“My only goal is to help bring Pakistan to Group-I in the Davis Cup.” —Photo by Hafsa Adil/Dawn.com

“The night before the match, I asked God to give me this win. I thought, this guy has everything. A loss wouldn't matter to him much but for me, it could be a life-changing experience.” 

It was indeed a life-changing moment for Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi when he and his doubles partner James Cerritani beat world number one Roger Federer and Marco Chiudinelli at the ATP Swiss Indoors in Basel. Apart from beating the tennis great, he also managed to beat Pakistan's cricket and hockey teams to the headlines that day. It was probably not the sort of fame Aisam had imagined, if he ever did, when he picked up the tennis racquet at the age of 13. Back then, it was an easy of staying away from homework and studies for the boy from Model Town, Lahore.

Soon after Aisam hit the teens, his mother took him to a tennis court to see if he had inherited the maternal tennis gene. After all, his maternal grandfather Khwaja Iftikhar had remained an All India number one before partition and his mother, Nausheen Ihtsham was the Pakistan number one for ten years. Aisam too, was the athletic kind.

“I was the most sporty of the (three) siblings. I was the school swimming champion for five years and was part of the hockey, cricket and football teams. Tennis began as a hobby, it was a good excuse to stay outdoors,” he smirked. But champions probably need only a glimpse to identify a prospective champion and from there on, Nausheen backed her eldest son to take tennis more seriously.

Debuts seldom come as poor as Aisam's first professional outing a 6-0, 6-0 loss in his first local Under-14 tournament.

“I was heartbroken and it stung so bad that I decided to beat my opponent in our next meeting.”

With revenge on his mind, Aisam started training harder and longer and in no time, he was Pakistan's Under-16 champion. Aged 17, and with the Under-18 championship safely secured, it was time to step onto a bigger court.

“My father wrote to the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and asked them to consider me in the 10 young players they pick annually for training.”

The request was accepted and the ITF and training propelled Aisam into the top-100 ranking. A marked improvement on show, the ITF recalled him the following year and the second chance changed his life completely. By the end of the year, Aisam was seventh in the ITF rankings and top of the rankings in Asia.

“This is where things started changing. I got sport scholarship offers from Stanford, Tennessee, Texas, etc. but my father said, 'why don't you stay here and just play tennis?' and that is when I became full-time professional tennis player.”

For the last 12 years, Aisam has been Pakistan's top-ranked tennis player and while he proudly represents Pakistan in the Davis Cup events, his absence from local events is often questioned.

“I must play international tournaments to maintain my ranking which is why I'm out of Pakistan during the season. But, when I come back, there are no events happening.”

He said he misses playing at home and was left bitterly disappointed when Pakistan's 'home' Davis Cup tie against New Zealand was shifted due to security concerns. Despite the disappointment, Aisam is quick to realise that it would have been difficult to convince the Kiwis to play in Pakistan when our very own National Games were postponed on the same grounds.

Aisam said he would 'love' to pair-up with Aqeel Khan - the current Pakistan number one - on the ATP circuit if Aqeel starts playing international tournaments regularly. Despite being direct opponents in national tennis, there is great affinity between the two. There is a look of concern when Aisam talks about Aqeel's international rankings, “Aqeel broke into the top 300 once and I advised him to play some more international tournaments but unfortunately that didn't happen and he lost his ranking.”

Aqeel Khan is not the only Pakistani player Aisam wants to pair up with. In a recent television interview Aisam said he will try to convince foreign-based tennis players of Pakistani origin to represent Pakistan at the Davis Cup. Wouldn't that be unfair to the young players who have been training in Pakistan, hoping for a Davis Cup spot? Aisam was quick to defend himself. “Absolutely not,” he said.

“See, my only goal is to help bring Pakistan to Group-I in the Davis Cup, which is also what the federation wants. So if one of these guys ends up playing for Pakistan, we'll make a stronger team and win more matches,” Aisam explained.

With the tennis season spread across most of the year, Aisam savours whatever time he gets to spend with family. When in Lahore, he trains and practices at the Bagh-e-Jinnah courts or at the Model Town Club, where he also trains some of the junior players.

“There are a number of juniors who are touring on the ITF circuit but it will take some time for them to improve their rankings...I hope it happens soon because I want to pass the mantle as soon as possible.”

Despite coming from a family that supported his ambitions, Aisam realises that young tennis aspirants face the dilemma of indecision. “Their families need to understand that tennis can be a professional career choice too,” said the man who is now the face of a famous beverage brand previously restricted to cricketers. And while he is very proud of his 'advertising breakthrough,' Aisam remains disappointed at the lack of coverage for tennis in Pakistani media.

“Pakistan tennis has improved by leaps and bounds in the last five years but it has yet to get the kind of attention that cricket gets.”

The first time Aisam made the headlines was in 2002 when he paired up with Israel's Amir Hadad at Wimbledon. Despite progressing to the third round of tennis's most prestigious tournament, Aisam was slammed by local media and the Pakistan Tennis Federation banned him from representing Pakistan. The decision was eventually reverted but the disappointment still lingers for Aisam. “I was expecting a letter of appreciation from the federation for my performance.”

After Wimbledon, the pair went on to qualify for second round of the US Open, where they were presented the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award for playing together despite pressure from their communities.

Aisam has been pairing up with Indian players Rohan Bopanna and Prakash Amritraj for the last few years and it has proven to be a successful combination. Aisam and Rohan won their first ever ATP title on February 7, 2010, in South Africa, while he reached the Wimbledon third round with Prakash in 2009.

“Indians are my best friends on tour because we speak the same language, eat the same food and we have the same culture...we hang out together.”

It will be with an Indian, Bopanna to be precise, that he will venture into the world of clay courts in the current season. After that, Aisam will return to his favourite tournament, Wimbledon, hoping to go further than the third round.

Aisam's best singles performance at the Championships came in 2007 when he reached the second round, only to get beaten by Russia's Marat Safin. Had he won against Safin, he would have had a chance to play against his current favourite, Federer, at the famous SW19.

As fate would have it, Aisam was meant to meet Federer in a match that would turn his career around.

For those watching the match live, or on YouTube re-runs, Aisam's over-the-net chat with Federer still stirs curiosity.

“I said, 'it was an honour to be on the same court as you,' to which he replied, 'but mate, we did play each other 13 years ago too.”