Amritraj's son demolishes national champ

Chandigarh: He's only 19 years old, he's making big strides in professional tennis and he sports a famous surname a€" Prakash Amritraj may just be the next big hope of Indian tennis. The son of Indian Davis Cup legend Vijay Amritraj, Prakash was famous even before he played his first match. Prakash demolished national hard courts champion Vinod Sridhar with a 7-5, 6-2 victory in the quarterfinals of the ITF men's Satellite Tennis circuit. The power and precision with which he hits the ball is promising and his advance on the national firmament has been rapid. But the last time he played in a Challenger event two months ago, he was a bit unconvincing, making frequent errors at the net. He gave the impression of carrying the cross of being a legend's son. But he bounced back with a vengeance this week as he served strong and backed it with good sense of timing in approaching the net. Brought up in Los Angles, Prakash is an American citizen. But he says he's ready to play for India when as and when he is allowed to by the ATP. His father is his mentor and guide, and though he was not present to see him play, the 19 year old had the luxury of uncle Anand Amritraj's unstinting support. Ranked 586 on the ATP rankings, Prakash has done well till now a€" but matching up to dad's achievements might take a while longer. (With wire inputs)

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