Vijay Amritraj wears many hats. While his deeds on court qualify him as a commentator on Indian tennis, the Chennai native slips through various roles as if he were changing costumes -- one time the owner of a media firm in the US, at other times the UN Ambassador for Peace.
And then, he is also the founding member of a leading chain of hotels besides being a director on the board of an airlines company.
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"Well, I told (son) Prakash that I am doing two jobs for him, that of the father and the coach. And that he has to choose between the two. The one thing that I can't give up he knows," he put it in his inimitable style when asked about the double duty he does for his 22-year-old son.
The scene is Jai Club, venue for India's Davis Cup tie against Uzbekistan, and the conversation turns to the topic of the day: Leander Paes nominating himself ahead of Harsh Mankad to play the singles.
"It's his call. Leander (Paes) has always done the right thing. Obviously, he felt Harsh was the best choice against China and felt himself the right person to do the job against the Uzbeks. Leander has looked at India's chances, rather than his own or any other player's," he said.
But Paes' decision, to push himself to play probably three matches at the age of 32, also denotes to a lack of grass court players in India. Except for Prakash Amritraj, most contemporaries are baseliners, preferring to stand back instead of attacking the net.
So, how long will India enjoy the grass advantage?
"Yes, it remains to be seen. We urgently need to develop grass court players," Amritraj says.
But then there are no grass court tournaments in India.
"At the end of the day, we need players who can do well on the international stage. We have Prakash, Harsh and Karan Rastogi doing well at the moment, and a couple of juniors also coming up."
In a country mad about cricket, the masses have not been able to recognise the efforts of reaching a semi-final of a $25,000 or a $50,000 event, which Mankad and Amritraj have done more than once in recent times.
With the media too thriving on hype, men's tennis lacks a spark that happened for women's tennis through Sania Mirza.
"Well, it has to come from the players. Eventually it boils down to the final result, the players need to get better."
Has the split between Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi, who were once number one in doubles and won three Grand Slams together had an adverse affect?
Could little things like an Olympic medal have made a difference?
"Success is always a nice thing, no matter in what form they come or where they come."
