Aisam, Rohan in Wimbledon quarter-finals

[fatman17]

Aisam, Rohan in Wimbledon quarter-finals

Dawn.com Sports Desk
Tuesday, 29 Jun, 2010


Aisam Qureshi, Rohan Bopanna reach Wimbledon third round Aisam Qureshi, Rohan Bopanna reach Wimbledon third round LONDON: Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi created tennis history when he became the first Pakistani to reach the quarter-finals at Wimbledon with his Indian partner Rohan Bopanna on Monday.

The South Asian pair eased to a straight-set win over Lucas Lacko of Slovakia and Sergiy Stakhovsky of Ukraine in the round of 16 at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet club.

Qureshi and Bopanna wrapped up the match 7-5, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 to enter the Men's Doubles last-eight stage, however, their opponents are yet to be determined.

The Pakistani number one and world number 42 is a grass-court specialist and has been improving his performance at the world’s most prestigious tennis tournament in the last few years.

Cool !!!

 

[sparklingway]

Shabash boys make South Asia proud. Bhupathi is out, so you're South Asia's only chance at Wimbledon glory this year. Paes/Black are in mixed and doubles nobody cares about that

 

[courageneverdies]

Best Performance ever by Aisam. A real star.

Congrats to him and to his partner.

KIT Over

 

[blueoval79]

Great news..... congratulations to the duo....

 

[Areesh]

Hopefully he will continue with the same performance and bring glory of Wimbledon to south asia.

 

[fatman17]

GO FOR BROKE - MAKE THE COUNTRIES PROUD !!!

 

[indushek]

Congratulations to the duo.

 

[fatman17]

First Pakistani to reach quarters of Grand Slam

Aisam and Rohan create history at Wimbledon

Staff Report

LAHORE: Pakistan’s Aisamul Haw Qureshi and his Indian partner Rohan Bopanna created history when they overcame Lucas Lacko of Slovakia and Ukraine’s Sergiy Stakhovsky, both top players of their respective countries, 7-5, 7-6 (6), 6-2 in the third round and qualified for the quarterfinals of the doubles event at Wimbledon on Tuesday. Now the Pakistan-India duo will face Jurgen Melzer and Philipp Petzschner in the last eight stage. In the match that started ahead of schedule, Aisam and Rohan collectively outclassed hard hitting Stakhovsky and Lacko, who were responsible for the exit of third seeded pair, India’s Leander Paes and Lukas Dlouhy of the Czech Republic, in the previous round.

The unusual Pakistan-Indian pairing have been going around the All England Club wearing tracksuit tops reading ‘Stop War, Start Tennis’ on the back. Reaching the quarterfinals is the best-ever Grand Slam performance for either Aisam or Rohan. “When we started out in tennis the tension between India and Pakistan wasn’t something I cared about, I was playing with my friend,” Aisam told the BBC. “Over the passage of time, we’ve seen a bigger picture apart from tennis, and it’s about changing people’s views. If we can change even one person’s view, we’ll take it as a positive. It’s really nice to see Indians and Pakistanis sitting together supporting one team. You don’t see that anywhere else, in any sport. Our on-court and off-court relationship proves that Indians and Pakistanis can get on fine,” Aisam added.

 

[Kompromat]

Aisam and his mate beat Rojer federer once - they have the potential !

 

[Comet]

Aisam is pretty good in doubles. Lets hope for the best.

 

[AZADPAKISTAN2009]

Congrats to Rohan & Asim

 

[jbond197]

At least somewhere we Indians and Pakistanis are cheering together. Good to see that! Congratulations to the duo and all the wishes & luck to them for coming out in winning colors!

 

[MilesTogo]

great going!!

 

[fatman17]

Aisam and Bopanna plan cross-border match

LONDON: Pakistan’s Aisamul Haq Qureshi and India’s Rohan Bopanna are aiming to play an extraordinary tennis match to promote peace between the two countries – using the famous Wagah border as the net. The duo were knocked out of the Wimbledon’s men’s doubles quarterfinals here on Wednesday – their best-ever Grand Slam performance – but caused a stir by wearing jackets emblazoned with the slogan ‘Stop War, Start Tennis’. The pair will be wearing the tracksuit tops when they play at the US Open and are mulling over a new logo to decorate them with in New York. And now they are seeking permission to face each other with the net on the Radcliffe Line that has divided the village of Wagah since 1947, with Aisam playing on the Indian side and Bopanna on the Pakistani side.

“It is an idea we have had but there is a lot of time before we get to it because both countries have to approve it first and that is the process that is going on,” Bopanna told AFP. “The idea is there for him to play in India and me to play in Pakistan. That is the idea but it needs to be approved and until that happens nothing can be done.” Wagah is the only road border crossing between India and Pakistan. Every evening, thousands gather to watch the colourful flag-lowering ceremonies there and the energetic soldiers’ parade. The border post is often seen as a symbol of the tension between the two countries.

But Bopanna and Aisam hope their continuing friendship, on and off the tennis court, will help encourage a more peaceful relationship between the neighbours. “The first time I went to India I was 16 and Rohan was their top junior,” Aisam said. “I have played with a lot of Indians before but there are no Pakistanis on the tour and India is definitely the closest to Pakistan and he has been my best friend on the tour. We share the same language, we share the same culture and concepts so it makes life much easier on the road. In the beginning we didn’t realise the importance of our relationship and partnership. But we realised that looking at the bigger picture, if we could send a positive message to the people in Pakistan and in India then it is a really good thing. We have had three wars against each other. We used to be one country but we got separated – there are still a lot of diplomatic tensions but at the end of the day on either side the people are very, very friendly and loving. Every time I have gone to India I have been treated with respect and people really like me there. It has been a great experience every time I go there and the message is not to bring politics, culture and religion into sports. That is what we are trying to give out to the people. If we can both get along well then I am sure a lot of other Pakistanis and Indians can get along as well. If we can change a few people’s minds it is a very positive thing. Here you could see Indian and Pakistani people sitting together supporting one team. It is a nice thing to see.” afp

 

[Choppers]

Bopanna-Qureshi crash out of Wimbledon quarters
July 01, 2010 00:24 IST

India's Rohan Bopanna and his Pakistani partner Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi crashed out in straight sets from the doubles quarter-final of the Wimbledon in London .

Bopanna and Qureshi lost 4-6, 6-7(3), 2-6 to Juergen Melzer of Austria and Germany's Philipp Petzschner.

Qureshi had become the first Pakistani player to reach the last eight of any Grand Slam event and the quarter-final appearance is also the best-ever Grand Slam performance for his partner Bopanna.

The first two sets witnessed close-fought battle with both the pairs holding their serve, apart from the break in the very first game by the European pair, while the second set went into a tie-break.

However, the Indo-Pak duo were nowhere in the competition in the third set as Bopanna dropped his serve twice -- in the third and seventh games -- to hand over the match to their rivals in an hour and 37 minutes.

Melzer and Petzschner will now be up against seventh seeds Wesley Moodie of South Africa and Belgian Dick Norman, who beat second seeded American brothers pair of Bob and Mike Bryan 7-6(4), 7-6(5), 6-7(3), 7-5 in another quarter-final match.