REFRESH
Tennis Grand Slam Trophies had started way back in 1879. Then there were only few competitors in the sport hence defending a title for some of them was not more than one match as in those days the champion of the previous year had to play a competition match with a person who qualified in that year's championship. Hence you had seen somebody like WILLIAM RENSHAW winning 7 WIMBLEDON titles. But with the passage of years, more participants used to enter the sport and it was not until 1968 that TENNIS bcame a professional sport. Repeating the feat of WILLIAM RENSHAW had been found difficult up until 1990 when PETE SAMPRAS came onto the scene. From 1993 to 1995 he won 3 WIMBLEDON titles, lost in the 1996 Q/F but came back strongly to win WIMBLEDON again from 1997 to 2000. During this process he broke the record for the most no. of GRAND SLAM titles which was previous 12 held by ROY EMERSON. Sampras has 14, his 13th being WIMBLEDON 2000 crown and 14th being the U.S. OPEN 2002 crown. Incidentally the 2002 US OPEN crown was PETE SAMPRAS's first title since winning the 2000 WIMBLEDON men's singles title. Between these two titles he hadn't won a single title, forget Grand Slams. Also the 2002 US OPEN crown turned out to be PETE SAMPRAS's last Grand Slam win as he retired the next year without playing a single match after the US OPEN 2002 victory. Eventhough he reached the finals of the US OPEN in 2000 & 2001, he lost to first time finalists MARAT SAFIN and LLEYTON HEWITT respectively. The 14th Grand Slam title came at a very good time for Sampras. He met Agassi in the final and beat him in four sets.
RAMANATHAN KRISHNAN was the most talented and gifted tennis players that INDIA had ever produced. Yet it was a pity that he could not win even one GRAND SLAM title. In 1961 and 1962 he reached the S/F of the WIMBLEDON singles but lost to eventual champions of those years. Then VIJAY AMRITRAJ and RAMESH KRISHNAN also came and went without a GRAND SLAM title and it was not until 1997 that MAHESH BHUPATHI partnering RIKA HIRAKI of JAPAN gave India their first GRAND SLAM trophy in the FRENCH OPEN mixed doubles event. Eventhough MAHESH is more known for his partnership with LEANDER P�S but he didn't get any GRAND SLAM title with LEANDER till the 1997 mixed doubles French Open crown which MAHESH BHUPATHI had won. After that victory, India continued to get more tennis GRAND SLAM trophies. Their list in chronological order is given below.
AUSTRALIAN OPEN 1997
Indians hadn't yet won a Grand Slam Title
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FRENCH OPEN 1997
MAHESH BHUPATHI became the first Indian ever to win a Grand Slam Title when he teamed up with another first time winner for her country, RIKA HIRAKI of JAPAN to capture the FRENCH OPEN 1997 MIXED DOUBLES CROWN defeating the pair of PATRICK GALBRAITH & LISA RAYMOND in the final.
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WIMBLEDON 1997
Ramesh Krishnan, one of the all time greats from Indian tennis history, had won the
1997 WIMBLEDON over35 MEN'S DOUBLES crown alongwith JEREMY BATES of the U.S.A.
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US OPEN 1997
Indians didn't win any title here.
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AUSTRALIAN OPEN 1998
Indians didn't win any title here.
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FRENCH OPEN 1998
Indians didn't win any title here.
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WIMBLEDON 1998
Indians didn't win any title here.
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U.S. OPEN 1998
Indians didn't win any title here.
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AUSTRALIAN OPEN 1999
Indians didn't win any title here despite LEANDER P�S and MAHESH BHUPATHI reaching the final of the men's doubles tournament where they lost to Jonas Bjorkman and Patrick Rafter in five sets.
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FRENCH OPEN 1999
LEANDER P�S alongwith MAHESH BHUPATHI from India managed to win their first Men's doubles crown for India where they won in straight sets in the final of the 1999 French Open men's doubles event.
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WIMBLEDON 1999
This tournament turned out to be the most successful tournament for Indians as they won both the men's doubles and the mixed doubles event here.First LEANDER P�S partnered with MAHESH BHUPATHI to give India their second Wimbledon crown after Ramesh Krishnan won the over35 men's doubles event in 1997, winning in three straight sets inthe final, and then LEANDER P�S partnered alongside LISA RAYMOND of USA to win the mixed doubles crown on the same Sunday.
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U.S. OPEN 1999
Here also LEANDER P�S alongwith MAHESH BHUPATHI reached the finals of the men's doubles event but they lost here in three sets in the final. But there was some good news for Indian fans as MAHESH BHUPATHI partnered AI SUGIYAMA of Japan to win the 1999 US OPEN mixed doubles crown.
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CONTENTS