Tennis Special Report: Aisam ul Haq – a pearl in the midst of ignominy for Pakistan
Aisam ul Haq is most certainly one player, who has performed consistently for his country time and again. He has worked hard on the international circuit and his achievements have been overshadowed by a sport that has consistently disappointed the nation for the past decade.
While Pakistan is suffering the greatest natural calamity the nation has seen in its 63 year history, the politicians of the calamity struck region are involved in their own games of corruption and nepotism. While the ambassadors of Pakistan on the cricket field have left the Pakistani nation stripped of any little integrity it had left, the disaster struck displaced people had little to rejoice for.
With Eid, a religious celebration for the Muslim’s drawing near, one person had something different, something very special on his mind for the Pakistani nation. Aisam ul Haq is standing at the crossroads of history to leave his mark on the world of tennis as the greatest Pakistani tennis player in the history of the game. In the face of adversity, Aisam managed to overcome the plethora of obstacles, as he established himself in the sporting arena without complaining much about the lack of facilities or for that matter, the unprofessional attitude of the tennis federation. He kept clawing at his chances, kept pushing his limits, and here we are at the brink of creating history for the Pakistani nation with Aisam in the US Open 2010 men’s doubles, and mixed doubles final.
Irrespective of the outcome of the finals, one thing is for certain that Aisam ul Haq has certainly established his name in the annals of tennis, as one of the finest players in the subcontinent. Aisam ul Haq became the first Pakistani after 30 years to reach the second round of men’s singles at Wimbledon. He went into Wimbledon qualifying rounds after defeating Richard Gasquet, the French man who was ranked World no 7 in July 2007. He then went on to defeat Mardy Fish, who is currently ranked at 38 in the world. Unfortunately, Aisam had to suffer defeat at the hands of Marat Safin in the Wimbledon second round.
Aisam ul Haq, in November last year defeated Roger Federer and his partner Marco Chiudinelli, in the men’s double of Swiss ATP tennis tournament in Basel to reach the quarterfinals of the 2.6 million $’s tournament.
The 16th seeded South Asian duo, beat the Argentine pair of Eduardo Schwank and Horacio Zeballos 7-6 (7-5) and 6-4 to reach the US open 2010 doubles final in New York on Wednesday. Aisam has also reached the mixed doubles final at the US open with his Czech counterpart Kveta Peschke.
The 30 year old tennis star from Pakistan has set extremely high standards for Pakistan tennis, and after the spot fixing allegations faced by Pakistan cricket, the nation stood ashamed and angered at their sporting heroes. However, Aisam ul Haq, the wishful tennis star from Pakistan, who has paired with the Indian Tennis player Rohan Bopanna currently seem unassailable as they continue their winning streak at the US open. His performance has been a much needed respite for sports enthusiasts all over the country, who have been jubilant at the extra ordinary feat that the Pakistani tennis player has achieved.
As the nation braces itself for Eid ul-Fitr festivities marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan, Aisam ul Haq has emerged as the unlikely saviour for Pakistani’s as he could emerge as the first player from the country to win a grand slam title.
“I know how important my performances are right now for my countrymen. I am eager to give them something to celebrate about after the floods and cricket scandal,” he told a local television channel from New York. “I am really proud to become the first Pakistani to reach the knockout stage of a grand slam event but my job is still not finished as yet,” he said.
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