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Bopanna-Qureshi lose US Open final, conquer hearts
Saturday, September 11, 2010 01:45:26 AM,
IANS
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New York:
India's Rohan Bopanna and Pakistan's Aisam-Ul-Quresh put up a
spirited fight but failed to stop the top seeded Americans Mike
and Bob Bryan from winning their third US Open tennis doubles
title, 7-6(5), 7-6(4) here Friday.
It was 16th-seeded Bopanna and Qureshi's maiden Grand Slam final
and the two played their hearts out to make it a thrilling contest
on a windy day.
The self-dubbed "Indo-Pak Express" has already made it clear that
they are playing for a cause much higher than winning titles.
For Bryans, the 32-year-old identical twins, it was also their
ninth Grand Slam title, leaving them just two behind the all time
record of Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde's Grand Slams tally.
Bob Bryan also won the mixed doubles title Thursday with fellow
American Liezl Huber against Qureshi and Czech Kveta Peschke.
The Americans have already set the men’s tour record for most
doubles titles in Los Angeles in July and could set another at the
end of this year for most seasons ended ranked No. 1 in the world.
The Bryans beat Bopanna and Qureshi in L.A. before losing to them
the following week in Washington, their only loss this summer.
The India-Pakistan pairing played an attacking game and delighted
the sizeable crowd with occasional sparring with the Bryans at the
net. Bopanna and Qureshi served huge, popping aces at will, but it
was the American brothers who nosed ahead with a consistent game.
Bopanna and Qureshi reached their third tour-level final at the
Pilot Pen in the run up to the US Open. They were finalists in
Nice and Casablanca earlier in the year. The two captured their
first ATP World Tour doubles title in Johannesburg in February.
They also reached their maiden Wimbledon quarter-final this year.
An emotional Bopanna-Qureshi, whose attempt at promoting peace
between their countries came to the spotlight during their
two-week stint here, thanked the crowd for support. The two have
been sporting shirts with "Stop War, Start Tennis" written on the
back.
"It's has been a great run for us. I want to thank Aisam to play
with me. It has been fanstastic two weeks. We have lost to the
Bryans, who are the best doubles team in the world.
"Hopefully, we can meet them in some other tournament and give
them a bit of a fight. I want to thank all the crowd who gave us
tremendous support. I will also like to thank my family who came
all the way from India to watch the final," Bopanna said.
Aisam said they lost to a better team. He also used the occasion
to talk about the prejudice which Pakistanis have been facing in
the US.
"Well, it is my second loss in as many days. The Indo-Pak Express
was going well till we met the Bryans. They were really good.
Today is Eid and I will like to wish everyone in Pakistan and
Muslims all over the world. Today is also my sister's birthday. I
am sorry I couldn't get the best present for her.
"I will really like to thank the crowd. I would also like to say
that whenever someone from our country comes here, they are
considered to be from a terrorist state. It is not true. Pakistan
is a peace loving country. We all love peace as much as you do."
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