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Peculiar partners Israeli-Pakistani pairing focuses on playing, not politicsPosted: Wednesday June 26, 2002 6:18 PMUpdated: Thursday June 27, 2002 12:11 PM
WIMBLEDON, England -- On a day of shocking sights at the All England Club, this one may have ranked supreme. It wasn't second-seeded Marat Safin getting his hat handed to him by the diminutive Olivier Rochus. It wasn't third-seeded Andre Agassi making his earliest Grand Slam exit in years, beaten in straight sets at the hands of Paradorn Srichaphan's Thai stick. It wasn't even Pete Sampras, once the king of the grass, staring at the racket the failed him, stunned for a full minute after falling to George Bastl, a lucky loser who entered the tournament without a grass court win in his career. No, the surprise of the day played out in front of a small handful of fans, far away from upset-mania. On the hinterlands of Court 8, Amir Hadad and Aisam-Ul-Haq (Sam) Qureshi played their first round doubles match. At first blush, this was a coupling of two players faintly recognizable to even die-hard fans, the most unremarkable of pairings. Then one noticed the three-letter country codes next to their names on the scoresheet. ISR and PAK. Israel for Hadad; Pakistan for Qureshi. Even if you've been living in a cave for the past 10 months or so, you probably know that Israel and Pakistan don't exactly share most-favored nation status. "An Israeli playing with anyone from the Arab world is surprising," explained an Israeli journalist watching courtside. "But Israel and Pakistan? Unheard of." Yet there they were on Wednesday, a representative from each country deciding jointly whether to poach, slapping five between points and exchanging pep talks during changeovers. Owing to Hadad's monster forehand and Qureshi's deft net play, they breezed past Tom VanHoudt and Martin Rodriguez to reach the second round. 
This unlikely pairing hooked up in the mundane way. Hadad and Qureshi had both lost in qualifying for singles at Roehampton. Each had known the other for years as Hadad, 24, and Qureshi, 22, were both accomplished juniors who had traipsed around the globe -- Asia in particular -- trolling for enough ranking points to get of Challenger hell and trolling for enough dollars to keep the gig going. Without giving much thought to provenance they entered the qualifying doubles draw and, after winning their last match 15-13, made the main field. Just getting to play a match on tennis' most hallowed courts was an achievement for both. Qureshi's father, Ehtsham, a Pakistani businessman videotaped the entire match with a handheld camera. A few seats down on a bench, Israel pro Noam Okun was on hand to lend support. The two camps interacted courteously and shook hands warmly after the match. Hadad and Qureshi, a Jew and a Muslim, appreciated the significance of playing together, but were unwilling to make much of it. "If it makes your story better, you can say we argue about the Palestinians," said Hadad. "But no really, we're here to play tennis. That's about it." Qureshi added that he is so unmoved by politics that he has tentative plans to play doubles with Leander Paes of India later this year. Other than that, both respectfully declined to share world views beyond the doubles draw. Still, the metaphor of their successful partnership was an obvious one. A friend of Ehtsham tried to explain to a journalist, "Maybe if Sharon and Arafat could see these two..." Ehtsham held up his hand like a verbal stop sign and cut his friend off. "Let's leave politics out of it for once," he said quietly. "Let's just make this about sports, about two players trying to win together."
Half-volleysIn a match pitting the tallest female and the smallest in the draw, 5-foot Tatiana Panova outlasted 6-2 Elena Bovina in three sets. ... Mary Pierce, who has never played particularly well here, beat eighth-seeded countrywoman Sandrine Testud in straight sets. ... Under the radar as ever, Chanda Rubin pasted 14th-seeded Iroda Tulyagonova in straight sets ... No. 7 seed Jelena Dokic came within two points of losing but held off Kveta Hrdlickova 8-6 in the third. ... One former champion remains. Experienced carried the day as Richard Krajicek, the 1996 winner, took out James Blake 11-9 in the fifth. ... On a day on which he was rendered nearly irrelevant, Andy Roddick breezed passed Alberto Martin. Roddick tied a Wimbledon record with a 144 mph ace. When a friend jokingly asked if the serve had been wind-aided, Roddick said, "Maybe. But I hit one 140 on the other end."Sports Illustrated senior writer Jon Wertheim is in England covering Wimbledon for the magazine and will file regular reports for CNNSI.com from SW19. Click here to send a question to his weekly tennis mailbag. |
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