Bhupathi/Bopanna oust Qureshi-Rojer to lift the title – BNP Paribas Masters 2012
Indian duo, Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna, got the better of the seventh seeds, Pakistan’s Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi and Netherlands Jean-Julien Rojer, in straight sets at the BNP Paribas Masters 2012, an ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Masters
1000 event taking place in Paris Bercy. They nudged up a 7-6(6), 6-3 victory against their rivals to capture their first Masters crown on Sunday.
Seeded fifth in this event, Bhupathi and Bopanna overpowered the Pakistani-Dutch junction in their second encounter. After recording the victory in one hour and 24 minutes, the Indians not only improved to a 2-0 lifetime in the FedEx ATP Head 2 Head Series
against Qureshi and Rojer but also captured their second career title together.
Bhupathi stated in a post match press conference:
“The match could have gone either way, but I felt we played really well on the big points. At this level, at this stage of any big event, that is what counts.”
Bopanna was quoted in a courtside interview after capturing the title, “It is definitely the best week we have played all season. We are very happy with the way we played and I hope we can take this form to London.”
The opening set saw both teams displaying their best tennis at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy. Qureshi and Rojer swiped their entire serves after dusting away all six breakpoints they came across. However, they failed to seek any break opportunity
and took the set to a tie-breaker.
The Indian junction made a sloppy entry in it and went 2-5 down. However, they remained calm and ultimately pulled out the opener with a 7-6(6) score line.
Ranked fifth in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Doubles Rankings, Bhupathi and Bopanna moved up a gear in the following set. After Qureshi and Rojer kept their serve in the fifth game, the Indians unleashed their skills and reeled off last four
games. They block the lone breakpoint they faced and cashed both break chances to click the set with a 6-3 win.
Bopanna was defending champion here with his former partner Qureshi. Together they formed the Indo Pak Express, the team which made the final showdown at the US Open two years ago.
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