When The Championships was called off a couple of days ago due to the coronavirus pandemic, many former stars expressed disappointment. Ramanathan Krishnan, the man who made the world look up at India with his exploits at the prestigious event in the sixties, shared his views too.
“My immediate feeling about the cancellation was one of joy and sorrow,” he told The Hindu from Chennai.
Also read: COVID-19 | Wimbledon cancelled for the first time since WWII
“It’s sort of joy to me as it’s going to save the players, the spectators and the others involved, from this virus threat. At the same time, it’s one of sorrow as the players may have to miss the event for a year,” he added.
Huge loss
Krishnan, a two-time semifinalist (1960 & ’61) and who reached a world-ranking as high as No. 6, said that in a tennis player’s career, losing one year of Wimbledon is a huge loss.
“It’s so precious not only for the international stars but also for the Indian players. I feel sad for them because we do not know whether they would carry the same form or confidence next year.”
But he was quick to add that one must not take a chance with corona. “Good luck to the players,” he signed off.
Plenty on our mind
His son, Ramesh Krishnan, who had reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals (1986), said these were quite extraordinary times. “Sorry this has to happen and, in the present scenario, we have plenty on our mind. Also, things are so uncertain that playing the sport in not a priority at the moment,” said Ramesh.
The Wimbledon and French Open junior title-winner in 1979, Ramesh said it’s going to be tough for all players.
“The main thing is to remain fit so that when things return to normalcy you can get going. For the older players such as Federer and Serena Williams, it’s a year lost, which is a lot for them.”
Ramesh, a regular visitor to Wimbledon, said, “I was looking forward to my travel this year, but that will have to wait for another year.”
Watch: Ramanathan Krishnan Reminisces
