Aisam-Rojer off to winning start

Doubles pair clinches opening-round win at Portugal Open.

KARACHI: Pakistan tennis ace Aisamul Haq Qureshi and Dutch partner Jean-Julien Rojer set the stage for their title-defence at the Portugal Open 2013 men’s doubles event with a first-round victory against Italian duo Paolo Lorenzi and Andreas Seppi 6-3, 4-6, 10-6 in Estoril.

Aisam and Rojer will now take on either the Indian-Israeli pair of Rohan Bopanna and Andy Ram or the Israeli-British duo, Jonathan Dario Erlich and Dominic Inglot, in the second round of the tournament.

The Dutch-Pak duo has hopes of continuing with their form in the ongoing event, with eyes set on booking a place at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, where the top eight compete.

The two players climbed to fourth place in the ATP doubles rankings after winning their first ATP 1000 Masters in Miami in March with Aisam being ranked eighth in the individual doubles players ranking.

A win in this tournament will earn them ATP’s 250 points.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 2^nd, 2013.