Qureshi/Rojer topple Brunstrom/Marx to enter semis – Gerry Weber Open 2012
Top seeded Pakistani-Dutch duo, Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi and Jean-Julien Rojer, took down the Swedish-German pair, Johan Brunstrom and Philipp Marx, in a three set thriller at the Gerry Weber Open 2012 on Wednesday. They clobbered a 7-6(7), 6-7(1), 10-7 victory
against their rivals to charge into the semi-finals at this outdoor grass court tournament taking place in Halle, Germany.
The Pakistani-Dutch junction proved their class and pulled out the victory without capitalising on any break opportunity. Encountering each other for the first time, Qureshi and Rojer not only edged in the head-to-head series by 1-0 against the 186th
ranked doubles tandem but also secured a spot in the final four.
Qureshi and Rojer high-spiritedly entered this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 series tournament and held their opening serve to take the initial lead. The continued hammering exquisite forehands and swiped their entire serves without
facing any real challenge. Despite squandering all seven break opportunities, the Pakistani-Dutch collaboration not only enforced a tie-breaker but dominated in it to click the opener with a 7-6(7) win.
The underdogs rebounded in the follow-up set and plucked their opening serves with conviction. They warded off the lone breakpoint they faced and slid their entire serves. Apart from failing to capitalise on all three break opportunities, Brunstrom and Marx
cruised to a 5-0 lead in the tie-breaker before bagging the equaliser with a 7-6(1) success.
Ranked ninth in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Doubles Rankings, Qureshi and Rojer sought their early momentum in the final set or the super tie-breaker. They displayed brilliant skills to leap to a 5-2 lead in it, subsequently sealing the decider
with a 10-7 score line. The Pakistani-Dutch junction clobbered a perfect first serve share in it as opposed to their rivals’ 63 per cent and spectacularly marked seven out of nine points on it.
Qureshi and Rojer are bidding for their second year-to-date title at this tournament. They clicked the Estoril Open earlier this season.
Next in line for the top seeds is the conqueror of the match between the Canadian duo, Milos Raonic and Adil Shamasdin, and the Polish-Russian pair, Lukasz Kubot and Mikhail Youzhny.
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