ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Aisam-ul-Haq in action against Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan on Friday.—Tanveer Shahzad / White Star
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Uzbekistan were tied after the first day action of their Davis Cup Asia Oceania Group I second round clash after ace home player Aisam-ul-Haq conceded his match due to hand cramps but his compatriot Aqeel Khan hit back with a win to level the tie here at Pakistan Sports Complex grass courts on Friday.
Pakistan were off to a wrong-footed start and went 1-0 down when dashing Aisam, after a nerve-wracking fight in the first set against highly ranked Uzbek player Denis Istomin which went upto record breaking 36-point tie break, conceded his match due to constant cramps in his right hand.
Aisam was unable to continue and conceded the match to Istomin, the world number 83.
In the second match, though, the hosts looked desperate for victory and all eyes were on 38-year-old Aqeel. And he did not disappoint his fans, winning 6-7(6), 6-4,6-4 in a nail-biting contest against the 23-year-old Sanjar Fayziev that lasted for two hours and 25 minutes.
Aqeel was simply brilliant with his show and kept Pakistan’s hopes alive in the tie against the 370-ranked Fayziev. The Davis Cup tie will conclude on Saturday after a double and two reverse singles events.
In the first set, Aqeel and his opponent displayed superb game in first set holding their serve, exhibiting excellent tennis by playing powerful strokes comprising classic drop shots.
However, on tie break, Fayziev won the first set 7-6(6), ringing alarm bells for Pakistan. In the second set, however, both players held their first serves but in the third game, Aqeel firing on all cylinders stunned his opponent with an array of excellent return shots, winning the set 6-4.