Qureshi and Rojer oust Germans to enter quarters – Gerry Weber Open 2012
Top seeded duo, Pakistan’s Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi and Netherland’s Jean-Julien Rojer, got the better of the local tandem, Benjamin Becker and Philipp Petzschner, in a three-set thriller at the Gerry Weber Open 2012 on Tuesday. They nudged up a 6-4, 6-7(2),
12-10 victory against the Germans to charge into the quarter-finals at this ATP World Tour 250 series event taking place in Halle, Germany.
The Pakistani-Dutch junction stayed on track to bid for their second year-to-date title after overpowering Becker and Petzschner with a single break of serve in their first encounter. They recently clinched the title at the Estoril Open and made a semi-final
berth at the French Open before entering this tournament.
Qureshi and Rojer high-spiritedly entered the Gerry Weber Stadion and held their opening serve to level the scores at 1-1. They continued displaying their exceptional skills and swiped their remaining serves without facing any real challenge. The Pakistani-Dutch
pair got the breakthrough in the seventh game after cashing in lone break chance and clicked the opener by winning six games to four.
With the support from their home crowd, Becker and Petzschner found their winning ways in the follow-up set. They hammered angled shots and swiftly plucked their entire serves without facing any barrier. Despite failing to seek any break opportunity, the
Germans dominated in the tie-breaker and sealed the equaliser with a 7-6(2) win.
Ranked ninth in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Doubles Rankings, Qureshi and Rojer sought their early momentum again in the final set or the super tie-breaker. They manifested a better first serve share and eventually pocketed the decider with
a 12-10 success.
Summing up performance of the highest ranked players in this one hour and 37 minute battle, Qureshi and Rojer clobbered a better first serve share of 63 per cent
Qureshi is the defending champion at this outdoor grass court event. He conquered this tournament with India’s Rohan Bopanna last year.
Next in queue for the top seeds is the Swedish-German tandem, Johan Brunstrom and Philipp Marx, who dumped local wildcard enterers, Tommy Haas and Alexander Waske, in straight sets to set up this meeting.
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