Aisam to face Ramkumar in the opening fixture of the World Group 1 Play-off
Abdul Jabbar Faisal
ISLAMABAD: The Davis Cup Tennis Tie World Group 1 play-off between traditional rivals nations Pakistan and India will get underway here at the grass courts Aisam Tennis Arena of the Pakistan Sports Complex on Saturday, as ace national tennis player, Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi will face Ramkumar Ramanathen in the opening fixture.
Referee Javier Moreno Perez announced the Draws on Friday at a local hotel. Pakistani tennis star Aisam-ul-Haq will take on Ramkumar Ramanathen of visiting team in the first single of the Davis Cup Tennis Tie while Pakistan number one Aqeel Khan will meet Shriram Balaji in the second encounter of the day.
On the second day, the duo of local tennis lads, Muzammil Murtaza pairing with Barkatullah will lock horns with Indian pair Yuki Bhambri, and Saketh Myneni in the Doubles fixture. Reverse Singles will also be played on Sunday at the same venue.
Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi said: “We are well prepared to encounter high-ranked Indian tennis players in the Davis Cup competitions. I have played against all visiting team’s lads in different tennis events abroad. This time we do not have the grass court advantage because Indian players also play on grass courts but will have a plus point of a home ground and home crowd advantage and people should come and support the national players. We will play a positive game to produce a notable performance against India”.
Indian coach Zeeshan Ali said: “We came here to play the Davis Cup Tennis Tie, which is very important for us. We will try our best to win the vital tie. Our players are confident to give maximum against the host side that has world-class players but we are focused on our game and I hope my boys will do well in the Davis Cup Tennis Tie, as our team is visiting Pakistan after 64 years. We had won the previous tie 4-0. Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) provided us with international standard facilities here during the last four days”.
Match Officials: Javier Moreno Perez (Referee), Emanuel Joseph (Chair Umpire), Nicholas Stellabotte (Chair Umpire), Shahzad Akhter Alvi (Chief of Umpires)
Schedule: Davis Cup Tennis Tie (Pakistan vs India)
First Singles: Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi vs Ramkumar Ramanathan
Second Singles: Aqeel Khan vs Shriram Balaji
Doubles: Muzammil Murtaza, Barkatullah vs Yuki Bhambri, Saketh Myneni
Reverse Singles-1: Aqeel Khan vs Ramkumar Ramanathan
Reverse Singles-2: Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi vs Shriram Balaji
India officials: Rohit Rajpal (Non-playing Captain), Zeeshan Ali (Coach), Debashish Das, and Anand Kumar (Physios), Anil Dhupar (Manager), Sunil Yajaman (Coordinator)
Pakistan Official: Mohammad Abid (Non-playing captain).
