Improving himself: Aisam happy to learn from Zimonjic despite loss

The Serbian is a former world number one in doubles.

KARACHI: Tennis ace Aisamul Haq Qureshi believes partnering with a former doubles world number one, Serbia’s Nenad Zimonjic, was a learning experience for him at the Australian Open.

“I learnt a lot from Zimonjic and that is the most exciting part for me,” Aisam told The Express Tribune. “Zimonjic is very experienced and he has played with the greats. I’ve learnt a lot about the game from him. He guided me in different aspects and we’ll be adjusting our game — he asked me to make a few changes, which I will.”

The 2010 US Open finalist said that he was disappointed with the Australian Open campaign, where the pair lost 6-3, 6-3 in the third round to French pair Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicholas Mahut.

“It was a little disappointing, the way we lost the match,” said Aisam. “We could’ve played better. We are both capable of doing better, but that is not to say that our opponents weren’t any good. In fact they played well. But Zimonjic and I have just paired up and we’ll be working on our game.”

Aisam said he wanted to play indoor tournaments and left yesterday for their first assignment next month at the Montpellier Open, from where him and Zimonjic make their way to Rotterdam.

“Zimonjic has won in Rotterdam before and he is a great player in indoor courts. I haven’t played in an indoor tournament in a while, so I wanted to compete in these two events,” said Aisam.

The 34-year-old added that the mixed doubles event also did not go according to plan. He partnered Russia’s Alla Kudryavtseva but the pair was knocked out in the first round. Aisam said that if he paired up with Kudryavtseva again, he will be hoping for a better performance from her.

Meanwhile, Aisam also took his Davis Cup partner Aqeel Khan with him on the tour. Aisam said that Aqeel was his hitting partner and having a friend on the tour helped.

“I took Aqeel and it was a good experience,” said Aisam. “He is also my Davis Cup partner, so this way I could help him. I thought this was the best way in fact. He got to see how professionals train and met some top quality players, such as David Ferrer.”

Aisam added that he feels Aqeel’s time with him on the tour will help the two in the Davis Cup, in which Pakistan will play Kuwait in March.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 31^st, 2015.

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