Tennis: Aisam, Bopanna lose London Masters opener

Rohan Bopanna of India (R) and his partner Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi of Pakistan (L) talk between points against Max Mirnyi of Belarus and his partner Daniel Nestor of Canada during their group B doubles match at the ATP World Tour Finals tennis tournament in London on November 20, 2011. PHOTO: AFP

Nestor and Mirnyi, the world number three pair, eked out a 7-6, 4-6, 11-9 win over the Indo-Pak duo.

Qureshi and Bopanna, who climbed to fifth position in the rankings after their win at the Paris Masters last week, have been placed in Group A of the prestigious event, for which they have qualified for the first time. The pair will also play matches against Michael Llodra and Nenad Zimonjic, as well as Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski in their other group encounters.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 21^st, 2011.