India’s long road to the Davis Cup final in 1974 began on a hot Saturday in May in Kanpur when it took on Japan in the quarterfinals of the Eastern Zone’s main draw. That team, powered by a tall 20-year-old sensation from Madras by the name of Vijay Amritraj, defeated its opponents with relative ease to move on to play one of the giants of the sport – Australia.
That face-off was thrilling and dramatic. Heroic efforts from Jasjit Singh along with Vijay and his brother Anand Amritraj helped India beat the Aussies 3-2 in Calcutta to advance to the semi-finals of the main competition.
Standing in its way next was a very good Soviet team that had edged out Czechoslovakia in Donetsk. But, high on confidence after defeating Australia, the Amritraj brothers made quick work of the Soviets in Poona to take the tie 3-1. This was only the second time that India advanced all the way to the final of the Davis Cup. India, which participated in the competition for the first time in 1921, was the runner-up in 1966, losing to Australia in what was called the Challenge Round.
The euphoria of the feat lasted less than two weeks, until the players…
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