Tennis: Aisam crowned champion in Thailand

Pakistan tennis ace wins doubles event without regular partner Bopanna.

KARACHI: Aisamul Haq Qureshi and Oliver Marach won the Thailand Open men’s doubles title as they got the better of the German duo of Michael Kohlman and Alexander Waske 7-6, 7-6.

This was the first time Qureshi had paired with Austria’s Marach, with the top seeds dropping just one set in the entire tournament. India’s Rohan Bopanna, the Pakistani tennis ace’s regular partner, opted to rest following his participation at the Davis Cup.

Qureshi felt that the victory would boost his confidence ahead of event in Tokyo and the Shanghai Masters, the next two assignments on his calendar. He also praised Marach and said that the partnership developed well in a short time period. However, Qureshi said Bopanna will remain his regular partner.

“I’m content with Bopanna, he’s the best partner I’ve got,” Qureshi told The Express Tribune. “Marach is great but I don’t see myself playing bigger tournaments with him in the future. But I’ll always respect him and the fact that we won the Thailand Open together is something special.

“Andy Murray won the singles title and I got to share the same space with one of the world’s best players so it’s a big deal for me. It’s a reward for 12 years of hard work.”

According to Qureshi, he was not planning on taking part in the tournament.

“I was here only to train but then a Spanish friend of mine  who was participating in the doubles event, got injured. He recommended my name to Marach, who contacted me.”

Murray crushes Young

Meanwhile, world number four Murray hammered Donald Young of America 6-2, 6-0 in an awesome show of power to win the singles event of the tournament, his third title of the season.

The top-seed crushed any faint hopes of the first-time finalist, romping to victory in just 47 minutes. Murray was satisfied at the end of a flawless performance.

“I barely made any errors,” he said. “It was a great match for me.”

Murray used all his experience against Young, who will rise to a career-best placing inside the top 50 in the rankings despite his resounding defeat. (With additional input from AFP)

Published in The Express Tribune, October 3^rd, 2011.