Bopanna/Qureshi overwhelm Melo/Soares to clinch the double title – If Stockholm Open 2011
Rated at number seven in the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Double Team Rankings, the duo of Rohan Bopanna of India and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi of Pakistan absolutely blew away the 10th ranked Brazilian pair of Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares in the final of the If Stockholm Open on Sunday evening.
The contest was stage on the indoor hard courts of Stockholm, Sweden, with the top seeded Indo-Pak Express exhibiting a brilliant display of sheer dominance over the Brazilian opponents. Bopanna and Qureshi took merely 57 minutes of play to dump their competitors in straight sets, 6-1, 6-3, claiming the ATP World Tour 250 tournament in the most assertive fashion.
It was the 32nd victory for the Indo-Pak duo in the current ATP season, earning them their second championship title of the year. Bopanna and Qureshi improved their head-to-head record against the Brazilians by 1-2 and have strong chances for qualifying for the ATP World Tour Finals in London next month. Three places are remaining in the eight-team field at the prestigious season finale and the seventh ranked duo of Bopanna and Qureshi are most likely to clinch one of the remaining three spots.
Melo and Soares have been in brilliant form throughout the tournament but failed to deliver in the big match. Their bleak game play was absolutely devastated by the commanding aggression of the top seeded duo, which gave them no chance to get settled in the matchup.
"It has been a great week for us here," said Qureshi. "I always enjoy coming back to Stockholm. A few years ago I lost against Jonas Björkman in the first round and learnt something from that defeat (laughing). It's also very special for me here thanks to the Pakistani fans who come to the stadium to support us. Of course, I also want to thank Rohan. We have been playing together for two years now and it's going great."
Bopanna and Qureshi took the better of their opponents in every segment of the game to drive them out of the contest in the most authoritative manner. They dropped merely four points on their first serve, clinching 21 points, while their opponents converted just 16 out of 27 first serve points to finish on the losing side in the end.
The top seeded duo converted four of its 10 break opportunities in the matchup, while the Brazilians utterly failed to register a single serve break in the entire contest. Melo and Soares crafted three precious opportunities to break their opponents' serve but it was the brilliance of Bopanna and Qureshi which denied them every time to keep them on the back foot.
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