Karachi: After being sidelined by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) as Davis Cup hosts, the Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) has decided to hold the Asia-Oceania Zone Group II final against Chinese Taipei in Turkey.
PTF senior vice-president Khawar Hyat confirmed on Sunday that the federation has been lucky enough to get help from their Turkish counterparts in a situation where the ITF has completely refused to let Pakistan host their home tie in Lahore.
Pakistan played their last Davis Cup tie on home soil back in 2005 and a decade down the line, the ITF is still considering the country an unsafe place for international fixtures.
“Turkey it is, but I’ve never played there before though I’ve heard it is a great venue,” Pakistan’s top player Aqeel Khan told the sources. “There is certainly a reason behind the decision as we’ll be getting Chinese Taipei out of their comfort zone, but it’s really unfair to Pakistan tennis. I wonder why the ITF doesn’t think about us. If they are so concerned about tennis and its promotion around the world, why are they depriving us of the right to play our crucial tie at home?”
Aqeel added that international players and teams are coming to Pakistan in other sports and gave the example of the IBSF World Snooker Championship that the country is currently hosting in Karachi. He also questioned ITF’s lack of interest in Pakistan tennis.
“I would like to ask the ITF to even this out. Arrange our tie in England — there is no dearth of grasscourts there — since they won’t approve Pakistan as the hosts. I feel that they should really work on this.”
Despite the drawback, Aqeel said that the team, which includes Aisamul Haq Qureshi, Samir Iftikhar and Abid Ali Akbar, are upbeat about their game knowing the importance of the tie.
“We’ll do our best of course,” said Aqeel. “This is about our tennis and its revival, it’s really big, because winning this tie will mean that we will get to play in Group I among the best teams in the region.”
