PTF hopes for Aisam’s presence in Davis Cup

Federation terms Pakistan’s sole ATP player ‘strength of squad’.

KARACHI:

The Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) will try to convince international player Aisamul Haq Qureshi to take part in the Davis Cup Asia-Oceania Group II Round I tie with Vietnam next month.

In a recent televised interview, Aisam said he may not be able to participate in the Davis Cup due to a change in the tournament dates.

Earlier, the Davis Cup tie was scheduled to take place in the first week of February. However, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) changed the dates to mid-February in order to avoid a clash with the Chinese New Year celebrations, according to the official Davis Cup website.

“We’ll talk to Aisam about it,” PTF secretary Mumtaz Yousuf told The Express Tribune.



“He told us that he might not be able to play in the Davis Cup, but we are hoping for the best. He is our key player along with Aqeel Khan.”

Yousuf said that the federation will discuss the matter with the Aisam in detail.

“Aisam has always been there for the country. Even for our tie against Korea in 2012, he came back from London to play.

“I think he should play for Pakistan this time as well. If he doesn’t, it will diminish our chances of winning the crucial tie. He is the strength of our squad.

Meanwhile, Yousuf added that if Aisam remains unavailable for the tournament, the PTF had other players to represent Pakistan.

“We conducted the trials for the Davis Cup,” he said. “We have Muhammad Abid to partner Aqeel if Aisam is not playing. We have some good local players for the tournament. Aqeel has been very consistent and hopefully we’ll try to win.”

Despite repeated attempts by The Express Tribune, Aisam was unavailable for comment till the filing of the report.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 26^th, 2014.

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