KARACHI: Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi is trying to convince a Pakistani Australian tennis player to play for Pakistan in their Davis Cup Asia-Oceania Group-II semifinal against New Zealand this summer.
Aisam, Pakistan’s tennis ace, wants to help strengthen the national team in a bid to improve its chances of beating the Kiwis in the July 9-11 tie set to be played in small-town Hawera in the predominantly dairy farming province of Taranaki.
He is hoping to get Rameez Junaid, a Lahore-born player who is settled in Melbourne, on board with the belief that his inclusion can boost Pakistan’s hopes of reaching this year’s Davis Cup Group-II final.
Rameez Junaid, 29, usually plays doubles with Philipp Marx from Germany. He is ranked in the top-100 in doubles, and once also partnered Aisam in a doubles event in Dubai in 2007.
Rashid Malik, Pakistan’s Davis Cup coach and non-playing captain, told ‘The News’ on Monday that it would be great if Rameez agrees to play for Pakistan.
“We have been totally relying on Aisam and Aqeel Khan in recent years and it will be great if we can have another good player with international experience in our team,” said Malik, a former Pakistan number one.
Malik said that he has talked to Aisam about Rameez’s inclusion, adding that there is a big possibility that the player will agree to play for Pakistan.
“Aisam told me that he would talk to Rameez about playing for Pakistan. The Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) is also aware of it and I’m sure that it would welcome the player if he decides to play for us.”
Malik said that New Zealand are a beatable team but they are tough opponents in their own backyard.
“There is no doubt that New Zealand is a beatable team,” he said. “They barely managed to beat Sri Lanka 3-2 in Colombo in the Davis Cup first round this year. But that match was played in hot and humid conditions. New Zealand are really tough on their home turf.”
Malik said that Aisam will be the key Pakistan’s chances in the semifinal clash.
“Aisam is playing the best tennis of his career and is perfectly capable of winning against any of the New Zealand players,” he said. “But what we need is two more players, who can produce good results. We have Aqeel, who is very experienced and if we can have Rameez, our team’s chances of winning the title will become quite bright.”
Malik is hoping that the PTF will stage a comprehensive preparatory camp for the Davis Cup. “It would be great if we can have a training camp for about four to five weeks,” he said. “That way we can prepare the players get them both physically and mentally ready for the tough matches,” he stressed.
The coach is of the view that Lahore can be a good choice to host the camp. “We have a really good facility in Lahore. There are these excellent synthetic courts here at Bagh-e-Jinnah. By training here for five weeks, our players can get fully fit for the tie.
Meanwhile, Tennis New Zealand has announced on Monday that the Taranaki town of Hawera will host the Davis Cup tie against Pakistan. The best-of-five match would be played at the TSB Hub, a new multi-purpose stadium hosting an international fixture for the first time.
A temporary court, first used for the tie against China in New Plymouth in 2008, will be installed there. The New Zealand team will be announced in early June.
Source: http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=235050
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