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Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships (ATP)

British No.1 Andy Murray is in action in the men’s singles this week in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, an ATP 500 event.
In his first round match, Murray will be taking on qualifier Michael Berrer from Germany.
Other big names in the men’s singles include, world No.1 Novak Djokovic, Mardy Fish and Juan Martin Del Potro.
Meanwhile in the men’s doubles, Jamie Murray has paired up once again with Australian Paul Hanley and in their first round match they will be facing Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi & Jean-Julien Rojer.

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Tennis star Aisam’s book launched

LAHORE Feb 25 (APP): “Lessons Learnt from the Tennis Tour with Robert Davis,” authored by world tennis ace and Old Ravian Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi was officially launched here at Government College University Lahore under the auspices of the Old Ravians Union (ORU) on Saturday. Speaking on the occasion, Aisam-ul-Haq hoped that Pakistani youths would learn from experiences which he had shared in his book. “I want to interact with every single youngster of my country but it is not possible for me, so I have written a book which will work as a medium of interaction with the youth,” the national hero said.

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Aisam hopes youngsters will learn from his book

KARACHI: Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi is hopeful that youngsters will learn from his experiences which the Pakistani tennis ace has shared in his book — Lessons learnt from the tennis tour.

Speaking at a well-attended book launch here on Wednesday, the tennis star said that he has gained a lot from his experiences on the international tennis tour, which is the prime reason behind his decision to write a book.

Aisam, one of Pakistan’s most popular sports stars, is currently ranked number nine in the world doubles rankings. If he manages to remain in the top-ten till the end of May this year, then there are bright chances that Aisam and his compatriot Aqeel Khan will qualify to represent Pakistan at the men’s doubles event of the Olympic Games 2012 in London this summer.

“No Pakistani player has ever featured in Olympic tennis,” said Aisam. “It is one of my greatest dreams to be able to play in the Olympics,” he added. Aisam, who recently helped Pakistan win their Davis Cup match against Lebanon in Beirut, is the only Pakistani to have reached a Grand Slam final. He achieved that feat at the 2010 US Upen when he made to the finals of the men’s doubles and mixed doubles events with India’s Rohan Boppana and Czech Republic’s Kveta Peschke respectively.

Aisam, 31, also shared various anecdotes and memorable incidents of his tennis life with his fans. He hailed his parents and his coach Robert Davis, who co-authored the book.

Those who attended the ceremony here at the Valley School of Art and Architecture included his family, friends and fans. His wife, Faha, was there along with Aisam’s father – Ihtisham – and sister Shiza.

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We would win Davis Cup tie on home soil, says Aqeel

KARACHI: Tennis player Aqeel Khan said on Tuesday that Pakistan would easily win the Davis Cup tie against Philippines if the federation succeeded in retaining the hosting rights of the tie.

“The federation (Pakistan Tennis Federation) should fight to get its due share. Actually losing the Davis Cup tie hosting rights mean we have nearly lost half of the chance to win. It is very frustrating,” Aqeel Khan told PPI.

Pakistan will play Davis Cup tie against Philippines from 6-8 April. PTF officials have claimed that they have been trying to retain the hosting rights.

PTF chief Kaleem Imam has said that the federation would try its best to retain the hosting rights. But if it failed, they would try to convince International Tennis Federation (ITF) to hold the tie at a neutral venue, most probably at Chandigarh or Dubai or even London. “It’s a 70/30 chance in our favour if the tie is played in Pakistan. But Philippines will have a 60/40 advantage if the tie is moved to Manila,” Aqeel said.

Philippines has defeated Pakistan three times in Davis Cup ties played in Philippines. Aqeel said that he has been representing Pakistan in Davis Cup for around 13 years and Pakistan’s track record at home has been brilliant. “We have won all of the Davis Cup ties played in Pakistan since 1998. We have defeated Chinese Taipei twice, Thailand twice and New Zealand, Korea and China once. I am not saying that we can’t do anything at our opponent’s soil but what we should do is that we should not let our share of events be lost to our opponent,” Aqeel explained.

Aqeel and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi defeated Lebanon in Beirut by 3-2. The tie was originally scheduled to be played in Pakistan, but Lebanon showed security concerns and persuaded ITF to shift the tie to Lebanon.

“If the tie had been played in Pakistan we would have won it 5-0,” Aisam said. He criticised PTF for consistently losing its Davis Cup ties and said that this gave great advantage to their opponents. “It is very frustrating to see our opponent choose the type of court in the ties which is supposed to be our right,” Aisam said.

Aisam and Aqeel both prefer grass courts, but if the tie was played in Manila, Filipino players would choose clay courts. Aisam also said that he wanted to play in front of the home crowd. “Our people should see us in action. This would also promote tennis in the country.”

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Pakistan players keen to play their Davis Cup tie in India

Karachi: Pakistan’s top tennis players want their next Davis Cup Asia-Oceania group II tie against Philippines to be held in India if the ITF does not allow Pakistan Tennis Federation to host the tie.

As per Davis Cup rules, Pakistan is due to host the tie against Philippines after they beat Lebanon in Lebanon recently in a group tie.

But with security concerns leading to the ITF shifting Davis Cup ties from Pakistan in the last two years including the latest one against Lebanon, there are slim chances of the ITF allowing the tie against Philippines to be held in Lahore.

“The good thing is that the ITF has given us the option of choosing the neutral venue if the tie is not played in Pakistan,” PTF secretary Mumtaz Yousuf said.

“We have spoken to the boys about it and while there are options, their preference appears to be India,” Yousuf said.

He said Delhi and Chandigarh were possible options to host the Davis Cup tie.

Pakistan’s top tennis star Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi said that he did not see the ITF allowing the tie to be held anywhere in Pakistan.

“That is why I think the next best possible option for us is to play in India as conditions are similar and we will get to practice properly on surface of our liking,” he said.

“We didn’t have helpful conditions in Lebanon but the grass courts in India will definitely help us. Grass is also our preferred surface. The Indian authorities even agreed to host us last year and I think the PTF should consider it as an option. It will also help cordial ties between the neighbours,” he said.

An ITF official said the PTF first needed to apply to either host the event or suggest a neutral venue as the choice is theirs.

“The ball is in their court. If necessary, we’ll commission out an independent security review according to what the PTF suggests in their proposal.”

The PTF has also expressed its desire to host the tie in Dubai but is also keen to play in India where it expects support from locals as well as the travelling Pakistan fans.

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