LONDON, June 26: Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi enjoyed a day to remember as he became only the second Pakistani to win a men's singles match at Wimbledon by defeating Lee Childs in the first round on Tuesday.
Aisam, 27, emulated Haroon Rahim's two first-round victories in the 1975 and 1976 with a convincing 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (8-6) success over Childs, a British qualifier, and will now play former world No 1 Marat Safin, the 26th seed.
It was an historic afternoon for Aisam. He became the first Pakistani man to play in the singles since Haroon’s appearance 31 years ago and was also appearing in his first Grand Slam singles event.
Haroon’s 1976 first round victory was the last time a Pakistani had won at Wimbledon and Aisam’s debut Grand Slam triumph ensures the All-England Club will always have a special place in his heart.
It was a far cry from Aisam’s previous visit to Wimbledon in 2002 when he found himself at the centre of a storm over his decision to play doubles with Israel's Amir Hadad.
The move enraged the Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) since his country does not recognise the Jewish state. The PTF threatened to throw Aisam out of the Davis Cup team but he defiantly played on and the pair were later given the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year award for their solidarity.
The Lahore-based player, whose mother Nausheen is a former national champion, could concentrate solely on his tennis this time.
Although he plays mainly in ATP Future events, which are two levels below the tournaments featuring the likes of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, Aisam showed no signs of being overawed on the big occasion.
Aisam drew first blood here with a perfectly-placed backhand down the line to break Childs in the sixth game of the first set. The Pakistani served and volleyed with considerable aplomb to ensure he closed out the set in confident fashion.
Aisam refused to let Childs settle and broke the qualifier again with a powerful forehand return at the start of the second set.
A pair of thudding serves from Aisam stopped Childs, ranked 404th, taking two break points and he held his lead to move two sets in front.
The third set went to a tie-break. Aisam moved to match point after a Childs error at 5-5, only for the Briton to save it with an ace.
Childs netted again to give Aisam a second match point, this time on his serve, and he took with a volley. He dropped to his knees before running to the courtside to celebrate a famous victory with his family.
Aisam, mobbed afterwards by Asian fans clamouring for photos and autographs, said: “From the first point I decided to be aggressive. The main thing I was worried about was how to handle the pressure at Wimbledon.”
He may be ranked only 279 in the world but Aisam’s confidence was high when he upset Frenchman Richard Gasquet in the Halle grasscourt tournament earlier this month and then fought through Wimbledon's qualifying rounds.
“I was very loose and relaxed on court today,” he said. “I don't think Lee expected me to come out today so pumped up and fired up.”
Aisam further said: “I am living my dream. Ever since I started playing, I wanted to play Wimbledon.”
“My mum took me to the tennis courts one day when I was 14.
That is when I started playing tennis.”
From Jan 1 this year he has been writing every day in his diary: “I am going to qualify for Wimbledon.”
Aisam had failed three times before in his bid to get into the main draw but “I always believed I could play with the big boys. Qualifying for Wimbledon has changed my life.”
—Agencies
