Adil Najam
Pakistani tennis star Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi will feature in two different finals at Flushing Meadow’s – the home of U.S. Open Tennis – this week: Aisam has reached the finals in both the Men’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles categories!
(Photos: Picture on left is Kveta Peschke and Aisam-ul-Haq; picture on right is Aisam-ul-Haq and Rohan Bopanna; during US Open 2010)
He will be playing the first of those finals today (Thursday, September 9, 2010) – US Open Mixed Doubles – where Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi and his Czech partner Kveta Peschke will play the World Number 1 ranked pair of Liezel Huber and Bob Bryan, both from USA.
This is by far the best performance by a Pakistani in a grand slam tournament, and to be playing in two different finals in one of the most important (possibly, second only to Wimbledon) tennis tournament in the world is a major achievement. In any doubles game credit should go equally to both players in the team, Aisam-ul-Haq has blossomed into a doubles player of great skill and merit and has been steadily improving his world standings in doubles tennis (now ranked No. 34 in World Doubles rankings).
We have followed with fascination the rise of the 30 year old from Lahore and written about him in different contexts (here, here, here). His rise in this year’s US Open Doubles tournaments has been particularly heartening, and all the more impressive since he is playing both categories side-by-side.
In the Mixed Doubles, the road to the Finals looked like this:
Kveta Peschke (CZE) and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK) BEAT
Semi-Finals: 7-6, 7-6
Anna-Lena Groenefeld (GER) and Mark Knowles (BAH)
Quarter-Finals: 3-6, 6-2, 1-0
Gisela Dulko (ARG) and Pablo Cuevas (URU)
Round 2: 5-7, 6-3, 1-0
Yaroslava Shevedova (KAZ) and Julian Knowle (AUT)
Round 1: 7-5, 4-6, 1-0
Vania King (USA) and Horia Tecau (ROU)
In the Men’s Doubles, the road to the Finals looked like this:
Rohan Bopanna (IND) and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK) BEAT
Semi-Finals: 7-6, 6-4
Eduardo Schwank (ARG) and Horacio Zeballos (ARG)
Quarter-Finals: 7-5, 7-6
Wesley Moodie (RSA) and Dick Norman (BEL)
Round 3: 6-3, 6-4
Daniel Nestor (CAN) and Nenad Zimonjic (SRB)
Round 2: 6-4, 6-4
Michael Kohlmann (GER) and Jarkko Nieminen (FIN)
Round 1: 6-3, 7-6
Brian Battistone (USA) and Ryler DeHeart (USA)
In both the finals, Aisam will be playing against American Bob Bryan. In the Mixed Doubles Final, Aisam and his Czech partner Kveta Peschke will play against Bob Bryan and his fellow-American Liezel Huber (ranked World No. 1) while in the Men’s Doubles Final Aisam and his Indian partner Rohan Bopanna will be pitted against the American brothers Bob and Mike Bryan (also ranked World No. 1 in the doubles).
His stellar streak, coming at a time when just about everything in Pakistan- from floods to cricket – seems to be going terribly wrong gives some solace to Pakistani fans. The first of his Finals will be played later today (Thursday, September 9) and we wish Aisam and Kveta the very best of luck, as we do to Aisam and Rohan who will feature in the Men’s Final later this week.
“For me, you have to understand there are extremists in every religion. But those small groups or activists shouldn’t justify the thinking that everyone is like them. Above all, everybody wants peace. Not everybody is an extremist. That’s my message and hopefully everyone can understand that.”
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?story Id=129778464
amazing post match interview by Aisam, a true ambassador for Pakistan…
http://www.expresspakistan.net/2010/09/10/us-open- mens-aisam-ul-haq-qureshi-post-match-interview/
I feel sorry for Aisam but glad that so called “Pak Bharat Jori” did not win otherwise media and self-acclaimed liberal “peace-makers” were going to make life hell by singing one-sided “Aman ki asha” by going to paint a picture of “Ravi Chain he Chain Likhta hay” about Indo-Pak relations
BTW, usopen.org is broadcasting the match live, and free of cost.
A rare but true, somehow hidden the positive face of pakistan.
Loved it. Keep it up.
Shahid