Aisam Ul-Haq Qureshi and Rohan Bopanna: “To be, or not to be?”
The Unlikely duo consisting of Aisam Ul-Haq and Rohan Bopanna, have made appearances in a number of Grand Slam and Association of Tennis Professionals’ tournaments. However, does their loss count cancel out the effect of all they’ve achieved so far?
A Pakistani legend in the making, 30 year old Aisam Ul-Haq Qureshi hails from the city of Lahore. Presently ranked no. 1 in Pakistan, Aisam has made appearances in most of the major tournaments but has yet to get his break. The Asian no. 3 turned professional back in the year 1998. Qureshi is amongst the top 50 as far as his doubles career is concerned.
The sportsman usually forms an alliance with India’s Rohan Bopanna for doubles tournaments. They played their first tournament of the year in the month of February. The 2010 South African Open was played on indoor hard surfaced courts. Slovakia’s Karol Beck and Israel’s Harel Levy faced defeat at the hands of Qureshi and Bopanna in the Men’s doubles final. After winning the first set six games to two, the two best friends were beaten 6-3 in the second set. The team although, came out victorious in the end with a 10-5 win.
The dynamic duo came together for the “2010 Grand Prix Hassan II” played in Casablanca, Morroco. Aisam and Rohan were made to face Sweden’s Robert Lindstedt and Romania’s Horia Tecau. The Asian’s made a 6-3 come back after losing the first set 2-6. Nevertheless, Lindstedt and Tecau took the third and final set 10-7.
Bangalore, India’s Rohan Bopanna started playing tennis at eleven years of age. The now, 6 ft. tall 30 year old is known for his abilities on court in doubles tournaments. Rohan reached his career high 230th in the World singles ranking back in 2006. Bopanna’s is ranked 107 in the world, as far as his doubles ranking goes. The athlete’s favorite major tournament is Wimbledon which makes his favorite surface grass, quite obviously.
“The Indo-Pak Express” teamed up for the ATP Nice Open a month after their previously played tournament. Bopanna and Qureshi were opposed by fellow countrymen, Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares from Brazil in the final. The Brazilians were defeated one game to six in the first set. Dismally, Rohan and Aisam lost the second set three games to six. Despite struggling hard to make a comeback in the final set, the twosome was thrashed 10-5 by the Brazilian pair.
Spreading the message of love and peace, the Indian and the Pakistani played doubles at the Tennis Napoli cup held in Naples, Italy. The doublet was opposed by Jamaican athlete, Dustin Brown and Jesse Witten from the United States. Aisam and Rohan were thrashed in two straight sets by their competitors. Brown and Witten bagged a comfortable 7-6, 7-5 win against the two.
Most recently, Aisam and Bopanna played the 2010 Legg Mason Tennis Classic. Unfortunately, they stood incapable of making it past the semi-finals. Mark Knowles from the Bahamas and America’s Mardy Fish eliminated the Asians two sets in a row. The duality lost five games to seven in the first set. The second set sadly, also went in favor of Knowles and Fish. Qureshi and Rohan were defeated five games to seven in the second, deciding set.
With the slogan “Stop War, Start Tennis” imprinted on their track suits, the Indian and Pakistani have played more than fifteen doubles tournaments together. “Best friends” in their own words, Aisam and Rohan have statistically fared better, playing alongside each other. So far, however, in the year 2010, the duality has only come out victorious in one, out of the five tournaments played together.
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