UNDP Ambassador of Goodwill, Pakistan’s tennis star Aisam-ul-Haq received appreciation in Australia when he went on court to train with the women’s wheel chair tennis champion Esther Verger at the Melbourne Park Tennis Complex on Monday.
Aisam was deeply impressed with the track record of Verger, the wheelchair tennis champion, who won an amazing 401 tennis matches without a loss. A record that dates all the way back to 2003, including the fact that Verger has never lost a singles match in a Grand Slam competition.
“I was shocked,” said Aisam. “What an amazing achievement in our sport. She is an inspiration. I told my coach that I wanted to meet her [Verger] and find out how she has managed to achieve so much.”
The fact that Aisam wants to help improve wheelchair tennis, impresses Verger.
“I think that is amazing. He is already spreading the message of peace through tennis and wheelchair tennis is part of that because wheelchair tennis is going to be big, especially for the soldiers from wars.”
“In my rehab centre I got introduced to sports when I was eight years old, I became paralysed after an accident,” explains Verger.
Aisam and Verger enjoyed a ‘hit and giggle’ then Verger invited the current world No. 18 doubles player to try playing tennis in a wheelchair, which he accepted.
“He’s an awesome tennis player so he’s able to hit the ball well, but then if he needed to push or go from left to right [in the wheelchair] he had some problems; but it took me 20 years to get at this level, so it was good,” Verger said.
Aisam and Rohan Bopanna, known as Pak-Indian tennis express are trying to remind people that sport is a universal language that facilitates dialogue – which they are promoting through their humanitarian campaign Stop War! Start Tennis.
Aisam and Rohan crashed out of the Australian Open in the third round after losing to Nanad Zimonjic of Serbia & Michael Llodra of France 3-6 7-6 7-6.
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