In the past, thank heavens my predictions about the future of Indian tennis have invariably gone awry. From the moonscape, as I have often described the Indian tennis scene in the past, emerged the great of Indian tennis.

After Ramanathan Krishnan came Vijay Amritraj, then Ramesh Krishnan followed by Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi. The common factor among them was that they had very strong family support.

Paes and Bhupathi took Indian tennis to a new high and created history by winning Grand Slam doubles and mixed doubles titles.

In the Davis Cup, India?s ratings soared with upset victories over much higher ranked teams. With not even a handful of players, India have been kings of Asian tennis and enjoyed a more than respectable presence in international events. It gave Indian tennis a false sense of well being.

Paes and Bhupathi have kept the flag flying in the high visibility Grand Slams for many years and are now in their twilight of their careers. At the same time, Asian standards, both in the men and women?s world have dramatically shot up.

In recent years, while no Indian man or woman has even qualified for the men?s or ladies? singles, countries like Thailand, Korea, Taiwan and China have made an impact at the Grand Slams? ATP and WTA tournaments.

For the first time in Indian history a young Pakistani ? Aqeel Khan ? won our national championships.

In the Davis Cup we may dream of making the elite group of 16 but in reality it is a mirage. In fact, if Thailand, Korea or Taiwan participate with their top players, we will be under pressure to win the Asia-Oceania Group I in the future. The glory days of the Davis Cup belong to the past and are now deeply buried in Indian tennis history.

Our Davis Cup players, Prakash Amritraj, Harsh Mankad and Rohan Bopanna (recovering from an injured shoulder) ? leaders of India?s young brigade ? are now getting long in the tooth and have not been able to break through and make a significant impact even at the lower levels of the game.

Other promising youngsters, who have been participating in Futures and Challenger tournaments held in India have also been struggling to win matches in spite of the advantage of playing on home courts.

Moving from junior level to the senior level is the most difficult phase in a successful tennis player?s life.

The record books show that it takes approximately three to four years for juniors to mature and achieve peak levels in fitness and match play.

So many great talents never make it. Mostly, it is due to lack of adequate and sustained financial support.

The other very important factor is to be shown the path by proper coaching, physical training and exposure to high-level competition.

Exposure to competitive pressures alone determines the true mettle of a player. For this, continuous play at the higher levels of the game is an absolute must.

All this costs big money.

Currently two of our youngsters who have done reasonably well at the international level are 18-year-olds Sania Mirza and Karan Rastogi.

Sania won the Wimbledon girls? junior doubles title in 2003 much to everyone?s surprise, while Karan was ranked the No. 3 junior in the world after he reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open juniors this year.

Paes and Bhupathi now are in the twilight of their career.

Sania?s victory in the junior girls? doubles at Wimbledon was a shot in the arm for Indian tennis. Tennis fans and the press were euphoric. It seemed like a future champion had popped out of the hat.

On Sania?s young shoulders fell the telling burden of great expectations. Today, more than a year later, Sania has not been transformed into an Indian Sharapova. Yet, her perseverance has shown a steady and heartening improvement.

With a generous sponsor (GVK group) and solid parental support she has, by participating and winning smaller tournaments, moved to 193 in the women?s ATP rankings. Being a finalist in the Asian Championships has secured her a direct entry into next year?s Australian Open.

Currently being coached and advised by Bob Brett at his Sen Remo academy on the Italian Riviera in three sessions annually which include physical training, she is on the right path.

When I talked to her on the phone, there was passion and determination in her voice and words.

After having all this, one also needs luck. While wishing her luck in breaking through to the top 100 one must pay tribute to the parents for their unstinted support.

Karan happily enjoys as much parental support as Sania. He was picked by IMG talent scouts after he won the Asian under-14 championships in Vietnam. For the last four years IMG has supported him by allowing him free coaching and physical training at Nick Bolletieri?s coaching academy, which is owned by them.

They strictly monitor his tournament schedule and he has to report on his performance and physical condition every week. Three or four visits a year to the academy ensure that Karan stays on track.

Karan was selected by the ITF as a member of the junior team to participate in eight tournaments, including the French Championships and Wimbledon.

It is obvious that he is very talented, and is being well tutored. He has to make the breakthrough at senior levels within a couple of years or else it will be too late. One can wish him the very best of luck.

There are many talented boys and girls in India who have been striving to make a breakthrough to the higher levels. The stumbling blocks are not the lack of talent but meaningful sustained sponsorships, top-level world-class coaches and facilities and constant exposure to international competition.

All these in ample measure can put India back at the top of Asian tennis in a few years. They say that history repeats itself. I hope it does and like in the past a new star emerges from the seemingly barren landscape of Indian tennis.