“I want to play in the professional category,” Samir told The Express Tribune. “I won the national juniors championship in 2008 in Lahore but this is a bigger event.”
The 18-year-old will participate in the National Championship that starts today in Islamabad, with his first-round match against Hamidul Haq.
The British-born, started playing in the UK initially, but after the advice of his father, Pakistan’s former Davis Cup player Tayyab iftikhar, appeared in the ITF circuit last year. He improved his ITF rankings from 3012 to 314 in eight months and aspires to follow the footsteps of his cousin Aisamul Haq.
“I will be concentrating on the international tournaments and I am thankful to PTF for supporting me financially in terms of participating in the tournaments abroad,” said Samir.
Until last week, unlike other ITF participants in Jordan, Samir travelled without any coaches because of financial constraints. His father coached him through emails, while Samir devised strategies to win his first ITF junior singles title himself.
“You have to be disciplined and organised when you are travelling. I had no coaches, so it was pretty much my own game,” said Samir.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 3rd, 2010.
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