Qureshi Falls to Familiar Foes

By Parvez Fatteh, Founder of http://sportingummah.com, sports@muslimobserver.com

File:  Qureshi and Rojer at the 2012 US Open.

Pakistani men’s tennis star Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi and his Dutch partner Jean-Julien Rojer had a nice run in the US Open men’s doubles competition but ultimately fell in the semifinals against Bob and Mike Bryan of the United States. Qureshi and Rojer lost against the second-seeded Bryan brothers in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4. at the Louis Armstrong Stadium at New York’s USTA National Tennis Center. This was the pair’s second loss against the American twins in a grand slam semi-final this year, as the Bryans were victorious in the semifinals of the French Open this past spring.

The Bryans started the match strongly and broke the Pak-Dutch pair right away to gain a 3-0 lead in the first set, which they then closed off with ease. While Qureshi and Rojer had a resurgent performance in the second set, they were unable to make headway against the Bryans and were ousted in an hour and 13 minutes.  Qurehsi’s most famous defeat at the hands of the Bryans occurred in 2010, when he and then-partner Rohan Bopanna of India fell to the Bryans in the men’s doubles finals.

This was Qureshi’s third successive US Open semi-final and his second grand slam semi-final of the year. The Bryans subsequenlty faced fifth seeds Leander Paes of India and Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic in Sunday’s final, and the Bryans prevailed to take the men’s doubles title. Qureshi, meanwhile, currently sits at number 12 in the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) world men’s doubles rankings.

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