Prior to the tie, Pakistan will practice with Turkey’s top players. PHOTO: FILE
KARACHI: Aqeel Khan believes the team has no reason to lose their Davis Cup Group II Asia-Oceania Zone final tie against Chinese Taipei, beginning on September 18 in Izmir, Turkey.
Aqeel, Abid Ali Akbar and non-playing captain Hamedul Haq will leave for Turkey on Thursday, where they will be joined by Aisamul Haq Qureshi and Samir Iftikhar a week prior to the crucial tie. A win for Pakistan will result in their promotion to Group I.
Pakistan are playing the Group II final for the second time in two years and Aqeel, who has played 44 ties in his career, feels that Davis Cup still provides opportunities and new experiences to the players to prove their worth.
“I’ve never played in Turkey before,” Aqeel told The Express Tribune. “All the players are physically fit and we need to have a mental edge as we are hosting the tie. We really have no excuse to lose.”
Aqeel and Abid have been training in Islamabad and played two national tournaments in order to prepare for the Davis Cup, while Aisam was playing at the US Open this week.
The Karachi-based player said that the team’s short-term objective will be to register at least one win on the first day.
“Chinese Taipei have good players who are competing in international events all year and they are good on hardcourts too. But we need wins on all three days,” said Aqeel.
Pakistan won 3-1 against Indonesia in Jakarta in the semi-finals of the group in July.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 9th, 2015.
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