Kuwait done, Indonesia next for Pakistan

Veteran Aisam terms second-round clash tougher than last one

KARACHI: Tennis ace Aisamul Haq Qureshi believes that Pakistan’s Davis Cup Asia-Oceania Group II’s second-round tie against Indonesia in July will be a steeper mountain to scale than their last assignment.

Pakistan defeated Kuwait 3-2 in their home tie on Sunday in Colombo. According to Aisam, the competition will only get tougher from there.

“I haven’t seen any of the Indonesian players so far, but I’ve heard that one of them gives a hard time to his opponents,” Aisam told The Express Tribune. “So it’s going to be a very competitive tie, especially on the surface of their choice.”

Aisam has left for the US to play at the ATP circuit, while his Davis Cup teammate Aqeel Khan has returned to Pakistan from Colombo.

The team will be coming together again in July for the tie, before which Aisam would have been through playing the French Open and Wimbledon.

He said that getting used to switching surfaces always takes time. “I’ll be coming to play Davis Cup right after Wimbledon. So shifting from grass to hard court is tough.”

However, Aisam is still hopeful of Pakistan’s chances. “I think we have a good team,” he said. “Aqeel plays well under pressure and I’m very happy with the way we performed against Kuwait. [Debutant] Abid Ali Akbar was also promising, and maybe we will have Samir Iftikhar coming up for the next tie.”

So far in the head-to-head record, Indonesia have won against Pakistan twice in three encounters, while Pakistan defeated them 4-1 in the last clash between the two countries in 1984.

Meanwhile, Aqeel said his training with Aisam in January as his hitting partner at the Australian Open will help him in preparing for the next round. “I’ll practice the techniques I learned in Australia at home to prepare for the next round in Indonesia,” he said.

 

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