With that famous surname, one expects that Prakash Amritraj would most obviously believe in that ‘like father, like son’ adage. But it comes as a pleasant surprise when India’s newest tennis star informs about his intentions of being the ‘‘modern version’’ of his father Vijay, who was India’s best bet on court in the 80s.With his more than six-feet frame and a barrel-like chest, Prakash with his big serve and fierce ground strokes is a perfect example of the in-vogue power tennis. The ‘touch play’ which went out of fashions decades back is something which indulges Prakash when he is not on court. “I watch a lot of my father’s matches. The artistry and craftsmanship of players like Borg, Connors and McEnroe is something which I try to learn,’’ he says. According to him ‘‘the right mix of touch and power tennis’’ is what he is in search of.In times of powerful baseliners, Prakash, like his father, is a rare ‘serve and vollier’. And for this style of play he has to give immense importance to his fitness. Early in his career Vijay had addressed the issue. ‘‘My father insisted that I spent hours at gym and this was followed by roughly four hours on the court,’’ he says.And those hours spent pumping weights and toiling on court are paying dividends as Prakash has had great start to his pro career. After winning the last leg of the Satellite tournament at Chandigarh and losing in the semi-final at Mumbai before that, Prakash in now ready for the two weeks of competition in the Capital.But despite being in the initial phase of his pro-career, Prakash has seen big-time tennis. Last year after winning the national US boys title he won a wildcard for the US Open. It was rather unfortunate that he drew the best Asian in the business, Paradon Srichapan, and lost the first round match in three straight sets.“If I would have drawn some one else may be the story could have been different but that was not to be. Paradon came into the tournament with a title under his belt and also with a 15-match winning streak so it became too tough for me. “But what pleases me more is the fact that both my dad and myself played at the US Open as 18-year-olds. I also cherished the fact that my father was in the commentators box commenting on my match.” Prakash also nurtures a dream of winning the Davis Cup for India, if and when he gets to play, apart from winning the Wimbledon. ‘‘It’s only now that they have started writing India against my name but earlier when they wrote USA I used to have an weird feeling.’’
