Paradorn Srichaphan: A Tennis Star Deservingly Honoured
The former tennis professional, Paradorn Srichaphan has recently been honoured at a special ceremonial held in his native country, Thailand. The former World Number 9 retired from professional arena earlier this year but continues to enjoy a cult following
in his home country. The ceremony took place on the eve of the ATP Tour's PTT Thailand Open 2010, where Srichaphan made it to the semi-finals from 2004-2006. The Thai national hero was all smiles at the ceremony that was also organized by the ATP Tour.
“I’d like to thank all the ATP staff,” said Srichaphan. There was loud applause from the crowd as the former tennis sensation went on to describe how the ATP had become a second home for him. Srichaphan’s remarks echoed those of many other tennis professionals
who have to spend a large part of the season away from home, touring the world.
The former World Number 9 further expressed his gratitude towards ATP for helping him, saying, “…not miss home too much.” In a career that spanned over 13 years, Srichaphan bagged himself an impressive five ATP World Tour trophies. The highest ranked player
in the history of Thailand began his professional duties in 1998 at the age of 19. After filling some lower ranks of the ATP standings for his first few years on the Tour, the Thai youngster burst into limelight at the 2000 Hopman Cup after making it to the
event's finals.
But it was 2002 when Scrichaphan finally came into his own and famously demolished Andre Agassi at the Wimbledon event that year. His victory over Agassi enabled him to break it through into the ATP World Top 30 players slot for the first time in his career.
Scrichaphan’s steady ascent in the professional field also continued in 2003. That year, he took his first ATP-level singles trophy at the Hamlet Cup. In the same season, he also made it to the fourth rounds of two Grand Slams- the coveted Wimbledon and
U.S. Open. Srichaphan fell to Lleyton Hewitt at the U.S Open, whereas at Wimbledon it was the American playmaker, Andy Roddick, who saw him off. By the end of that year, Srichaphan’s 4th round exploits elevated him to 11th spot in ATP
World rankings.
Immensely popular in Asia, the Thai star was his nation’s flag bearer at the inaugural ceremony of the 2004 Summer Olympic Games hosted in Athens, Greece. However, he failed to shine at the event after crashing out in the first round. His most commendable
Olympics performance came in Sydney where he was able to hold on to his own till the second round.
In 2006, the Asian sensation made mincemeat of the challenge posed by several of the world’s top 20 players en route to the semi-finals of the Indian Wells Masters. Although, he lost to Roger Federer in the semi-final clash but Scrichaphan was still hailed
as hero back home for having overcome the likes of World Number 4, David Nalbandian and World Number 16, Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain.
Much of Scrichaphan’s final three years in the sport were dogged by injuries. After crashing out in the first round of the 2006 Wimbledon, the Thai star’s career went on a downward spiral. He also sat out for much of the 2007 season after a wrist injury
put him out of action. Consequently, his ATP ranking plummeted below the 900 mark. By April 2007, Scrichaphan’s inactivity caused him to fall out of the ATP rankings entirely.
The Asian tennis star's recovery was a slow and arduous one. He returned to the professional grid in 2009 at the season’s Thailand Open after a two year layoff from the competitive grid. Yet, his return was unfortunately a short-lived one. In June 2010,
Scrichaphan decided to bury his professional tennis racquets for good after he broke his wrist in a road accident.
Paradorn Scrichaphan’s success in tennis has been pivotal in contributing to the game's meteoric rise in popularity inside Thailand, and indeed across Asia. And, now it seems that the tennis sensation has been deservingly honoured.
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