Davis Cup: Pakistan v India back on the calendar

National side up against arch-rivals in next year’s Group I matches

KARACHI: Pakistan’s 2016 tennis calendar promises exciting spectacles and increased competitiveness in the Davis Cup’s Asia-Oceania Group I as the team will be pitted against India — after nine years —  along with four other nations after registering a stellar 3-2 win against Chinese Taipei in their Group II final.

Pakistan won after the 2010 US Open doubles finalist Aisamul Haq Qureshi overcame Chinese Taipei’s Jui-Chen Hung in the final rubber of the tie which not only decided the match, but also Pakistan’s future in Davis Cup.

Aisam and Aqeel Khan — Pakistan’s most experienced player — now await Group I draws that will come out in October.

“It’s been a dream for me and Aqeel; this is what we’ve been working for,” Aisam told The Express Tribune. “It’s the first time in almost a decade that Pakistan are back in Group I. This has been the highlight of my year and also an enormous step forward for Pakistan tennis.”

Aisam, who led the team as captain, believes that playing their Davis Cup matches in Pakistan next year is imperative. “We’ve been stuck in Group II primarily because we’ve long been deprived of home advantage; it’s tough to play abroad every time,” he said.

Meanwhile, coach Hamedul Haq said that all the teams including India and Uzbekistan — who played the World Group play-offs last weekend — along with New Zealand, Korea and China will be tough competitors for Pakistan.

“We’ll be playing at least three matches and we need to win at least one,” said Haq. “India have been a top team in Group I and most of the other teams have spent time in that group as well, so our target will be to retain our position there and avoid relegation.”

The coach added that Pakistan will need to go for grass or clay courts. “If we get grass courts next year, we have a very good chance of keeping our spot,” he said.

PTF to arrange ties at neutral venues

Learning from their Turkey lession PTF secretary Khalid Rehmani said that the federation will be targeting grass courts at neutral venues.

“We’ve started working on finding grass courts in other countries like Thailand,” said Rehmani. “We’re going to go through all the procedures well in advance so that we’ll have ample time to prepare. Moreover, we’ll start training our junior players to groom them for the Davis Cup by next year.”

He further said that playing against India and
getting a good draw next month for the 2016 tie will attract people’s attention and eventually help the sport grow in Pakistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 22^nd,   2015.

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