Aisam, Bopanna march into Miami quarters
Federer advances but top-seed Woznizki crashes out.
MIAMI:
Pakistan’s Aisamul Haq Qureshi and his Indian partner Rohan Bopanna fought hard to overcome Michael Mertinak of Slovakia and Dick Norman of Belgium in a closely-contested encounter to book a place in the doubles quarter-finals of the Miami ATP Masters.
The seventh-seed Indo-Pak pair struggled to beat their unseeded rivals 7-6, 3-6, 10-8 in the second round of the hard court event.
They now face giant-killers Oliver Marach of Austria and Serbia’s Janko Tipsarevic, who registered an upset win over top-seeds Bob and Mike Bryan, defeating them 7-5, 6-4 in their pre-quarterfinal match.
Federer, Nadal progress
Roger Federer fought through a tough first set and turned it on in the second to beat Juan Monaco 7-6, 6-4 as the Swiss advanced in Miami. Federer’s clean and clinical third-round victory over the Argentine improved his overall Miami mark to 38-10.
“It was tough not having played him very often,” said the Swiss. “This is as slow as it gets on the hard court. I thought he played well in the later stages of the first set and also in the second. I had a return game which worked well. So it was a good finish for me.”
Federer will next play longtime friend Olivier Rochus, a winner over Russian Mikhail Youzhny 1-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Top-seed Rafael Nadal was also able to register a comfortable win, beating fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez 6-3, 6-3. Seventh-seed Tomas Berdych beat Argentine Carlos Berlocq 7-6, 7-5, while Tipsarevic beat German Philipp Petzschner 6-3, 6-3. Spanish 11th-seed Nicolas Almagro was upset by Germany’s Florian Mayer 6-1, 3-6, 6-1.
Petkovic upsets Wozniacki
In women’s play, Caroline Wozniacki’s dream of a title win hit the wall as the top-seed was upset 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 by Germany’s Andrea Petkovic. The winner performed a snippet of her jiggy “Petko” victory dance after the upset in just under two-and-a half hours.
“It wasn’t like I played unbelievable,” said the German. “It was more that I was able to stick to my game plan and I was playing clever.”
Petkovic needed an hour to win the opening set against the Dane. She went up 4-2 in the third set and three games later was into the quarter-finals after firing her third ace of the afternoon on match-point.
Pole Agnieszka Radwanska crushed Roland Garros winner Francesca Schiavone in a 6-0, 6-2 hammering of the Italian. Serb sixth-seed Jelena Jankovic beat Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-1, 6-3.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 30th, 2011.
Pakistan’s Aisamul Haq Qureshi and his Indian partner Rohan Bopanna fought hard to overcome Michael Mertinak of Slovakia and Dick Norman of Belgium in a closely-contested encounter to book a place in the doubles quarter-finals of the Miami ATP Masters.
The seventh-seed Indo-Pak pair struggled to beat their unseeded rivals 7-6, 3-6, 10-8 in the second round of the hard court event.
They now face giant-killers Oliver Marach of Austria and Serbia’s Janko Tipsarevic, who registered an upset win over top-seeds Bob and Mike Bryan, defeating them 7-5, 6-4 in their pre-quarterfinal match.
Federer, Nadal progress
Roger Federer fought through a tough first set and turned it on in the second to beat Juan Monaco 7-6, 6-4 as the Swiss advanced in Miami. Federer’s clean and clinical third-round victory over the Argentine improved his overall Miami mark to 38-10.
“It was tough not having played him very often,” said the Swiss. “This is as slow as it gets on the hard court. I thought he played well in the later stages of the first set and also in the second. I had a return game which worked well. So it was a good finish for me.”
Federer will next play longtime friend Olivier Rochus, a winner over Russian Mikhail Youzhny 1-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Top-seed Rafael Nadal was also able to register a comfortable win, beating fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez 6-3, 6-3. Seventh-seed Tomas Berdych beat Argentine Carlos Berlocq 7-6, 7-5, while Tipsarevic beat German Philipp Petzschner 6-3, 6-3. Spanish 11th-seed Nicolas Almagro was upset by Germany’s Florian Mayer 6-1, 3-6, 6-1.
Petkovic upsets Wozniacki
In women’s play, Caroline Wozniacki’s dream of a title win hit the wall as the top-seed was upset 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 by Germany’s Andrea Petkovic. The winner performed a snippet of her jiggy “Petko” victory dance after the upset in just under two-and-a half hours.
“It wasn’t like I played unbelievable,” said the German. “It was more that I was able to stick to my game plan and I was playing clever.”
Petkovic needed an hour to win the opening set against the Dane. She went up 4-2 in the third set and three games later was into the quarter-finals after firing her third ace of the afternoon on match-point.
Pole Agnieszka Radwanska crushed Roland Garros winner Francesca Schiavone in a 6-0, 6-2 hammering of the Italian. Serb sixth-seed Jelena Jankovic beat Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-1, 6-3.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 30th, 2011.