Unsung Tennis Hero, Aisam ul Haq Qureshi
Of Pakistan

by Mahboob Khan (USPTR-Certified Pro).

Tennis Program Director, Islamabad Club Coaching Center, Islamabad, Pakistan. Coach to national and internationally ranked juniors, professional and Davis Cup players

Pakistan is known for its Squash legends Jehangir Khan and Jansher Khan who virtually ruled the world for more than 20 years. We have also produced world-class cricketers such as Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shahid Afridi, and Shoaib Akhtar who are one of the world’s fastest bowlers! However, our achievements in tennis have been over-shadowed by Cricket. Back in 70s we had a tennis player namely Haroon Raheem who had victories over the likes of Jimmy Connors but no one knows where is he now. Very little is known about Aisam ul Haq Qureshi who recently beat Paradorn Srichaphan, the red hot Thai player, in a Davis Cup match in which Pakistan beat Thailand 3-2 on grass in Lahore. In the recently concluded 1st Islamic Solidarity Games, Aisam played a pivotal role in winning three gold medals for Pakistan (1 in team event, 1 in men’s singles, and 1 in men’s doubles with Aqeel Khan as his partner).

Aisam had a very successful junior career – a career that saw him winning many singles and doubles ITF Junior Championships. As a Pro, he has also won many singles and doubles titles in Satellite and Challenger events. However, prior to his Davis Cup match (March 4-6, 2005) in which he beat Paradorn Srichaphan in four close sets, and his recent gold medals in the Islamic Games, Taif, Saudi Arabia, he was almost an unknown commodity internationally if you compare his fame with that of Paradorn!

Gaining 2-1 lead in the previous three matches of the Davis Cup tie against Thailand, Aisam knew what was at stake and in store for him. Paradorn Srichaphan, the red hot Asian number 1, top 10 ATP material, who had beaten almost every player on the circuit including his straight set demolition of Andre Agassi on the lawns of Wimbledon a few years ago, was waiting for him to turn the tide in his country’s favor. The setting: first reverse singles between Aisam and Paradorn on Lahore’s grass!

The tennis pundits of the country had already predicted a straight set victory for Paradorn Srichaphan because of his reputation, considering the fact that in 2002 Aisam lost in five sets to a lesser-known Chinese player on his favorite turf, grass, in Peshawar, and then lost a 5-set thriller to a South Korean also on grass in Lahore. In 2004, Aisam lost to Kiwi Mark Nielson also in five sets on his least favourite surface, clay in Islamabad. So it seemed a tall order for Aisam to beat Paradorn this time around on grass.

Aisam is basically a serve and volley player, a style very effective on Pakistani grass. Paradorn is an aggressive baseliner whose style of play is more suitable to medium fast surfaces such as deco-turf and rebound ace.

Paradorn has a good technique overall. However, I felt that his forehand is a whip forehand as opposed to smooth aggressive forehand such as Moya’s or Agassi’s. I also feel that he seems to lose balance with his pinpoint stance serve and this imbalance becomes quite acute on grass which does not provide firm foundation to someone who is uncomfortable on this surface. I recall mentioning these facts to Aisam. My advice then was, “If you play Paradorn at some point in your career, look forward to breaking his serve, and concentrate more on his forehand when you serve, and during baseline rally situations”. Even a fake belief that someone might have a problem with any particular stroke, gives you the added confidence to do well against a superior opponent!

Aisam has a great serve (fig. 1), a smooth 1-handed backhand topspin drive (fig. 2), and punishing volleys (fig. 3).

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Thanks largely to Procompare, through the use of frame by frame forehand hitting sequencings of Roger Federer, Andre Agassi, and other top ATP players, I have greatly helped Aisam to improve his rally forehand so that it remains steady in pressure situations.

Aisam has a good forehand now, but if you compare his forehand’s backswing height (fig 4) with that of Paradorn and Roger Federer’s forehand backswing height (fig 5 and 6), it is obvious that Aisam’s backswing is a bit lower than the standard practice at ATP circuit.

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Why is so fuss about the backswing height? Well, in order for the racket to generate speed along the way, you need distance – distance prior to and after contact (more backswing height and follow-through). The resultant high loop backswing gives more momentum, more rhythm, and more power. Given the fact that his grip is similar to Federer’s, and close in comparison to Agassi’s mild semi-western, Aisam would be better advised to copy Federer and Agassi’s forehand characteristics. Even the serve and volley specialist, Tim Henman who is the sole role model of Aisam, has a higher backswing rally forehand hit from the baseline. In your return game, a strong ground game (forehand and backhand) will allow you to defend when the ball is deep, and attack when the ball is a bit weaker/shorter. In fact, a bazooka forehand will elicit more attackable balls for you which will also tickle up to your serve and volley style of play!

Comparing your stroke with the slow motion video clips provided on procomparetennis.net and the hitting sequencings, any player – ATP/WTA, national, social or club level – can learn and implement easy to follow technical adjustments.

Now back to Paradorn Vs. Aisam ul Haq Qureshi’s match:

It was a context between a serve and volleyer (Aisam) and an aggressive baseliner (Paradorn). The match started on an aggressive note. Aisam served and volleyed well and returned well. His forehand this time around was quite consistent. Paradorn did serve and volley occasionally but it became clear that he was not sure which style to follow – to stay back or to go forward. Aisam capitalized on this hesitation and took the first set 7/5. In the second set, in the outset, Aisam became a bit complacent allowing Paradorn to break his serve. This set was won by Paradorn 6/2. In the third and fourth sets, however, Aisam kept his relentless attacking style in tact; he served and volleyed, and chipped and charged at will. On the return of serve, Aisam managed to return Paradorn’s serve off both his wings (this was the main improvement). There were very few free points for Paradorn. I believe it was Aisam’s excellent serve and volley tactics coupled with consistent return of serve, that he managed to break Paradorn’s serve at least once in sets 3 and 4. An impossible task was achieved. Aisam beat Paradorn 7/5, 2/6, 6/4, 6/4.

Now if we could beat Chinese Taipei in April, we will be eligible for the World Group play-off and who knows we might end up playing USA in the first round!

Our Tennis System may not be as progressive as those of other nations but we have the talent and we have some good coaches. It’s just a matter of putting all the ingredients together in a workable tennis development system to develop more quality players.

Kind regards