Allaam Ousman reflects on the remarkable career of a Sri Lankan legend on the tennis court

COURTING DESTINY

Arjun Fernando overcomes childhood cricket antics to reign on the tennis court like royalty

Arjun Fernando’s journey in sports began with a penchant for cricket and tennis at the tender age of nine, shifting from breaking household items with cricket antics to the discipline of tennis training.

“I played more cricket than tennis until my mother signed me up with D. D. N. Selvadurai. Then I had to make a tough decision when I was about 15 – to continue with cricket or tennis,” he recalls.

Fernando says: “The best advice I received was from Selvadurai. He said that ‘if you play cricket, the furthest you’ll go is India (because at the time, we only had the M. J. Gopalan Trophy) but if you play tennis, you can see the world’.”

A pivotal juncture in his life was receiving a scholarship to the US at 16. “I have no regrets with pursuing the tennis route,” he says, expressing gratitude to his parents for making such a bold decision.

It proved transformative. Although he missed national tournaments in Sri Lanka, Fernando returned to claim his first national singles title in 1977.

He won six singles titles, 13 national doubles titles and one mixed doubles title, forming partnerships with his brother Sujith, Jumbo Fernando, Lasantha Fernando and Rohan De Silva.

“If I’d stayed in Sri Lanka, I would have stagnated in tennis. But I was able to play and pursue my degree,” explains Fernando. He is a retired banker who served as the CEO of DFCC, following a 28 year tenure at HSBC.

He represented Sri Lanka in the 1975 Davis Cup at the age of 15 – the youngest at the time – and won his first match against the Philippines. “Our 3-2 victory against Chinese Taipei in 1987 was a highlight,” he adds.

Apart from this, Fernando says that “facing India during the Davis Cup also holds significance – particularly playing against Vijay Amritraj.” Although he lost that match, Arjun cherishes defeating Sashi Menon in the reverse singles.

His only regret was missing the opportunity to play in Division I of the Davis Cup: “We were only one point away from gaining promotion. Despite having set points in both singles and doubles matches, we narrowly lost 2-3 to Hong Kong.”

As a professional, he won the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II singles and doubles titles, and was a Division 1 quarter-finalist in singles and semifinalist in doubles in 1979, earning him All-American honours while his world ranking propelled to 220th.

“Had I not been injured, my ranking could have been considerably higher, given my victories over top ranked players like Ricardo Acuña (Chile), Jay Lapidus (US) and Paul McNamee (Australia) in singles, and Kevin Curren and Steve Denton in doubles, who went on to be the No. 1 doubles pair in the world in the mid-1980s,” he recalls.

Returning to Sri Lanka in 1984, he savoured representing the country’s Davis Cup team until the ’90s.

He was inspired by an array of role models from his parents to American great Jimmy Connors: “Connors embodied spirit and intensity while Ilie Năstase showcased the joy of playing tennis. John McEnroe’s consistency and mechanical precision coupled with Curren’s strategic prowess left a lasting impression on my approach to the sport.”

Fernando benefitted from Connors’ insights and mentorship during his days at Southern Illinois University – especially the ethos of giving nothing away, even in training.

Apart from Selvadurai, Dr. C. Thurairajah, George Paldano, Fernando’s brother Sujith and the late Lasantha Fernando in particular, and then Sri Lanka Tennis Association (SLTA) officials and former Sri Lankan greats like P. S. Kumara and Bernard Pinto had a profound influence on him along with US coach Kent DeMars.

He also expresses gratitude to his wife Shalini for her support and encouragement, and his sons Arvind and Sanjiv for always being by his side. Special mention was made of his Davis Cup teammates during the three decades.

Lauding the SLTA for hosting international tournaments, he feels there is a need for a national programme: “Unity and collaboration among stakeholders are indispensable, transcending individual agendas for the future of Sri Lankan tennis.”

According to Fernando, the keys to aspiring young athletes are the four cardinal pillars: physical fitness, tactical acumen, technical proficiency and nutrition. He also highlights the importance of “mental resilience – embodying the synthesis of mind, body and spirit.”

Emphasising that the combination of academics and sports is critical, he proudly recalls how this led to him being the first inductee to his university’s hall of fame: “Though my partner was a more accomplished player than me, the honour was given to me since I graduated with an engineering degree.”