The second serve

Gabriel de Souza

It is said that in tennis the second serve is as important as the first. To some extent the same holds true as far as the second string or the back-up players are concerned. All’s good when a team’s current players are doing well. But what if they are not able to give their best or are injured? Does the team have good enough reserve players to fill that gap?

This is a very important question the answer to which the Pakistan Tennis Federation would have to look for — sooner rather than later.Aisamul Haq Qureshi and Aqeel Khan have been serving Pakistan with pride for 20 long years. Both are on the wrong side of the 30s. They give it their all while representing the country in the Davis Cup and have won some tough battles over the years, just like they did in the last two ties — the Asia/Oceania Group II final against Thailand last year and this month’s Group I tie against South Korea.

That both Aisam and Aqeel have been going on for such a long time in itself is an achievement. They have been putting their bodies on the line, as we saw Aisam playing on with severe cramps against Thailand and Aqeel refusing to give up even with a painful arm against South Korea.

There aren’t many players in the world who have carried on at this level into their late 30s. Even if they do, that’s more likely to be in doubles. However, Aisam and Aqeel play the singles, the reverse singles and the doubles. They have been carrying a heavy workload just to keep the Pakistan flag flying in the tennis world. More often than not they are up against much younger opponents who naturally are much fitter. It’s just the will to do well for the country that keeps the two veterans going. But for how long?

Pakistan’s next Group I tie is against Uzbekistan at home in April. Uzbeks are likely to be Pakistan’s strongest opposition of late. Naturally, the hosts will have to be better prepared. One way is to hold selection trials early and organise a training camp of at least three weeks. If Aisam and Aqeel are fit, which they hopefully will be, the PTF needs not to worry as we can be sure that the experienced duo will give their best as they have always done. But is the federation ready in case of any eventuality?

We hope everything goes well but the PTF will have to start looking to the future. Aisam and Aqeel cannot go on forever. Pakistan needs to find and groom new Aisams and Aqeels, who can go on and serve the country with pride for another decade or two. We cannot just sit on our recent or past laurels, we need to build on the success we have achieved. The veteran duo’s performances would surely have inspired and motivated a lot of young players to be like them. Obviously, such players cannot be made overnight. It will take a long process and a lot of hard work to reach that point.

The national team selectors missed a trick by not including a fifth player in the side for the South Korea tie. That fifth player could have been a promising junior like national Under-18 No 1 Muhammad Shoaib. The experience of just being with the star players can help a youngster learn a lot — how do they think, how do they practice, how do they approach a big event, what do they do to handle pressure, etc. If the tie is already decided after the first three matches, a junior player can also be given a match as the South Koreans did. It would have been wonderful to see 16-year-old Minjong Park fighting it out with 15-year-old Shoaib in a match of the future.

Talented juniors like Muhammad Shoaib and Yousaf Khan should also be part of the trials as it will be a huge learning curve for them.

The PTF took a great initiative by launching the National Tennis Academy in August last year under the supervision of former Davis Cup players and non-playing captains Hameedul Haq and Mushaf Zia. Both were delighted with the talent they had in the camp, speaking very highly of a couple of them. But that training camp lasted only four weeks.

Admitted that the federation does not have a lot of resources to run the academy for a long period of time but the truth is that if we want to groom talent or produce future stars we have to make some extra efforts. The tennis academy needs to be run all the year round with breaks only for tournaments. Only under continued guidance can our players improve and work on their strengths and weaknesses.

PTF President Salim Saifullah Khan has made a great achievement in bringing back Davis Cup ties and other international tennis to Pakistan. It has provided our players the opportunity to play International Tennis Federation circuit events in front of home crowds. Now we need to go a little further. We don’t want our players to just be competitive; we want them to be good enough to beat their opponents. So, it is very important that special attention is paid in this regard. Assistance can be sought from former Davis Cup players who, I am sure, are ready to help out. The PTF is based in Islamabad and so are the tennis complex and other facilities. Luckily for the federation a host of former Davis Cup players, captains and qualified coaches are also available in the twin cities.

Aisam and Aqeel have been the pride of Pakistan. Sooner or later their bodies will not be able to carry the burden anymore and they will need someone to pass on the baton to. The PTF should gather all the former players and coaches in a meeting and devise a sound strategy for the future. It will take time to find replacements for the star duo and the earlier we start thinking in that direction the better. The future is now.