French Open: Aisam, Bopanna roll on

Indo-Pak Express through to quarter-finals, face top-seeds.

PARIS:

Pakistan tennis ace Aisamul Haq Qureshi and doubles partner Rohan Bopanna of India made their way into the French Open quarter-finals after defeating Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin and Andrey Golubev of Kazakhstan 6-3, 7-5 in the third round.

The Indo-Pak Express, seeded fifth, conceded just one double fault and took just 69 minutes to cruise past the pair and set up a clash against top-seeds and Bryan brothers Mike and Bob.

Mirza through to doubles semis

India’s Sania Mirza and her Russian partner Elena Vesnina entered the doubles semi-finals after a 6-0, 7-5 win against Argentine Gisela Dulko and Italy’s Flavia Pennetta. The seventh-seeded pair defeated the top-seeds in just 68 minutes.

Nadal in last-eight

Five-time champion Rafael Nadal reached the singles quarter-finals with a 7-5, 6-3, 6-3 win over Croatia’s Ivan Ljubicic.

It was another low-key display by the top-seeded Spaniard against the veteran Ljubicic before he took his Paris record to 42 wins and just one loss. Nadal, bidding for a sixth French Open title to take him level with Bjorn Borg’s record, has looked a shadow of his usual powerful self in Paris, shaken by the super-charged form of Novak Djokovic.

The second-seeded Serb snatched his Madrid and Rome Masters claycourt titles in the run-up to Paris, and the pressure appears to be telling.

“There was a lot of wind which made it very awkward,” said Nadal. “I played better in the last two sets and I am getting a little better as the tournament goes on.”

Djokovic walks into semis

Second-seed Novak Djokovic was handed a place in the semi-finals when scheduled last-eight opponent Fabio Fognini was forced out with a torn left thigh muscle.

A walkover is not counted as a victory, so Djokovic will have to wait until the semi-final to try and equal John McEnroe’s 1984 mark of a 42-match winning start to the season.

Meanwhile, sixth-seed Li Na became the first Chinese player to reach the French Open quarter-finals with a disjointed 2-6, 6-1, 6-3 defeat over her 21-year-old Czech ninth-seed opponent Petra Kvitova.



Published in The Express Tribune, May 31^st, 2011.