Pakistans thirty-year old young stallion, Aisam Ul-Haq Qureshi has given the nation way more than what was expected of him. In addition to his previous achievements, recently, the professional did his country proud by becoming the first ever Pakistani to be seeded at a grand slam tournament. Spreading the message of peace and love, Qureshi teamed up with Indias Rohan Bopanna to compete at the 2010 US Open in the Mens doubles category. Seeded sixteenth at the tournament, Aisam and Rohan were made to face an American duo, namely Ryler DeHart and Brian Battistone. Incidentally, the pair entered the tournament on a wild card. As the first round match kicked off, the team faced a slight problem when they were tied at 2-2 with the Americans during the first set. Qureshi and Bopanna however, took the first set six games to three. Battistone and DeHart stood defeated on their own home-ground at the flushing meadows after losing the first set to the Asian pair that showed no mercy. As the second set commenced, the American team rose up in terms of performance and started giving Bopanna and Qureshi a tough time. The tables had turned, as Ryler and Brian broke Rohan and Aisams serve, defeating the pair 5-3, upon holding onto their own serve. The Asian duality, however responded by reciprocating and breaking DeHart and Battistones serve in the fourth game of the set. Eventually, after going nip and tuck, the two teams were tied at 5-5 in the second set of the game. As the set went into a tie break, Bopanna and Qureshi gave it their all only to lead 6-4. The Americans werent going to let the team off easy. DeHart and Battistone scored enough points to stay leveled with Aisam and Rohan in the deciding set of the match. Furthermore, the Americans then served at 7 points to 8. The match however, went in favor of the Asian duality. Qureshi and Bopanna showed the Americans what theyre all about by bouncing back and verily taking the set 7 games to 6, based on their 9 point to 7 tie-break win. Upon breezing through to the following round, the invincible pair of Qureshi and Bopanna will be made to oppose Germanys Michael Kohlmann and Finlands Jarkko Nieminen in the second round of the 2010 U.S. Open Mens doubles draw.
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