KARACHI:Japan took a 2-0 lead on the opening day of Davis Cup World Group I tie between against Pakistan but the hosts are looking to bounce back on the second day (Saturday).
Japan’s Yosuke Watanuki put the visiting team 1-0 up beating Pakistan’s seasoned and top singles player Aqeel Khan by 6-3, 6-2 score.
Pakistan’s best player in the history of the game, Aisam-ul- Haq Qureshi worked in the second game to level arrears but Japanese Kaichi Uchida didn’t let him and won the game 6-4, 7-6(4).
“Aisam put a good fight and was in fact leading on many occasions in the second set,” Asim Shafiq, Pakistan Tennis Federation’s National Development Director, told PPI. “He was very disappointed.”
Shafiq added that Aqeel couldn’t put a tough fight against his opponent.
“Aqeel has been performing for a long time now. He is in his 40s while his opponent in his 20s. We shouldn’t expect this much,” he said.
The matches were played at the Aisam ul Haq Pavilion, Pakistan Sports Complex in Islamabad.
Pakistan will be playing a doubles game and two singles game against Japan – provided they win the first two games. Japan is one win away from winning the tie.
Other team members are Muzammil Murtaza, Ahmed Chaudhry and Mohammad Shoaib.
He added that hopefully the team will bounce back in the doubles game.
“The doubles game is also expected to be a tough encounter. Only after that it will be seen whether Aisam and Aqeel have enough stamina to feature in singles matches. We would want to field our best players.”