News > POA

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

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.”