Qureshi-Rojer bounces over Cilic/Melo to enter title-round – BNP Paribas Masters 2012
Pakistani-Dutch duo, Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi and Jean-Julien Rojer, made an epic comeback to outclass the Croatian-Brazilian tandem, Marin Cilic and Marcello Melo, in a three-set thriller at the BNP Paribas Masters 2012 on Saturday. They notched up a 0-6, 6-4,
11-9 victory against their opponents to secure a spot in the final showdown at this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Masters 1000 event taking place in Paris Bercy.
Seeded seventh in the tournament, Qureshi and Rojer made a drastic entry at this indoor hard court event. However, they regrouped and re-structured after that, eventually carving out the victory in one hour and 22 minutes.
The 23rd ranked doubles team of Cilic and Melo thundered into the Palais Omnisports de Paris Bercy. They unleashed barrage of groundstrokes and reeled off the opening six games. The Croatian-Brazilian pair dusted away all three breakpoints they
came across and cashed half of the six break chances to pull out the opener with a bagel.
Qureshi and Rojer sought their rhythm in the following set. They got the coveted break in the seventh game and leaped to a 5-3 lead. The Pakistani-Dutch junction plucked their serve once again and clicked the decider with a 6-4 win. They superbly warded
off all three breakpoints they encountered and marked one out of three break chances to their advantage.
Ranked seventh in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Doubles Rankings, Qureshi and Rojer kept momentum rolling in the deciding set which counted the most. They dominated in it and subsequently carved out the decider with an 11-9 score line.
On the whole, Qureshi and Rojer fired five aces and clobbered a slightly better first serve share of 70 per cent as compared to their rival’s 69 per cent. They also brilliantly availed 28 out of 40 points on it and finished the deal with 53 points.
Qureshi is bidding to successfully defend his title at this Masters event. He conquered this tournament last year with Rohan Bopanna. The Dutchman on the other hand will contest in his maiden Masters final.
Next in queue for Qureshi and Rojer are the fifth seeded Indians, Mahesh Bhupathi and Bopanna.
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