ATP Tour

Pakistan's Qureshi bids farewell: 'I have an inner peace'

As the sun rises over the Islamabad Tennis Complex the morning chill begins to disappear with the fog. Overlooking the newly resurfaced match courts, men dressed in the traditional shalwar kameez with woollen vests huddle around heaters as little plumes of steam rise from teacups. Sparrowhawks and a peregrine falcon circle lazily above as they scan the dry, dusty plains for prey.

Players warm up on court as the crack of polo balls being whacked by wooden mallets at the nearby Polo Club ring sharply through the air. The map places us in Pakistan, part of South Asia’s subcontinent, but it feels like we are in the pages of a Rudyard Kipling novel.

This is a historical moment for Pakistan tennis, as it is the first time they have hosted any type of ATP event. A fact that was not lost on one clever sponsor who titled his billboard, “Game. Set. History.”

While it is the first time for Pakistan hosting an ATP Challenger Tour event, it is also the last chance of the year for players hungry for those valuable PIF ATP Ranking points. On the Challenger Tour every point is priceless as a single point can be the deciding factor for direct entry into the main draw of an ATP Tour event.

Oddly enough there is one player in the main draw who is not trying to improve his ATP PIF ranking, Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi. Qureshi is both the host and the star of this week’s show and it just so happens to be is his curtain call. This will be his last tournament in a career that has lasted more than 25 years.

“I have an inner peace with tennis,” Qureshi claimed. “Like all tennis players, I would have liked to have won more matches, but I know that I have given tennis my very best. Now, I am so blessed to have a new purpose. My mission is to develop tennis in Pakistan and help other Pakistanis reach the ATP Tour. This ATP Challenger, while it might be just another stop on the tennis tour for the players, is the cornerstone of our future foundation.”

For his last tournament, Qureshi is paired not with his longtime partner, Aqeel Khan, but with Muzammil Murtaza.

“Aqeel and I have had our time in the spotlight,” Qureshi said. “We have had many wonderful memories together. Now it is time to give the youngsters an opportunity to play with the big boys.”

An important part of any tournament that often goes unnoticed are the ball boys. This week they have been nothing short of fantastic. Quite impressive how they can catch a booming first serve off the bounce barehanded with such grace and confidence. I suppose when you grow up on a cricket pitch catching a tennis ball is easy-peasy.

“As players we travel from tournament to tournament oftentimes without realizing all the criteria, details and effort that it takes to host an event,” Qureshi continued. “Especially so, for the first time. There is a tremendous amount of work, but the reward and the positive impact that having an ATP event will have on Pakistan tennis is so worth the stress.”

The end of a man’s professional tennis career does not come about suddenly, but rather slowly as the legs quietly begin to weaken over time. No longer can he bend down low and drive the ball with the same power as before, or thrust upwards exploding into kick second serve late in the final set.

The heart is willing, but the legs are defiant. While the fans shout emphatically for one more roar, the player knows deep down that the end is at hand.

That is exactly what happened in the first round when Qureshi and Murtaza faced three match points against Timofei Derepasko and Ivan Gretskiy at 6-7, 4-5, 15/40, in the first round.

Throughout his career the first serve has been Qureshi biggest weapon, the one stroke that always came through for him in the clutch. Not so today. For it was his protegee, Murtaza, who stepped up when it mattered most and struck three booming first serves to save the match points. The Pakistanis would go on to prevail in the Match Tie-break 10-7. Sometimes tennis rewards the faithful with one more opportunity to play the game when all appears lost.

Those big serves by Murtaza signalled a pivotal moment when the tennis baton was passed from one generation to the next.

Now, the old Jacaranda trees that line the avenues of Islamabad are in the grip of winter and the limbs dull and barren. Soon spring time will arrive and bright, blooming purple flowers will come alive filling the branches with nature’s signal of new beginnings and growth. That is exactly the hope and expectation of Tennis Pakistan from this ATP Challenger Tour tournament. As for Qureshi, he has run his race. And he finished well.