Aisamul Haq Qureshi (R) and his partner Netherlands' Jean-Julien Rojer (L) bump fists between points. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
KARACHI: Pakistan’s Aisamul Haq Qureshi along with Jean-Julien Rojer lost to former partner Rohan Bopanna and Britain’s Colin Fleming 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) in the men’s doubles final of the Open 13 ATP indoor 250 Championship in Marseille, France yesterday.
The top-seeded pair had earlier eased past the defending champions Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 6-3, 6-1 in the semi-final, but failed to overcome second seeds Bopanna and Fleming in the title decider.
“It’s always difficult to play against a friend,” Aisam told The Express Tribune.
“We met twice last year too. Now the goal is to perform well at Dubai Open and then we will go to Indian Wells. Rojer and I are playing well together; so far, so good. No match is easy at this stage as we are playing against the top players in the world.
“However, I’m excited about the year despite the defeats; it’s going to be more competitive than the last one. As a team, Rojer and I are gelling well and hopefully Dubai Open will be equally rewarding for us.”
The pair flew off to Dubai yesterday to participate in the Dubai Duty Free Championships where they will be up against Bopanna again, who will team up with Rajeev Ram in the first round.
Aisam and Rojer will be playing as second seeds in Dubai while Bopanna and Ram are unseeded. Last year, Aisam crashed out of the Dubai event in the first round.
Earlier this month, Aisam and Rojer also lost at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
“The Davis Cup ties took a lot out of me physically. I was too tired,” said Aisam. “I was exhausted before I started the international tour to Netherlands. However, Marseilles has been very motivating and a good event for us overall. Rojer and I are working very hard to improve ourselves. We are looking for ways and strategies to play better. We are taking chances.”
Aisam’s next assignment after Dubai will be Indian Wells in the US and then he will be playing in Miami.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 25th, 2013.
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