Aisam sets next year’s targets after London failure
Pakistan tennis ace and Rojer lose all round-robin games at ATP World Tour Finals.
KARACHI:
Aisamul Haq Qureshi is looking forward to the 2013 season after his London campaign with Dutch partner Jean-Julean Rojer ended in a straights-sets defeat at the ATP World Tour Finals on Saturday.
The duo, making their team debut at the competition, lost to Spaniards Marc Lopez and Marcel Granollers 6-4, 6-2, making it three defeats in three matches in London.
Aisam is now looking forward to the next season and wants to put behind him the disappointments of 2012, a year that also saw him miss out on a place at the Olympics.
“It’s been a roller-coaster ride,” Aisam told The Express Tribune. “We qualified for this event a week ago in Paris. There was a lot of pressure on us.
“However, we stood strong but unfortunately we had a tough group and were up against more experienced teams. But I take it as an achievement to be the only Pakistani to appear in the tournament two years in a row. The year was more about overcoming personal and individual drawbacks than the professional ones. The year wasn’t great, but it was satisfactory.”
Aisam’s next assignment is a tournament in Cambodia, ahead of the Australia Open, that starts on December 10. The Pakistan tennis ace was hopeful of using the event to get back in form and strategise for the year ahead.
“The aim is to start the year with victories. I really didn’t like the way we qualified for the ATP World tour this time. Rojer and I want to start 2013 by winning more trophies and at least a grand slam.”
The Pakistani added that he aims to represent Pakistan at the Davis Cup in February against Sri Lanka.
“The others goals for next year include playing Davis Cup for Pakistan against Sri Lanka. I’ll be working hard on getting Pakistan in the Asian-Oceania group and will also pursue the Pakistan Tennis Federation for hosting the ties in the country.”
Aisam will return to Pakistan on November 15 before the pre-season matches in Cambodia.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 12th, 2012.
Aisamul Haq Qureshi is looking forward to the 2013 season after his London campaign with Dutch partner Jean-Julean Rojer ended in a straights-sets defeat at the ATP World Tour Finals on Saturday.
The duo, making their team debut at the competition, lost to Spaniards Marc Lopez and Marcel Granollers 6-4, 6-2, making it three defeats in three matches in London.
Aisam is now looking forward to the next season and wants to put behind him the disappointments of 2012, a year that also saw him miss out on a place at the Olympics.
“It’s been a roller-coaster ride,” Aisam told The Express Tribune. “We qualified for this event a week ago in Paris. There was a lot of pressure on us.
“However, we stood strong but unfortunately we had a tough group and were up against more experienced teams. But I take it as an achievement to be the only Pakistani to appear in the tournament two years in a row. The year was more about overcoming personal and individual drawbacks than the professional ones. The year wasn’t great, but it was satisfactory.”
Aisam’s next assignment is a tournament in Cambodia, ahead of the Australia Open, that starts on December 10. The Pakistan tennis ace was hopeful of using the event to get back in form and strategise for the year ahead.
“The aim is to start the year with victories. I really didn’t like the way we qualified for the ATP World tour this time. Rojer and I want to start 2013 by winning more trophies and at least a grand slam.”
The Pakistani added that he aims to represent Pakistan at the Davis Cup in February against Sri Lanka.
“The others goals for next year include playing Davis Cup for Pakistan against Sri Lanka. I’ll be working hard on getting Pakistan in the Asian-Oceania group and will also pursue the Pakistan Tennis Federation for hosting the ties in the country.”
Aisam will return to Pakistan on November 15 before the pre-season matches in Cambodia.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 12th, 2012.