# Vijay Amritraj

Vijay Amritraj (Hindi pronunciation:; born 14 December 1953) is an Indian sports commentator, actor and retired professional tennis player from Madras. He was awarded the Padma Shri, the government of India's fourth-highest civilian honour, in 1983. 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.

## Early life

Vijay was born in Madras, India to Maggie Dhairyam and Robert Amritraj. He has two 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 | Role |
| 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

Key :
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | P# | DNQ | A | Z# | PO | G | S | B | NMS | NTI | P | NH |
| 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 | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Win | 1–0 | Jun 1973 | Rothmans Chichester, England (ATP Challenger Tour) | Grass | Doug Crawford | 6-1, 7-6 |
| Win | 2–0 | Jul 1973 | Bretton Woods, U.S. | Clay | Jimmy Connors | 7–5, 2–6, 7–5 |
| Loss | 2–1 | Aug 1973 | South Orange, U.S. | Grass | Colin Dibley | 4–6, 7–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 3–1 | Oct 1973 | New Delhi, India | Grass | Mal Anderson | 6–4, 5–7, 8–9, 6–3, 11–9 |
| Loss | 3–2 | Mar 1974 | Tempe, U.S. | Hard | Jimmy Connors | 1–6, 2–6 |
| Win | 4–2 | Apr 1974 | Washington D.C., U.S. (ATP Challenger Tour) | Carpet (i) | Karl Meiler | 6–4, 6–3 |
| Win | 5–2 | Jun 1974 | Beckenham, England | Grass | Tom Gorman | 6–7, 6–2, 6–4 |
| Win | 6–2 | Aug 1975 | Columbus, U.S. | Hard | Bob Lutz | 6–4, 7–5 |
| Win | 7–2 | Nov 1975 | Calcutta, India | Clay | Manuel Orantes | 7–5, 6–3 |
| Win | 8–2 | Mar 1976 | Memphis, U.S. | Carpet (i) | Stan Smith | 6–2, 0–6, 6–0 |
| Win | 9–2 | Sep 1976 | Newport, U.S. | Grass | Brian Teacher | 6–3, 4–6, 6–3, 6–1 |
| Win | 10–2 | Jan 1977 | Auckland, New Zealand | Grass | Tim Wilkison | 7–6, 5–7, 6–1, 6–2 |
| Win | 11–2 | Nov 1977 | Bombay, India | Clay | Terry Moor | 7–6, 6–4 |
| Win | 12–2 | Sep 1978 | Mexico City, Mexico | Carpet (i) | Raúl Ramírez | 6–4, 6–4 |
| Loss | 12–3 | Oct 1978 | Cologne, West Germany | Hard (i) | Wojciech Fibak | 2–6, 1–0 ret. |
| Win | 13–3 | Nov 1979 | Bombay, India | Clay | Peter Elter | 6–1, 7–5 |
| Loss | 13–4 | Feb 1980 | WCT Invitational Salisbury, U.S. | Carpet (i) | Björn Borg | 5–7, 1–6, 3–6 |
| Loss | 13–5 | Mar 1980 | Milan, Italy | Carpet (i) | John McEnroe | 2–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 14–5 | Jul 1980 | Newport, U.S. | Grass | Andrew Pattison | 6–1, 5–7, 6–3 |
| Win | 15–5 | Nov 1980 | Bangkok, Thailand | Carpet (i) | Brian Teacher | 6–3, 7–5 |
| Loss | 15–6 | Dec 1980 | WCT Challenge Cup, Canada | Carpet (i) | John McEnroe | 1–6, 6–2, 1–6 |
| Loss | 15–7 | Mar 1981 | Salisbury WCT, U.S. | Carpet (i) | Bill Scanlon | 6-3, 2-2, 4-6, 6-3, 4-6 |
| Loss | 15–8 | Aug 1983 | Stowe, U.S. | Hard | John Fitzgerald | 6–3, 2–6, 5–7 |
| Win | 16–8 | May 1984 | Spring, Texas, U.S. (ATP Challenger Tour) | Hard (i) | Leif Shiras | 7–5, 4–6 7–6 |
| Win | 17–8 | Jul 1984 | Newport, U.S. | Grass | Tim Mayotte | 3–6, 6–4, 6–4 |
| Win | 18–8 | Jun 1986 | Bristol, England | Grass | Henri Leconte | 7–6, 1–6, 8–6 |
| Win | 19–8 | Aug 1988 | New Haven, U.S. (ATP Challenger Tour) | Hard | Zeeshan Ali | 6–3, 6–1 |

### Doubles: 29 (14–15)

| Result | W/L | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Loss | 0–1 | Oct 1973 | New Delhi, India | | Anand Amritraj | Jim McManus Raúl Ramírez | 2–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 1–1 | Nov 1974 | Bombay, India | Clay | Anand Amritraj | Dick Crealy Onny Parun | 6–4, 7–6 |
| Loss | 1–2 | Aug 1974 | South Orange, U.S. | Hard | Anand Amritraj | Brian Gottfried Raúl Ramírez | 6–7, 7–6, 6–7 |
| Win | 2–2 | Aug 1974 | Columbus, U.S. | Hard | Anand Amritraj | Tom Gorman Bob Lutz | walkover |
| Loss | 2–3 | Feb 1975 | Toronto, Canada | Carpet (i) | Anand Amritraj | Dick Stockton Erik van Dillen | 4–6, 5–7, 1–6 |
| Loss | 2–4 | Mar 1975 | Washington D.C., U.S. | Carpet (i) | Anand Amritraj | Mike Estep Jeff Simpson | 6–7$^5$, 3–6 |
| Win | 3–4 | Mar 1975 | Atlanta, U.S. | Carpet (i) | Anand Amritraj | Mark Cox Cliff Drysdale | 6–3, 6–2 |
| Loss | 3–5 | Aug 1975 | Louisville, U.S. | Clay | Anand Amritraj | Wojciech Fibak Guillermo Vilas | (not played) |
| Win | 4–5 | Sep 1975 | Los Angeles, U.S. | Hard | Anand Amritraj | Cliff Drysdale Marty Riessen | 7–6, 4–6, 6–4 |
| Loss | 4–6 | Nov 1975 | Calcutta, India | Clay | Anand Amritraj | Juan Gisbert Manuel Orantes | 6–1, 4–6, 3–6 |
| Win | 5–6 | Mar 1976 | Memphis, U.S. | Carpet (i) | Anand Amritraj | Roscoe Tanner Marty Riessen | 6–3, 6–4 |
| Loss | 5–7 | Mar 1977 | St. Louis, U.S. | Carpet (i) | Dick Stockton | Ilie Năstase Adriano Panatta | 4–6, 6–3, 6–7$^6$ |
| Loss | 5–8 | Mar 1977 | Rotterdam, Netherlands | Carpet (i) | Dick Stockton | Wojciech Fibak Tom Okker | 4–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 6–8 | May 1977 | Masters Doubles WCT, U.S. | Carpet (i) | Dick Stockton | Vitas Gerulaitis Adriano Panatta | 7–6, 7–6, 4–6, 6–3 |
| Win | 7–8 | Jun 1977 | London, England | Grass | Anand Amritraj | David Lloyd John Lloyd | 6–1, 6–2 |
| Win | 8–8 | Sep 1978 | Mexico City, Mexico | Carpet (i) | Anand Amritraj | Fred McNair Raúl Ramírez | 6–4, 7–5 |
| Loss | 8–9 | Apr 1979 | Cairo, Egypt | Clay | Anand Amritraj | Peter McNamara Paul McNamee | 5–7, 4–6 |
| Loss | 8–10 | Jul 1979 | Louisville, U.S. | Hard | Raúl Ramírez | Marty Riessen Sherwood Stewart | 2–6, 6–1, 1–6 |
| Loss | 8–11 | Oct 1979 | Sydney, Australia | Hard | Pat DuPré | Rod Frawley Francisco González | walkover |
| Win | 9–11 | Mar 1980 | Rotterdam, Netherlands | Carpet (i) | Stan Smith | Bill Scanlon Brian Teacher | 6–4, 6–3 |
| Win | 10–11 | Mar 1980 | Frankfurt, West Germany | Carpet (i) | Stan Smith | Andrew Pattison Butch Walts | 6–7, 6–2, 6–2 |
| Loss | 10–12 | Aug 1981 | Columbus, U.S. | Hard | Anand Amritraj | Bruce Manson Brian Teacher | 1–6, 1–6 |
| Loss | 10–13 | Nov 1982 | Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. | Carpet (i) | Fred Stolle | Anand Amritraj Tony Giammalva | 5–7, 2–6 |
| Win | 11–13 | Nov 1982 | Chicago, U.S. | Carpet (i) | Anand Amritraj | Mike Cahill Bruce Manson | 3–6, 6–3, 6–3 |
| Win | 12–13 | Feb 1983 | Kuwait City, Kuwait (ATP Challenger Tour) | Hard | Ilie Năstase | Broderick Dyke Rod Frawley | 6–3, 3–6, 6–2 |
| Win | 13–13 | Jul 1983 | Newport, U.S. | Grass | John Fitzgerald | Tim Gullikson Tom Gullikson | 6–3, 6–4 |
| Loss | 13–14 | Aug 1983 | Columbus, U.S. | Hard | John Fitzgerald | Scott Davis Brian Teacher | 1–6, 6–4, 6–7 |
| Loss | 13–15 | Oct 1984 | Stockholm, Sweden | Hard (i) | Ilie Năstase | Henri Leconte Tomáš Šmíd | 6–3, 6–7, 4–6 |
| Win | 14–15 | Jul 1986 | Newport, U.S. | Grass | Tim Wilkison | Eddie Edwards Francisco González | 4–6, 7–5, 7–6 |