Before serving, Qureshi volleys for support

Pakistan star tries to charm Mumbai, says he likes Sushmita Sen, plans visit to Film City

He cringes at being described as a 8216;party animal8217; but admits in the same breath that occasionally, he likes going out. Apart from doing the rounds of Mumbai8217;s nightlife, Pakistan tennis ace Aisam ul-Haq Qureshi is pitching at every possible media-op to charm the city8217;s populace. For, Mumbaikars should easily outnumber Qureshi8217;s sparse supporters who will fly down to CCI for the April 7-9 Davis Cup tie between India and Pakistan.

The plan is to woo a few and switch their loyalties for the cracking contest over the weekend, as Qureshi and Pakistan8217;s other Cuppers take to the grass-courts flanked by the green tents, which his teammate Aqeel Khan cheerfully likens to Pakistan8217;s flags and a home ambience.

8216;8216;I have played against Leander at Kolkata with 300-odd watching, but this will be my first time in front of a 3000-strong home crowd, which will play a major role on all three days,8217;8217; Qureshi concedes, adding he will manage to get some to defect with his cajoling, if his one-handed backhand drive and serve don8217;t impress them enough.

The 26-year-old who in 1998 came promisingly close to Top-10 in world juniors, has fond memories of Mumbai where he won a Satellite event, and some not so-pleasant ones like when he was ousted in the first round of a Futures.

8216;8216;I8217;ve been to the city 4-5 times, traveled in cabs and rickshaws and even on the Rajdhani, and the only time I was a little apprehensive of moving around was when there was tension ahead of the Pakistan cricket team8217;s first India tour in many years.8217;8217;

A trip to Mumbai is commonplace now, but Qureshi recalls how he had done the rounds of police stations back in Lahore for visa-work in his junior years. Having anticipated the hype to sky-rocket for the Indo-Pak clash this time, Qureshi tailed by a press-posse says: 8216;8216;We knew the attention would be more since it is a team event.8217;8217;

The man who had defeated Asia8217;s red-hot star Paradorn Srichapan in the Davis Cup and tried in vain to mimic Stefan Edberg8217;s single-handed backhand, is keen to justify the buildup as he readies to play on all three days of the humdinger.

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While in Mumbai, it is difficult to stay immune to big Bollywood and Qureshi and his teammates want to sneak out some time to visit the Filmcity where they fancy running into one of its glam galaxy of actors.

8216;8216;The coach and other guys are more enthusiastic. I have watched cinema with my family, but I can8217;t sit through the dance sequences in movies,8217;8217; states the tennis star, who insists on making the distinction between favourites Meg Ryan, 8216;8216;who is good actingwise8217;8217; and Monica Belucci, 8216;8216;makes the grade lookwise.8217;8217;

Sushmita Sen in Main Hoo Na, passes Qureshi8217;s muster, combining both. Extending his list of favourites to Justine Henin Hardenne on the tennis courts, Qureshi adds, 8216;8216;and obviously Sania Mirza is a very good friend. My best wishes to her, and I hope she does really well.8217;8217;