Davis Cup debacle: Iftikhar blames PTF, critics

Claims players not the only ones responsible for 5-0 humiliation

KARACHI: After Pakistan lost both of their Davis Cup Asia-Oceania Group I matches against New Zealand in Christchurch on Sunday and were relegated from the group with a 5-0 overall defeat, squad member Samir Iftikhar laid the blame on the Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF), critics and a general lack of support.

On the final day, Samir Iftikhar lost his reverse singles dead rubber to Jose Statham 6-4, 6-1, while Abid Ali was defeated by Finn Tearney 6-1, 6-3. In the end, a tie Pakistan had set out to win didn’t even reap a consolation win.

A win was crucial for Pakistan to stay in Group I which they had reached after nine long years. Hence, the pain was even more intense for the players who had worked so hard last year to break into the group.

“It was one of the worst beatings of my career. New Zealand were the better team, but we didn’t have the right conditions to win either,” US-based Iftikhar told The Express Tribune, while adding that Pakistan were missing Aisamul Haq Qureshi.



Iftikhar revealed that he and Akbar were thoroughly criticised in the build-up for being selected without going through the trials.

“I want to apologise to those who are disappointed by our performance,” Iftikhar wrote in an open letter. “I gave it my best shot but was ultimately outplayed by a better tennis player, who was in great form. It’s humiliating enough, without the endless criticism.”

Iftikhar then took aim at those who criticise just for the sake of it. “In Pakistani tennis, the environment is not conducive to producing quality performances. We, the players, are constantly criticised, and are seldom given a word of encouragement.”

Next on Iftikhar’s target was the PTF, whom he accused of treating the players as second-class citizens and turning a deaf ear to their advice.



“We are knowledgeable and far more in touch with the current game. We need to feel as though we have a voice. Tennis today is very different from how it used to be. It is scientific, physical, and athletic. Talent alone doesn’t cut it anymore. We try our best to manage these variables as best we can, but it’s impossible to do it all alone, if we want to be competitive on the global stage.”

Spain return to Davis Cup World Group

Tennis star Rafael Nadal and Marc Lopez clinched the Davis Cup World Group play-off tie for Spain with a hard-fought doubles win over India in New Delhi on Saturday.

Nadal and Lopez, who won the doubles gold at the recent Rio Olympics, helped Spain take an unassailable 3-0 lead to enter the elite group after a two-year gap.

World number four Nadal shrugged off early rustiness as the Spanish pair served past the Indian duo of Leander Paes and Saketh Myneni 4-6, 7-6, 6-4, 6-4 in three hours and 23 minutes.



Nadal missed the opening singles match on Friday following a reported stomach ache as Feliciano Lopez and David Ferrer put Spain in firm control of the tie with their respective wins.

But the 14-time Grand Slam winner made his presence felt in the doubles encounter at Delhi’s RK Khanna Tennis Stadium.

“We are happy to be back in the world group and that’s the most important thing. That’s where we think we need to be with a lot of our players in the top hundred,” Nadal told reporters. “That was our goal and we did it. The team here and all the players who are not here have made their contributions and everybody is happy.” AFP

Published in The Express Tribune, September 19^th, 2016.

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