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General First nameJasjit
LastnameSingh (Singhramesh Krishnan)
GenderMale
CountryIndia
Date of birth1948-02-04
Place of birth, Scotland


About

Two events deserve to be recorded in golden letters in the pages of the Indian lawn tennis history, one was when India made it to the Challenge Round in 1974 included a Sikh player who had given a magnificent performance for his team. It was for the first time that a Sikh was donning India colours in lawn tennis. It is no secret in India that this game has always been monopolised by the south, for the obvious reason that better facilities and the necessary infrastructure for the game exist only in that part of the country, as still it does.

On the national scene were such names as Vijay Amritraj, Anand Amritraj, Premjit Lal, Jaideep Mukherjee and Shashi Menon. Vijay Amritraj by then had already emergd as the undisputed top tennis player in the country with a string of upsets over such great names of the game as Stan Smith, and red-haired Australian Rod Laver, who has the unique distinction of winning the Grand Salm twice.

Premjit and Jaideep were then struggling to retain their places in the Indian team. But new faces were batting with old ones. One such player who by sheer dint of his complete commitment to the game managed to make it to the national grade was Jasjit Singh, the first-ever Sikh to have moved into the Indian team. During the pre-Independence period lawn tennis no doubt was a popular sport in the North, thanks to the Patronage shown by Raj kumari Amrit Kaur. But after the division of the country, the game had run short of oxygen here. Thus the entry of Jasjit Singh was simply a tribute to the ability of this young boy.

In 1974, India played Australia in the semifinal in India. The Indian line-up was Vijay Amritraj, Jasjit Singh and Anand Amritraj, with Vijay and Jasjit playing singles while Vijay teamed up later with Anand for the Sikh against Austrialia\'s Bob Gillitman. In fact, India would have desired going one up convincingly with Vijay playing the first single. However, that was not to be. But hats off to the talented Jasjit who in a see saw tussle against the Australian notched up the most creditable victory for India. There as great rejoicing in the Indian camp. The match had dragged down to the fifth set with both players trying every trick in their trade. Fortunately, Indian ultimately won the tie moving second time in the Challenge Round. Elated over the victory, Vijay commented \"Jasjit gave us a fine lead of which India took full advantage. He played marvellous.\"

So that was Jasjit Singh for India. Jasjit Singh is the only Sikh to have played in all the Grand Slam championships-the French Open, the Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and the Australian Open Tennis Championships. His achievements include victories over many great names in the game. For instance, his victory over Tony Roche, who many times was a semi-finalist at the Wimbledon. Then he had victories over American Davis Cup player Brian Gottfried, Ross Case, Kim Warwick and Mika Estep. Estep had beaten India\'s Vijay Amritraj. Jasjit was ranked \'70 in ATP ranking in 1974.

Jasjit Singh later settled down in New York, employed as Tennis Director at Grossinger Hotel and Country Club, Grossinger, New York.

Media


Archive statistics Career1963 - 1980
Tournament wins2
Matches239
Match wins114


Tournament wins 1966 - Guyan C.C. Invitation (Amateur)
1965 - Western Indoor Championship (Open)


Tournaments India Satellite - Leg 1 - 1980 AMEX - Kiamesha Lake - 1979 US Open Qualifying - 1978 Netherlands 2 Satellite - Leg 1 - 1978 Netherlands 2 Satellite - Leg 2 - 1978 Netherlands 2 Satellite - Leg 3 - 1978 Netherlands 2 Satellite - Leg 4 - 1978 US Open - 1977 US Open Qualifying - 1977 Hong Kong Open - 1977 Indian Open - 1977 United States 1 Satellite - Leg 3 - 1977 Bangalore Open - 1976 Australian Open - 1975 Conde de Godo - 1975 Metropolitan Grass Court Championships of Sydney - 1975 Swiss International Covered Courts - 1975 Manly Seaside Tournament - 1975 Madrid Open - 1975 Aryamehr Cup - 1975 Algiers ATP Open - 1975 New South Wales Championships - 1974B Australian Open - 1974 Wimbledon - 1974 South Australian Championships - 1974 US Open - 1974 US Clay Courts - 1974 International Championships of Egypt - Cairo - 1974 International Championships of Egypt-Alexandria - 1974 Indian International Championships - 1974 Washington Open - 1974 South Orange Open - 1974 Vienna International Indoor - 1974 WCT - Hempstead - Qualifying - 1974 WCT - Hempstead - 1974 Stockholm Open - 1974 Wimbledon - 1973 South Australian Championships - 1973 US Open - 1973 Geneva International Championship - 1973 Beaulieu - 1973 US International Indoor Championships - 1973 Montana-Vermala - 1973 Queensland Championships - 1973 Japan International Championships - 1973 Surrey Championships - 1973 Madrid - 1973 Northern Lawn Tennis Association Tournament - 1973 Wimbledon Qualifying - 1973 Australian Hard Courts Championship - 1973 Tasmanian Championships - 1973 US Open Qualifying - 1973 Pennsylvania Lawn Tennis Championship - 1973 Western Australia Championships - 1973 Davos - 1973 Championships of Stuttgart - 1973 Gstaad - 1973 Indian International Championships - 1973 Surrey - 1973 Florence International - 1973 Lower Saxony International - 1973 Djakarta Raya Open - 1973 Nice - Qualifying - 1973 Port Washington Satellite - 1973 La Moraleja Trophy - 1973 Salt Lake International Indoors - 1973 Chicago International Open - 1973 Osaka Open - 1973 Australian Indoors - 1973 Canadian Indoors - 1973 Gstaad - Qualifying - 1973 Benson & Hedges Classic - 1973 US Open - 1972 Miami - 1972 Argentina International Championships - 1972 South Florida - 1972 US Open Qualifying - 1972 Lake Worth - 1972 Washington Open - 1972 Fort Lauderdale - 1972 Vina del Mar Spring - 1972 Utica Satellite - 1972 Washington Satellite - 1972 Club de Tennis La Paz - 1972 Club Obras Sanitarias - 1972 Montana-Vermala - 1971 Washington Open - Qualifying - 1971 Jungle Invitation - 1971 US Open - 1970 Washington Open - 1970 Philadelphia Open - 1970 Philadelphia Open - Qualifying - 1970 US Open - 1969 Kent Championships - 1969 Southampton Invitation (Long Island) - 1969 Northern Lawn Tennis Association Tournament - 1969 Wimbledon Qualifying - 1969 Northern India - 1969 US Open Qualifying - 1969 Asian Championships - 1969 Madhya Pradesh State Championships - 1969 Central India Championships - 1969 Washington Open - 1969 Canadian International Championships - 1968 Southampton Invitation (Long Island) - 1968 Intercollegiate Championships - 1968 US National Amateur Championships - 1968 US Open - 1967 Eastern Grass Court Championships - 1967 Cincinnati - 1967 US Clay Courts - 1967 Western States Championships - 1967 Southampton Invitation (Long Island) - 1967 Pennsylvania Lawn Tennis Championship - 1967 US Open - 1966 Nassau Bowl - 1966 Newport Casino - 1966 Eastern Grass Court Championships - 1966 Tennessee Valley Invitation - 1966 Cincinnati - 1966 US Clay Courts - 1966 Western States Championships - 1966 Wimbledon Qualifying - 1966 Pennsylvania Lawn Tennis Championship - 1966 Guyan C.C. Invitation - 1966 US Open - 1965 Newport Casino - 1965 US Clay Courts - 1965 Southampton Invitation (Long Island) - 1965 Western Indoor Championship - 1965 Perth Amboy Invitation - 1965 Queens Club Tournament - 1963 Kent Championships - 1963