Qureshi/Rojer oust Lopez/Zimonjic to enter quarters – BNP Paribas Masters 2012
Pakistani-Dutch junction, Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi and Jean-Julien Rojer, got the better of the Spanish-Serbian tandem, Feliciano Lopez and Nenad Zimonjic, in a three-set thriller at the BNP Paribas Masters 2012 on Thursday. They nudged up a 6-4, 6-7(3), 17-15
victory against their rivals to power into the quarter-finals at this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Masters 1000 event held in Paris Bercy, France.
Seeded seventh in this event, Qureshi and Rojer lost their path in the second set tie-breaker. However, they remained focused and ultimately carved out the victory on one hour and 55 minutes. Battling each other for the first time, Qureshi and Rojer comfortably
progressed into the final eight at this indoor hard court event.
Qureshi and Rojer high-spiritedly entered the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy. They swiftly swiped their entire serves without facing any trouble. The Pakistani-Dutch duo got the breakthrough in the last game after cashing one out of two break chances and
subsequently clicked the opener with a 6-4 win.
First time paired-up, Lopez and Zimonjic rebounded in the proceeding set. They dusted away the only breakpoint they faced to keep their entire serves. The Spanish-Serbian pair squandered all four break opportunities but dominated in the tie-breaker to bag
the equaliser with a 7-6(3) score line.
Ranked sixth in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Doubles Rankings, Qureshi and Rojer re-gained their early composure. They outshined their opponents in marathon super tie-breaker and consequently pocketed the decider with a 17-15 score line.
Overall, the Pakistani-Dutch collaboration fired 11 aces and clobbered a slightly lower first serve share of 63 per cent as compared to their rivals’ 64 per cent. They also impressively marked 40 out of 52 points on it and ended the battle with 84 points.
Next in line for the winning junction are the second seeds, Belarus’ Max Mirnyi and Canada’s Daniel Nestor. The Belarusian-Canadian collaboration dumped the German-Italian tandem, Christopher Kas and Andreas Seppi, in straight sets to advance.
The top seeded American twins, Bob and Mike Bryan, face a bitter fate later that day. They failed to capitalise on the lone break chance they sought and eventually suffered a 4-6, 7-6(2), 5-10 loss against the Australian-British tandem, Paul Hanley and Jonathan
Marray.
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