NEW DELHI: India has made it to the Davis Cup final thrice, in 1966, 1974 and 1987. But, for the Indian tennis stalwart Vijay Amritraj, the title clash against the much-fancied Swedish side at the Scandinavium in Gothenburg in 1987 will always hold a special place of pride in his heart. Although India lost 5-0 in the summit clash, it was the visiting team’s impressive run in the 'World Cup of tennis' – especially the come-from-behind 3-2 win against Australia in the semifinals – that made everyone sit up and take notice of the country's charge in the racquet sport.
"Well, reaching the finals of the three Davis Cup will always have the pride of place in my house. But, the one right there on the top has to be the 1987 finals where we had lost to Sweden. The whole journey was kind of a special moment for us because we certainly weren't the second best team in the world. Considering all the rankings and participating nations, still we were able to put together a cohesive team and train well. All the team members and managers shared a great rapport," Amritraj recalled.
