Wimbledon qualifier is Pride of Pakistan
By MICHELLE KAUFMAN
mkaufman@MiamiHerald.com
WIMBLEDON, England -- Tucked away in a corner of the All England Club grounds is Court 18, a cozy show court that often serves as a stage for rising stars. Playing there Thursday, against Marat Safin, was Aisam-Ul-Hag Qureshi, a 279th-ranked qualifier from Pakistan who lost but proved with his excellent serve-and-volley that he belonged.
He was the first Pakistani at Wimbledon in 32 years, and the crowd included dozens of Pakistanis, who shouted ``Shabash!''(Well done, keep going!) throughout the 6-4, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) match.
Up until this week, he was best known as the guy who won a humanitarian award for playing doubles with Israeli Amir Hadad in 2002. He was criticized by Islamic extremists back home.
''I never thought it was going to be such a big deal,'' he said. ``I will stand with the point that you shouldn't mix politics, religion or color into sports. If I take a stand against a Jewish player, next thing I know, all the Christians and Jews and Indians take a stand against me and then I can't play. If I feel I can do well with an Indian or a Jew again, I would definitely play with them.''
Qureshi, 27, began keeping a diary in January, and in it, he wrote every day: ''I want to qualify for Wimbledon.'' He had read a book by Billie Jean King in which it said that Martina Navratilova wrote ''I will win Wimbledon'' every day in the year preceding her first victory here.
''I'm very happy that I've been able to do that, and win a round, and my next goal is to get in the top 100 this year,'' he said. ``I believe I can do this.''
Qureshi's mother, Nosheen Ihtishan, was a national champion tennis player in Pakistan for 10 years, and his maternal grandfather was the Indian No. 1 before the two countries divided.
Qureshi, who didn't pick up a racket until he was 14, says he has surprised himself with his success: ``Tennis has given me a way to make my parents proud of me, and that's a really big thing for me.''
SAFIN COMPLAINS
Safin, who plays Roger Federer today, has never been a huge fan of Wimbledon because he tends to struggle here. He also feels the food is mediocre and too pricey.
''A plate of pasta is costing around 10 pounds, which is 20 dollars, and you can have a great pasta at Cipriani in New York for that money,'' he said. ``The quality is definitely not like Cipriani. Everybody knows this restaurant. I think it's one of the best in New York. Also, in Moscow, one of the most expensive cities, we have better pasta for 20 bucks, that's for sure.''
So, is there anything Safin likes about the All England Club?
''Great showers,'' he said. ``No, really. Showers are important. If you see them, you understand what I'm talking about.''
LAST WORD
''It's like someone took off the torch from the Statue of Liberty. Like they took the arc from the Arc de Triomphe. It's my favorite court to play on, but it's so weird, the atmosphere.'' -- Maria Sharapova, 2005 champion, on Centre Court minus its partial roof, which was removed due to construction of a retractable roof.
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