Davis Cup: Austria's men are already looking forward to the Davis Cup weekend against Pakistan
At the pre-draw press conference, captains Jürgen Melzer and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi paid tribute to their respective opponents.
by press release
last edit: Sep 13, 2022, 07:46 pm
Three days until the first serve: Next Friday and Saturday, Austria will be fighting against Pakistan in Tulln for a place in the qualification for the Davis Cup by Rakuten Finals 2023. While the guests arrived at TC Tulln last Saturday, the ÖTV The team has been on site since this Monday, after three of the five team players were still in action in the Final Four of the IMMOunited Bundesliga in Klagenfurt last weekend. “Yesterday we had a relatively easy first day of training, spent a total of around two hours on the pitch, Jurij Rodionov and Filip Misolic three and a half hours. Then we played padel in Tulln for an hour to get the team spirit in," said ÖTV captain Jürgen Melzer on Tuesday as part of the obligatory pre-draw press conference.
In the coming days, the preparation will of course be intensified: “We are looking forward to the next few days with lots of training. Especially today and tomorrow we have pretty tough training days ahead of us to get used to the conditions and the different balls than at the ATP Challenger in Tulln and the Bundesliga Final Four," said Melzer. Who can report on the good form of his squad members: Misolic and Tulln double winner Lucas Miedler had won the IMMOunited Bundesliga side by side with him for the ATV RE team future Irdning, Miedler doubles partner Alexander Erler for finalist Union Stein&Co Mauthausen even the German ex in singles -World Rankings-39. Peter Gojowczyk and defeated the ÖTV aces Dennis Novak and Sebastian Ofner in doubles, Rodionov had also reached the quarterfinals at the NÖ Open powered by EVN, on the same facility as at the Davis Cup. "The boys are dying to play and represent their country at the weekend. That's the feeling I have."
Qureshi: "Austria is one of the biggest tennis nations in Europe and the world"
While Austria will move out with Rodionov, Misolic and Gerald Melzer alone with three ATP Top 200 single players, Pakistan currently only has one player in the singles and doubles ranking. The one in doubles is the captain himself: Playing Captain Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi, who has been among the top 100 doubles players in the world almost continuously for 15 years. The three-time Grand Slam quarter-finalist and his team, consisting of Muzammil Murtaza, Aqeel Khan, who is already 42 like Qureshi, Muhammad Shoaib, Muhammad Abid and Qureshi, have the first days of training behind them. “It rained totally on the first day, then very sunny again yesterday. The weather also plays a role here. But the places are perfect so far, there is nothing to complain about. We had three really good training sessions - and two or three more training days will help us to be ready for Friday and Saturday," said Jürgen Melzer's long-time ATP Tour companion. "A super good friend and a super nice guy," says Qureshi.
Qureshi treats the highly favored home team with a lot of respect: “Austria is one of the biggest tennis nations in Europe and also in the whole world. You have a strong team. I know your players, I see them on tour, they're all doing well there. I think you are on the right track. We are very excited to be here. My boys are already looking forward to it.” The changed Davis Cup format means it is the first time in Pakistan's history to play against a European team away from home. Qureshi found out about the draw at the ATP Challenger in Marbella: "Dominic Thiem made his comeback there and was just training when I made a video and shared it on Facebook and Instagram. One of my players wrote me a message: 'We would like to play against Thiem' - like all my boys. And two hours later the draw was made,” Qureshi smiled. "I wasn't too happy with it myself because I knew how difficult it would be against Austria, especially on clay - albeit without Thiem. It's a bit of a shame that he's not playing. I would have been happy for my boys. He is a real role model and an inspiration - not only in Austria, but also for other players. Still, we're glad to be here. The organization has been very good so far.”
Qureshi hopes for experience as an asset for Pakistan
But vice versa, of course, there is respect. “Just ten seconds after the draw was made, I got a message from Jürgen that he was looking forward to welcoming us here. I wrote him: 'I hope you're playing on grass?!'” – the same surface on which Pakistan sensationally defeated Lithuania 3-2 in March. "He: 'No, no, no chance. We take no chances against you.' I knew anyway that you would play on clay, which is also your best surface. But somewhere I'm happy that Austria is afraid, at least a little bit, so you don't play indoor hard court or grass." Qureshi is aware: "We have to do our best to adapt to the situation here and to put up a great fight with Austria. Of course Austria is the favourite, but we've always been the underdog in the last 12 to 15 years, we're used to it. For us it's about giving everything, more than 100 percent. That's the nice thing about our team: When it comes to playing for Pakistan, we always give more than 100 percent performance." ) rendered. “And we will do the same here as well. But it will be difficult, I have to be honest. Sand is not the strongest surface of any of us.”
But Qureshi also sees a possible trump card for his team: “You see a lot of crazy things in the Davis Cup. And our team has more playing experience in international matches, some of your players have only played very few matches. I think experience is very, very important in Davis Cup. I hope that we can use this to our advantage and that we can make it a little more difficult for Austria.” He has not yet decided on his selection: “We will play a few more training sets and exercises, then I will judge who will play the best.” Melzer hasn't looked at his cards either: “I've thought about the line-up and it's already in my head. If there are no surprises or injuries, it will be the line-up. Of course, I won't name any names yet as to who will play. I won't reveal it until Thursday." The official draw takes place in the ballroom of Tulln town hall (from 10:30 a.m., live on ORF SPORT+), in which the line-up has to be revealed and the order of play is drawn.
Off-court: visit to the army and fundraiser for Pakistan
Before that, however, there is a supporting program highlight for the ÖTV team. On Wednesday morning, the red-white-red team accepts an invitation from the army brigadier Reinhard Kraft to the Brumowski air base in Langenlebarn. Jürgen Melzer & Co. should receive an introduction to the tasks of the military national defense, the air base Brumowski and the performance of the Austrian Air Force. In addition, the helicopters there and a tower simulator (one of the most modern in Europe) as well as the anti-aircraft simulators are examined. "I've never done anything like that," said Melzer. "I was in the army myself, at least in the basic training and then in the HSZ (army sports center; note). I'm really looking forward to it. Because these are things that interest me, and you don't get the chance to experience something like this every day. It's cool that we can experience this as a whole team."
Incidentally, the Austrian Tennis Association and its men's selection are also thinking about the guests from South Asia for another reason: due to the devastating flood disaster in Pakistan. At least around 1,400 dead and 12,700 injured are reported, a third of the country is flooded, an unbelievable 33 million people (around a seventh of the population) have been displaced, homeless or directly by the people since the natural disaster that began at the end of August Floods affected, including 16 million children. For this reason, the Sportland Niederösterreich, the municipality of Tulln, the ÖTV, the agency Champ Events, which organizes the Davis Cup, and the TC Tulln have decided to launch a joint fundraising campaign. Donation boxes will be set up at the entrance to the club and in the VIP area. Of course, 100 percent of the money goes to the victims of the floods in Pakistan.
Here is the program for the Davis Cup Austria – Pakistan in Tulln (September 16/17)
15.9., 10:30 a.m.: Official Draw in the ballroom of the Tulln town hall (live on ORF SPORT+)
September 16, 12:45 p.m.: Start of matchday 1
17.9., 11:00 a.m.: Start of matchday 2
Both match days will be shown live on ORF SPORT+ and on www.oetv.tv.