Aisam shifts focus to Davis Cup after Wimbledon

Aisamul Haq Qureshi has put his Wimbledon achievement celebrations on hold to focus on the Davis Cup clash with New Zealand next week.

Aisam became the first Pakistani to reach the quarterfinals of Wimbledon when he entered the last-eight of the men’s doubles event at the prestigious competition along with his Indian partner Rohan Bopanna.

The country’s top player said he was not thinking about Wimbledon anymore after the defeat in the quarter-finals and was just concentrating on Pakistan’s Davis Cup tie.

“I’m delighted to have achieved all that at Wimbledon but right now I’ve shifted my focus to the Davis Cup match against the Kiwis,” Aisam told The Express Tribune in an interview from London. “It’s always a different feeling playing for your country and I’ll try to give my best in the tie to take Pakistan through.”

He added that the Davis Cup was a team event and that all the players would have to give their best for the team to progress.

“Depending just on me will not get the job done. All the players will have to perform.”

Aisam, who has been playing non-stop for 13 weeks, assured his fans that fatigue will not be a hindrance to his performance.

“It was obviously very tiring, the whole routine, but I’ll try to rejuvenate after resting for a couple of days,” said Aisam, adding that he hopes to have recovered fully from the leg-strain he suffered during Wimbledon.

Pakistan lost hosting of the upcoming tie after New Zealand refused to tour Pakistan due to security concerns and Aisam said they will definitely miss the home advantage. “If Pakistan were the hosts, then we’d have at least 90 per cent chance of winning the tie but now it’d be very tough to beat the Kiwis,” said Aisam.

The ties will take place from July 9 to 11.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 2^nd, 2010.