjea says matter-of-factly. Now it’s just tennis. Except for these couple of weeks, when the iconic lawns of the All England Club come alive and rekindle the allure of grass. Except for a small six-week window on elite-level tours, when a sprinkling of tournaments on the surface quenches the thirst to practice the perishable art, for its artists and admirers.

Otherwise, it’s just tennis. Especially in India, where grass court tennis, which permeated history and was abundant, has completely disappeared. The Davis Cup tie between India and Denmark last year at the Delhi Gymkhana Club grass courts was a breath of fresh air in the barren landscape of playing and watching on grass in the country.

Which in past decades resembled a buzzing nest. The grass had been greener in Indian tennis a century ago, as soon as the All India Lawn Tennis Association was formed (it is now just the All India Tennis Association). The country hosts two separate national championships, one exclusively on grass, first held in 1946 at the famous South Club in Kolkata (then Calcutta). The world’s top tennis stars, richer in foreign taste, spent their winter on Indian grass courts.

Its champions were much celebrated: from Sumant Misra and Ramanathan Krishnan to two-time Wimbledon champion Roy Emerson of Australia and Romanian former world number one Ilie Nastase, Premjit Lal, Vijay Amritraj, Ramesh Krishnan and Mukerjea.

They all took their skills to different cities in the country, which host not only the prestigious Asian championships, but also a well-trimmed domestic grass track.

At that time, there were only grass or clay courts, no synthetic courts, says Mukerjea, who reached the top 16 four times at Wimbledon. We grew up playing in the grass a lot. Most of our tournaments were on grass. Most of our great wins came on grass. The Nurmirata started in November and traveled to places like Amritsar, Delhi, Lucknow, Kolkata, Allahabad and Jaipur. We then switched to clay or hard courts.

Kolkatas South Club would be a special treat in that elaborate grass spread. As Sujoy Ghosh, CEO of the Tennis Association of Bengal mentions, there were 12 natural green courts adjacent to Wimbledon at that time, so getting catering and volleyball treats on the hallowed turf was a good appetite for the country’s tennis fans.

People used to hang their towels in the courtyard as a sign of reservation, Ghosh recalls. As a kid, I still remember the score when Roy Emerson beat Ramanathan twice in the South Club final. We would watch these players play on grass with respect. Even stepping onto the field was a big deal for us.

A big deal was also the results of the Indian players on the surface, individually and collectively. Apart from the Krishnans and Amritraj making deep runs at Wimbledon, some of Indian tennis’s red-letter victories in the Davis Cup came on grass: from the legendary 1966 inter-zone final twist against Brazil at the South Club to the iconic draw against Pakistan in Mumbai. Cricket Club of India four decades later.

Ghosh said Leander Paes used the expertise of the South Club gardener for the much-anticipated Pakistan duel in his hometown, who not only converted the cricket stadium into a temporary tennis surface but also rotated the grass to suit the hosts’ taste. .

So me, our association secretary and the target stayed at the CCI for about three weeks to prepare the court, Ghosh recalls. Leander said to make it (the surface) slow so that Aisam ul-Haq Qureshis delivery from one side can be negated a bit. We rolled the surface accordingly, with a slight slope from left to right.

India leveled 3-2 with Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi weaving their magic on the grass and inspiring a generation with such victories. My first memories of watching tennis live on grass were the Davis Cup matches in Delhi… Watching Leander, Mahesh over the years and winning several Davis Cup matches for the country, says Yuki Bhambri, India’s former junior world number one.

Bhambri, 31, won the ATP doubles title on grass in Mallorca in the week before Wimbledon, where he lost to Saketh Mynen in the first round. There was no Indian in the Wimbledon singles draw this time, only one in the qualifiers. For current Indian players with little experience of training or competing on grass, that is hardly a surprise.

Most academies and clubs, especially in India, now have a lot more hard courts, says Bhambri. Not only for me, but for every player, it is difficult to adapt to grass. The courts at Wimbledon have also changed and are much slower, adding to the challenge.

From its double-digit peak, South Club now has six grass courts. From 2008 to date, India has hosted only five Davis Cup matches on grass, while all of the country’s ATP and ITF tournaments are held on hard or clay courts. The advent and popularity of all-weather hard courts combined with the high maintenance process and costs of seasonal grass courts showed a rapid decline.

It reflects a more global phenomenon in the changing game and gear. Grass court tennis was basically a serve and volley game that was good to watch. Now if you see, even at Wimbledon, they all hit from the back of the court. I’m not saying it’s bad, but the game has changed that much, says Mukerjea.

I miss lawn tennis, he adds. But as long as Wimbledon is there, it’s alive.

In India, barring the odd Davis Cup tie, it’s dead. We have to forget the grass courts in India,” says Ghosh. I only look forward to Wimbledon once a year.

And for the memories.