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Vijay Amritraj

Indian sports commentator, actor, and tennis player

Field	Value
image	The former Tennis player, Shri Vijay Amritraj calling on the Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports (IC), Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Shri Vijay Goel, in New Delhi on April 11, 2017 (cropped).jpg
caption	Amritraj in 2017
name	Vijay Amritraj
country
birth_date
birth_place	Madras, Madras State, India
residence	Southern California, U.S.
height
turnedpro	1970
retired	1993
plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
careerprizemoney	$1,331,913
singlesrecord	399–308
singlestitles	15
highestsinglesranking	No. 18 (7 July 1980)
AustralianOpenresult	2R (1984)
FrenchOpenresult	3R (1974)
Wimbledonresult	QF (1973, 1981)
USOpenresult	QF (1973, 1974)
Othertournaments	yes
WCTFinalsresult	SF (1982)
doublesrecord	264–218
doublestitles	14
highestdoublesranking	No. 23 (24 March 1980)
WimbledonDoublesresult	SF (1976)
USOpenDoublesresult	QF (1973, 1976)
Team	yes
DavisCupresult	F (1974, 1987)

Vijay Amritraj (; born 14 December 1953) is an Indian retired professional tennis player, sports commentator and actor from Madras. He was awarded the Padma Shri (India's fourth-highest civilian honour), in 1983, and the Padma Bhushan (India's third-highest civilian honour) in 2026. In 2022, he was honored for his contributions to tennis in London by the International Tennis Hall of Fame and International Tennis Federation. On July 20, 2024 he was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island.[[File:Anand and Vijay Amritraj 2000 Wimbledon Sr Invitation Doubles Finals.jpg|thumb|300px|Vijay Amritraj partnering brother [[Anand Amritraj|Anand]] at the [[2000 Wimbledon Championships]]]]

Early life

Vijay was born in Madras, India to a Tamil Christian Nadar family consisting of parents Maggie Dhairyam and Robert Amritraj,and brothers Anand Amritraj and Ashok Amritraj, who were also international tennis players.

Career

After playing his first Grand Prix event in 1970, Amritraj achieved his first success in singles in 1973 when he reached the quarterfinals at two Grand Slam events. At Wimbledon, he lost in five sets to the eventual champion Jan Kodeš and later that summer at the US Open, lost to Ken Rosewall after having beaten Rod Laver two rounds earlier.

Amritraj beat Björn Borg in the second round in the US Open in 1974, losing to Rosewall in quarterfinals. In 1979, he lost in the second round of Wimbledon to defending champion Borg after being up two sets to one and leading 4–1 in the fourth set. He reached his career-high ranking in singles of world No. 16 in July 1980. In 1981, he reached the quarterfinals of Wimbledon before losing in five sets to Jimmy Connors. He beat John McEnroe in the first round of Cincinnati Masters in 1984. Overall, he had five career wins over Jimmy Connors in their eleven matches.

Amritraj was part of the India Davis Cup team that reached the finals in 1974 and 1987. Amritraj had a career singles win–loss record 405–312, winning 15 singles and 13 doubles titles.

Acting career

Amritraj has also pursued an acting career. His best known role is probably as the MI6 intelligence operative Vijay in the 1983 James Bond film Octopussy. He also appeared briefly in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) as starship captain Joel Randolph.

He was also a regular character in the NBC TV series The Last Precinct and the Yakov Smirnoff comedy What a Country!, as well as a guest star on various television shows such as Hart to Hart. He has since gone on to become a sports commentator, has been a judge at the Miss Universe pageant, and has developed a multimedia business. Amritraj also hosts a talk show named Dimensions with Vijay Amritraj broadcast on CNN-IBN.

Personal life

Amritraj lives in Southern California with his wife Shymala and sons Prakash Amritraj and Vikram.

Prakash and his paternal cousin Stephen Amritraj are also professional tennis players.

On 9 February 2001, Vijay was appointed a United Nations Messenger of Peace. He has been raising awareness on the issues of drugs and HIV/AIDS and has raised funds to fight the spread of AIDS worldwide.

He founded The Vijay Amritraj Foundation in 2006.

Filmography

Film	Year	Title
1983	Octopussy	Vijay
1985	Nine Deaths of the Ninja	Rankin
1986	Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home	Starship Captain Joel Randolph
2015	Of God and Kings	Duke Bora Swain

Career statistics

Singles performance timeline

Tournament	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	SR
Australian Open	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	1R	2R	A	A	A	A	A	A	0 / 2
French Open	A	A	3R	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	0 / 1
Wimbledon	2R	QF	2R	2R	2R	2R	2R	2R	1R	QF	3R	1R	1R	4R	1R	2R	A	A	1R	0 / 17
US Open	1R	QF	QF	2R	1R	1R	1R	2R	3R	3R	A	A	2R	1R	A	A	A	A	A	0 / 12

Career finals

Singles: 27 (19–8)

Legend
Grand Slam (0)
ATP Masters Series (0)
ATP Tour (15)

Result	W/L	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1–0	Rothmans Chichester, England (ATP Challenger Tour)	Grass	USA Doug Crawford	6-1, 7-6
Win	2–0	Volvo International Bretton Woods, U.S.	Clay	USA Jimmy Connors	7–5, 2–6, 7–5
Loss	2–1	South Orange, U.S.	Grass	AUS Colin Dibley	4–6, 7–6, 4–6
Win	3–1	New Delhi, India	Grass	AUS Mal Anderson	6–4, 5–7, 8–9, 6–3, 11–9
Loss	3–2	Tempe, U.S.	Hard	USA Jimmy Connors	1–6, 2–6
Win	4–2	Washington D.C., U.S. (ATP Challenger Tour)	Carpet (i)	FRG Karl Meiler	6–4, 6–3
Win	5–2	Beckenham, England	Grass	USA Tom Gorman	6–7, 6–2, 6–4
Win	6–2	Columbus, U.S.	Hard	USA Bob Lutz	6–4, 7–5
Win	7–2	Calcutta, India	Clay	ESP Manuel Orantes	7–5, 6–3
Win	8–2	Memphis, U.S.	Carpet (i)	USA Stan Smith	6–2, 0–6, 6–0
Win	9–2	Newport, U.S.	Grass	USA Brian Teacher	6–3, 4–6, 6–3, 6–1
Win	10–2	Auckland, New Zealand	Grass	USA Tim Wilkison	7–6, 5–7, 6–1, 6–2
Win	11–2	Bombay, India	Clay	USA Terry Moor	7–6, 6–4
Win	12–2	Mexico City, Mexico	Carpet (i)	MEX Raúl Ramírez	6–4, 6–4
Loss	12–3	Cologne, West Germany	Hard (i)	POL Wojciech Fibak	2–6, 1–0 ret.
Win	13–3	Bombay, India	Clay	FRG Peter Elter	6–1, 7–5
Loss	13–4	WCT Invitational Salisbury, U.S.	Carpet (i)	SWE Björn Borg	5–7, 1–6, 3–6
Loss	13–5	Milan, Italy	Carpet (i)	USA John McEnroe	2–6, 4–6
Win	14–5	Newport, U.S.	Grass	ZIM Andrew Pattison	6–1, 5–7, 6–3
Win	15–5	Bangkok, Thailand	Carpet (i)	USA Brian Teacher	6–3, 7–5
Loss	15–6	WCT Challenge Cup, Canada	Carpet (i)	USA John McEnroe	1–6, 6–2, 1–6
Loss	15–7	Salisbury WCT, U.S.	Carpet (i)	USA Bill Scanlon	6-3, 2-2, 4-6, 6-3, 4-6
Loss	15–8	Stowe, U.S.	Hard	AUS John Fitzgerald	6–3, 2–6, 5–7
Win	16–8	Spring, Texas, U.S. (ATP Challenger Tour)	Hard (i)	USA Leif Shiras	7–5, 4–6 7–6
Win	17–8	Newport, U.S.	Grass	USA Tim Mayotte	3–6, 6–4, 6–4
Win	18–8	Bristol, England	Grass	FRA Henri Leconte	7–6, 1–6, 8–6
Win	19–8	New Haven, U.S. (ATP Challenger Tour)	Hard	IND Zeeshan Ali	6–3, 6–1

Doubles: 29 (14–15)

Result	W/L	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents
Loss	0–1		New Delhi, India		IND Anand Amritraj	USA Jim McManus
MEX Raúl Ramírez	2–6, 4–6
Win	1–1		Bombay, India	Clay	IND Anand Amritraj	AUS Dick Crealy
NZL Onny Parun	6–4, 7–6
Loss	1–2		South Orange, U.S.	Hard	IND Anand Amritraj	USA Brian Gottfried
MEX Raúl Ramírez	6–7, 7–6, 6–7
Win	2–2		Columbus, U.S.	Hard	IND Anand Amritraj	USA Tom Gorman
USA Bob Lutz	walkover
Loss	2–3		Toronto, Canada	Carpet (i)	IND Anand Amritraj	USA Dick Stockton
USA Erik van Dillen	4–6, 5–7, 1–6
Loss	2–4		Washington D.C., U.S.	Carpet (i)	IND Anand Amritraj	USA Mike Estep
NZL Jeff Simpson	6–75, 3–6
Win	3–4		Atlanta, U.S.	Carpet (i)	IND Anand Amritraj	GBR Mark Cox
RSA Cliff Drysdale	6–3, 6–2
Loss	3–5		Louisville, U.S.	Clay	IND Anand Amritraj	POL Wojciech Fibak
ARG Guillermo Vilas	(not played)
Win	4–5		Los Angeles, U.S.	Hard	IND Anand Amritraj	RSA Cliff Drysdale
USA Marty Riessen	7–6, 4–6, 6–4
Loss	4–6		Calcutta, India	Clay	IND Anand Amritraj	ESP Juan Gisbert
ESP Manuel Orantes	6–1, 4–6, 3–6
Win	5–6		Memphis, U.S.	Carpet (i)	IND Anand Amritraj	USA Roscoe Tanner
USA Marty Riessen	6–3, 6–4
Loss	5–7		St. Louis, U.S.	Carpet (i)	USA Dick Stockton	ROM Ilie Năstase
ITA Adriano Panatta	4–6, 6–3, 6–76
Loss	5–8		Rotterdam, Netherlands	Carpet (i)	USA Dick Stockton	POL Wojciech Fibak
NED Tom Okker	4–6, 4–6
Win	6–8		Masters Doubles WCT, U.S.	Carpet (i)	USA Dick Stockton	USA Vitas Gerulaitis
ITA Adriano Panatta	7–6, 7–6, 4–6, 6–3
Win	7–8		London, England	Grass	IND Anand Amritraj	GBR David Lloyd
GBR John Lloyd	6–1, 6–2
Win	8–8		Mexico City, Mexico	Carpet (i)	IND Anand Amritraj	USA Fred McNair
MEX Raúl Ramírez	6–4, 7–5
Loss	8–9		Cairo, Egypt	Clay	IND Anand Amritraj	AUS Peter McNamara
AUS Paul McNamee	5–7, 4–6
Loss	8–10		Louisville, U.S.	Hard	MEX Raúl Ramírez	USA Marty Riessen
USA Sherwood Stewart	2–6, 6–1, 1–6
Loss	8–11		Sydney, Australia	Hard	USA Pat DuPré	AUS Rod Frawley
PAR Francisco González	walkover
Win	9–11		Rotterdam, Netherlands	Carpet (i)	USA Stan Smith	USA Bill Scanlon
USA Brian Teacher	6–4, 6–3
Win	10–11		Frankfurt, West Germany	Carpet (i)	USA Stan Smith	Southern Rhodesia Andrew Pattison
USA Butch Walts	6–7, 6–2, 6–2
Loss	10–12		Columbus, U.S.	Hard	IND Anand Amritraj	USA Bruce Manson
USA Brian Teacher	1–6, 1–6
Loss	10–13		Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.	Carpet (i)	AUS Fred Stolle	IND Anand Amritraj
USA Tony Giammalva	5–7, 2–6
Win	11–13		Chicago, U.S.	Carpet (i)	IND Anand Amritraj	USA Mike Cahill
USA Bruce Manson	3–6, 6–3, 6–3
Win	12–13		Kuwait City, Kuwait (ATP Challenger Tour)	Hard	ROM Ilie Năstase	AUS Broderick Dyke
AUS Rod Frawley	6–3, 3–6, 6–2
Win	13–13		Newport, U.S.	Grass	AUS John Fitzgerald	USA Tim Gullikson
USA Tom Gullikson	6–3, 6–4
Loss	13–14		Columbus, U.S.	Hard	AUS John Fitzgerald	USA Scott Davis
USA Brian Teacher	1–6, 6–4, 6–7
Loss	13–15		Stockholm, Sweden	Hard (i)	ROM Ilie Năstase	FRA Henri Leconte
TCH Tomáš Šmíd	6–3, 6–7, 4–6
Win	14–15	[](1986-hall-of-fame-tennis-championships)	Newport, U.S.	Grass	USA Tim Wilkison	RSA Eddie Edwards
PAR Francisco González	4–6, 7–5, 7–6

References

link. (5 February 2009 at the [[Association of Tennis Professionals]])
webarchive ATP Tour 2009
Andrew McNicol. (11 May 2018). "From James Bond cameo to biopic on his extraordinary life: tennis legend Vijay Amritraj to serve up another smash hit". South China Morning Post.
(17 September 2017). "Tennis legend Vijay Amritraj biopic in works". New Indian Express.
Dhananjay Roy. (28 February 2018). "Sports champions say a big thank you to Mahindra Scorpio TOISA". The Times of India.
Lisa Dillman. (2 August 1987). "TENNIS DIPLOMAT : Vijay Amritraj Helps Pave the Way for Israel's Davis Cup Team to Play in India Despite Terrorist Threats". Los Angeles Times.
(21 May 2014). "Padma Awards Directory (1954–2014)". Ministry of Home Affairs (India).
"Top Male Tennis Players of India through History". Times of India.
[https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/padma-award-winners-in-foreigner-nri-and-oci-categories/article70549835.ece]
(June 2022). "Vijay Amritraj honoured with Golden Achievement Award by ITF". The Hindu.
"International Tennis Hall of Fame".
(January 2012). "Pride of Chennai - A list of people that make Chennai proud". Itz Chennai.
(29 July 2004). "At home on every turf". The Hindu.
(21 April 2019). "Maggie Amritraj passes away at 92".
(21 April 2019). "Mother of Amritraj brothers, Maggie, dies at 92".
"Results Archive {{!}} ATP Tour {{!}} Tennis".
"Results {{!}} ATP Tour {{!}} Tennis".
"Results {{!}} ATP Tour {{!}} Tennis".
"Bjorn Borg VS Vijay Amritraj {{!}} Head 2 Head {{!}} ATP Tour {{!}} Tennis".
"Ken Rosewall VS Vijay Amritraj {{!}} Head 2 Head {{!}} ATP Tour {{!}} Tennis".
"Results {{!}} ATP Tour {{!}} Tennis".
"Results {{!}} ATP Tour {{!}} Tennis".
"Jimmy Connors VS Vijay Amritraj {{!}} Head 2 Head {{!}} H2H {{!}} ATP Tour {{!}} Tennis".
"Vijay Amritraj {{!}} FedEx ATP Win/Loss {{!}} ATP Tour {{!}} Tennis".
"MI6 allies".
"Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) - IMDb".
(2022-07-09). "Voice Of Wimbledon: Documentary On Indian Tennis Player & Actor Vijay Amritraj Is In The Works".
Lidz, Franz. (31 March 1986). "Tennis Player Vijay Amritraj Is as Fine on Film As He Is on the Court". Sports Illustrated.
"Honeymoon over for Amritraj". The Southeast Missourian.
(4 November 2012). "Amritrajs' Big-Fat Wedding in Colombo". Fashion Scandal.
"Messengers of Peace". Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.
"The Vijay Amritraj Foundation".
"Look to the Stars".

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