'Indo-Pak Express' Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi crowned Dubai champions

Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi (L) and Rohan Bopanna

Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi lifted their first title in their second stint as a team by defeating the top seeds Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic 6-4, 6-3 in 68 minutes at the Dubai Open. Overall, it was their fifth title playing together.

The Indo-Pak Express had reunited at the beginning of this season after a gap of two years. They reached the finals of the Apia International in Sydney but lost out on the title to the very same opponents in a tight 6-7(3), 6-7(3) match. Today, they were able to turn that result around, much to the delight of the largely Asian crowd.

Bopanna and Qureshi had been at the losing end of a lot of close matches this season, and to avoid that today, they came out all guns blazing from the very first point. Attacking tennis while receiving, especially on the no-ad deuce points, proved to be an effective strategy.

The sub-continental team had their first opportunity in the sixth game at 3-2 on Zimonjic’s serve but a flying forehand from Qureshi meant they were unable to capitalize. They put pressure on the Serbian’s serve again four games later. A fantastic backhand volley by Qureshi at full stretch sealed the set for the second seeds at 6-4.

The second set followed a similar script with Bopanna and Qureshi attacking at every possible opening and creating more break chances. The Zimonjic serve snapped at 1-2, giving their opponents the decisive edge in the match. The Indo-Pak Express themselves faced no break points and won a high 90 percent of their first serve points.

“We took our chances. We took our game to them. On the big points, Rohan returned remarkably well. He took, if I remember, 80% of the no ad points we won today. That’s a huge key, because all four of us play very aggressively and it’s about taking chances. I think we served really well and very smartly,” Qureshi said after the match.

The Indo-Pak express celebrate after their win

Bopanna, commenting on what makes them click as a team, said, “It’s just aggressive styles, I think. You know, when we serve big like this, when you have two guys really serving big, it puts pressure on the other team returning. And the way we strike the ball, also. He keeps motivating even if I hit a bad shot, I miss it, or I keep doing the same thing, it’s just working as a team. Now we have Scott Davidoff traveling with us. He’s been on the tour for many years and has a lot of experience. I think he’s brought in so much more to our game, as well.”

Qureshi also spoke at length about the state of tennis as well as other sports back in Pakistan. “We still have not been able to play any Davis Cup tie for last 80 years. I wanted to actually humbly request from international community to start having sports activities in Pakistan, as well. We are 180 million people, and it’s a big country. There are a lot of areas that have not even been hit by terrorism or anything. We can easily play Davis Cup ties and other international sports events, but nobody has been willing to giveve it a shot. It’s very frustrating,” he finished.