Tennis: Fed Cup coach worried about squad’s chances

Lack of international exposure worrying, says Siddiq.

KARACHI:

Pakistan kick-start their preparations for the Fed Cup today with a camp to select the three players who will represent the country in their Asia/Oceania Group II tie in China.

According to coach Khaliq Siddiq, except for the experienced Ushna Suhail, all the other players have only participated in local events and that has made his job of selecting the team a tough one.

“Saba Aziz and Sara Mansoor have won several local events but my concern is their lack of international exposure,” Siddiq told The Express Tribune. “Such players usually can’t take on the competition that’s present at the Fed Cup level because by the time they get the hang of the conditions and their opponents, it’s too late.

“However, I expect a better show from Suhail since she’s been participating in various ITF Futures events over the last year.”

Pakistan had participated in the Fed Cup last year after a gap of 10 years and managed to defeat Kyrgyzstan. However, they lost their subsequent matches against Philippines, Indonesia and Turkmenistan to finish sixth in Group II. Siddiq, though, has said that Pakistan will be aiming to finish in the top five this time as all players participating in the camp have been in good form in local events. The coach was hoping that the competition’s draws will see Pakistan getting easier opponents in the earlier stages.

“I hope we do not play against India, Philippines or Singapore in our pool because we need to win at least two matches in the round-robin stage to progress and these teams are tough to beat.”

The team leaves for China on January 29, with Pakistan set to play against nine opponents at the event that starts from January 30.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 15^th, 2012.