Aisam, Rojer to begin hard court season today

Second seeds face wildcard duo in first round of Citi Open.

KARACHI: Pakistan tennis ace Aisamul Haq Qureshi and his Dutch partner Jean-Julien Rojer will begin their campaign at the Citi Open ATP 500 today against local players Steve Johnson and Sam Querrey at the men’s doubles event in Washington.

Aisam and Rojer are seeded second in the event that is also featuring defending champions Treat Huey and Dominic Inglot. Their first-round match will be against the wildcard team.

Prior to the event, they were playing the World Team Tennis League in the US with their clubs Texas Wild and Spring Field Lasers after concluding their grass season in Wimbledon last month.

The pair will now start their hard court season in Washington with an ATP 500 event, which is offering a prize money of $92,100.

“I’m training very hard and I’m physically fit,” Aisam told The Express Tribune. “So far it’s been a satisfying year. Rojer and I are among the top five pairs in the world and our aim is to maintain the rankings and play the London Masters this year as well. We want to add to our Miami Open win with another title this year.”

He further said that winning an ATP 1000 event was a boost for them and validated their credibility in the sport.

“I’m playing with the world’s best players and reaching the quarter-finals and semi-finals in these tournaments,” said Aisam. “This should send out the message to our competitors that we have the potential to win trophies.”

If the Pak-Dutch pair wins the first-round match, they will next face Bulgaria’s Grigor Dmitrov and France’s Michael Llodra in the second round.

Dmitrov and Llodra defeated Max Mirnyl and Horia Tecau 3-6, 6-3, 15-13 in their first match.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 1^st, 2013.

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