ISLAMABAD – Pakistan tennis ace Aisamul Haq Qureshi joined Davis Cup camp and got training along with other three lads for four hours at Senator Dilawar Abbas PTF Tennis Complex on Thursday.
Aisam was looking mentally and physically fit and practiced for almost four hours without taking a break. He played against Aqeel Khan, Yasir and M Abid and enjoyed his tennis a lot.
In an exclusive interview with The Nation, Aisam said: “I am enjoying my tennis more than ever and really looking forward to represent my country against Sri Lanka.”
“Aqeel and I had never played against Sri Lanka in the past but to the best of my knowledge, Pakistan had never lost to them. We have been playing in Group II while Sri Lankan in Group IV and III. But they at their home soil, they are very tough opponents and they had been creating a lot of problems for their opponents in the past too as home advantage and conditions favour them a lot,” he said.
“We will not by any means take them lightly as we have four to five days to prepare well to play against Sri Lanka as Aqeel and I have been playing for the last decade or so and we have the mutual understanding. The other two lads Yasir and M Abid are also playing well at national level and I hope they will deliver if they will get an opportunity,” he said.
To a query regarding how he manages time for Davis Cup matches for Pakistan despite his international commitments, he replied: “I love my country very much and I feel really proud to play for it. I always keep in mind to take three or four weeks off from my international commitments and make sure my availability for Pakistan to play Davis Cup matches for it.”
Aisam said Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) should have to take active steps and try to provide maximum international events to all the players and also try to convince other teams to play in Pakistan. “Aqeel and I had a 100 per cent winning record in Pakistan against all the opponents in Davis Cup ties which include New Zealand, Chinese Taipei and other reputed tennis playing nations. We had never lost a match in Pakistan throughout our careers,” he said.
Replying to a query regarding his former doubles partner Rohan Bopanna, he said: “Rohan and I had played together since 2012 and we had developed excellent on and off the court relations. Now I am looking forward and let me assure all that 2013 will be comparatively a better year for me than the previous one as I had some fitness problems in the previous year. But this year, I have already started to regain my fitness and my confidence level is also very high.”
Aisam said the PTF had to find new talent to replace Aqeel and him as they could play for another two years in the Davis Cup singles as age was fast catching them. “Yasir and Abid are good but we still need more back up if we really want to make further inroads as far as our Davis Cup ambitions are concerned.”
To a query regarding Aqeel’s contributions for tennis and country, he replied: “Aqeel should be nominated for the highest award such as ‘Pride of Performance’ as his contributions for tennis and country are matchless. The federation should immediately recommend his name for the highest civil award too.”
To another query, he said: “I am completely satisfied with the selected players as Yasir has been now a regular part of Davis Cup squad for the last five years and M Abid is into his second year in running. Now, no one can blame PTF or players as the entire trials process was done on merit and in a very transparent way.”
Talking about his future commitments, Aisam said: “After Davis Cup tie, I will first play in Holland, then in Dubai and after that, will play two Masters series Indian Wells and Miami. I am fast getting on terms with my doubles partner and soon we will not only start producing desired results but also take one step further by winning Grand Slam in doubles.”