Aisamul Haq and Rohan Bopanna crashed out of the French Open yesterday in an interrupted match from Tuesday against top-seeds Bob and Mike Bryan.
The Indo-Pak Express was defeated 6-7, 6-3, 7-6 by the Americans who reached the semi-finals of the men’s doubles event.
The fifth-seeded pair did well to take it to the wire before the big-match temperament of the Bryans did the trick. During tie-breakers, their US opponents served well to take the advantage from their opponents as they once again crumbled under the pressures of the Grand Slam finals.
This was the third quarter-final appearance in the last four Grand Slams for Bopanna and Qureshi.
Rejuvenated Nadal reaches semi-finals
Defending champion Rafael Nadal bludgeoned bitter Roland Garros rival Robin Soderling to defeat as the world number one reached the French Open semi-finals with a 6-4, 6-1, 7-6 victory.
It was Nadal’s second successive French Open win over fifth-seed Soderling after his victory in the 2010 final had avenged his stunning fourth round defeat to the Swede the year before, still Nadal’s only loss in Paris against 43 wins.
Murray sets up Nadal showdown
Andy Murray charged into the French Open semi-finals for the first time with a 7-6 , 7-5, 6-2 win over Argentine veteran Juan Ignacio Chela.
He is just the second British player to reach the last-four in Paris in the Open era since 1968 after Tim Henman did so in 2004, and it sets him up for a crack at defending champion Nadal in the semi-final.
With Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic contesting the other semi-final, it will be the first time since the 2006 French Open that the top four seeds are into the last four in a Grand Slam event.
Sharapova, Li Na stride into the last-four
Maria Sharapova moved to within two wins of a career Grand Slam when she defeated Germany’s Andrea Petkovic 6-0, 6-3 to reach her second French Open semi-final.
Similarly, Li Na became the first Chinese player to reach a French Open semi-final with an upset 7-5, 6-2 win over fourth-seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus.
The two will face each other for a place in the final as the Russian star will compete for the French Open title to become the 10th woman to complete a career Grand Slam while Li Na stands just one match away from a second straight Grand Slam final, having lost to Kim Clijsters in the Australian Open championship match at the start of the year.
Defending champion Francesca Schiavone will also pit her Italian passion against Marion Bartoli’s hyper-active French intensity today in the second semi-final for a place in the French Open final.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 2nd, 2011.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ