Aisam-ul-Haq & Julien Rojer have won Miami Doubles Championship

Report by ESPN PAKISTAN MIAMI: Pakistani tennis star Aisam-ul-Haq has won Miami Doubles Championship with his Dutch partner Julien in the United States, SAMAA reports. Aisam-ul-Haq and his Dutch partner Julien Roger defeated their Polish opponents in doubles events with straight sets and sealed victory in the Championship by 6-4 and 6-1. Pakistani tennis star Aisam-ul-Haq has once again proven that he is an excellent player and can compete and defeat anyone at any global event. The fans have received this news of Aisam-ul-Haq’s victory with great pride and joy while hoping of many more victories from him in future

Maria Sharapova pic before Oscar Award Red carpet

"Oh the minutes before heading to a red carpet event...as you see it's not as glamorous as it looks. I prefer to cuddle in the blanket until the very last minute. The event? Post Oscar Vanity Fair. I will have to show you a picture of the fancy invitation!"

          Maria Sharapova status on her official facebook page.

Maria Sharapova breezes into Paris Open quarter-finals

PARIS Feb 8 (Reuters) - Top seed Maria Sharapova eased into the third round of the Paris Open with a 6-3 6-1 dismissal of South African Chenelle Scheepers on Wednesday.
The former world number one from Russia dropped serve twice early in the opening set but an upset was never on the cards at the Pierre de Coubertin hall.
After being held 3-3 in the first set, she won nine of the 10 remaining games, taking victory after 68 minutes when Scheepers netted a routine shot.
"I struggled a little bit at the beginning because the surface is quicker than at the Australian Open or the Fed Cup," Australian Open finalist Sharapova, who will next face either Romanian Monica Niculescu or German ninth seed Angelique Kerber, told reporters.

for more visit www.humarinews.com

TENNIS TV:Andy Murray praises instant impact of new coach Ivan Lendl

 

Andy Murray believes new coach Ivan Lendl has improved his game already.

The British number one appointed Lendl, the winner of eight Grand Slam titles, in December.
Murray reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open before losing a five-set thriller to Novak Djokovic, but says Lendl has made a difference.
"I spent five days with him before the Australian Open and I feel like I improved just in those days," Murray told the BBC.
"I'll go and spend a lot more time with him and work harder, and that's really all that you can do."
World number four Murray has 22 ATP titles to his name but has yet to win a Grand Slam after losing three finals.

Ivan Lendl factfile

• Born March, 1960 in Ostrava, Czech Republic
• Won first professional title in 1980 in Houston
• Reached 19 Grand Slam finals, winning eight
• Won US Open three years in a row from 1985 to 1987
• Won £13.7m in prize money, ranking eighth in all-time men's earners

The Scot could benefit from the experience of Lendl, 51, who lost his first four Grand Slam finals.

But Murray, 24, admitted that he is inspired by Djokovic, who dominated 2011, losing just six matches all year.
"The turnaround was incredible and he was struggling at the end of the year before," Murray said.
"That's the thing. It is small margins of one break or one match and it doesn't have to be in a Slam - it could be any time.
"Sometimes things can just click and you can make big improvements, and I feel like I made a big improvement in Australia."
Murray has played in an era dominated by what many regard as three of the greatest players of all time in Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Djokovic.
He added: "Everything that's happened in the past, you would say Federer and Nadal are the greatest players ever and Djokovic, the last year, had probably the greatest year ever.
"This year's a new year; it's irrelevant what's happened in the past.
"I'm not saying I'm going to win 16 Grand Slams, but if I can get a few then you can be remembered in the same breath as those guys - you had those great matches; you won Slams in the same time as them."

Sharapova sets sights on London Olympics

PARIS: Maria Sharapova is making the London Olympics one of her top priorities this year after missing the Beijing Games with an injury.

The third-ranked Russian has already won three Grand Slams but has never competed at the Olympics.

Sharapova said on Monday that "representing my country will be a huge honor," and is something she has wanted to do "since I was a young kid."

Sharapova missed the 2008 Beijing Olympics because of a shoulder injury.

Sharapova reached the final of the Australian Open last month and said she hopes that will be a springboard for winning another Grand Slam title this year.

She is competing in the Open GDF Suez for the first time this week.

Aisam Ul Haq First Time In The Third Round of Australian Open Grand Slam

Aisam Ul Haq First Time In The Third Round of Australian Open Grand Slam

Aisam Ul Haq First Time In The Third Round of Australian Open Grand Slam: He achieved it once again after his marriage back in December 2012 (Aisam Ul Haq Wedding Pictures & Video). This marriage proved to be lucky for Aisam as Aisam Ul Haq First Time In The Third Round of Australian Open Grand Slam. Achieving the new heights of success Aisam is very happy for entering into the third round of Australian Open Grand Slam and is very proud of himself.

Aisam Ul Haq First Time In The Third Round of Australian Open Grand Slam

Aisam ul Haq of Pakistan and his new partner Julian Roger have reached the third round of Australian Open Grand Slam. In Saturday’s match in Melbourne Aisam and Julian beat the pair of German Philips Marks and Canadian Adil Shams by seven – six and six – four in street sets.
This is the first time that Aisam ul Haq has reached in the third round of Australian Open Last year he could not even reach in the second round. Pair of Aisam and Julian has been ranked at number eight in this tournament aur they have won the matches against Coatia’s Evan Lotch and German Sedrick Stab in the street sets in first round.
Aisam is also participating in the mixed doubles in this tournament and has also reached in the second round of mixed doubles. This is the first time that Aisam is playing Grand Slam with the Julian Rodger.
Since 2007, he has been played with the Indian partner Rohan Bopanna and have recently separated. The reason of separation was Bopana’s pair with another Indian tennis player and husband of Lara Dutta Mahesh Bhupathi who has recently became father of a baby girl. You can see Lara Dutta Gives Birth To Baby Girl here.

Voskoboyeva eliminated in Australian Open

 MELBOURNE, Australia – Kazakhstan’s Galina Voskoboyeva January 20 lost to Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska 2-6, 2-6 in third-round women’s singles.
In second-round women’s doubles, her compatriot Yaroslava Shvedova and Vania King of the United States, swept Australia’s Bojana Bobusic and Sacha Jones 6-1, 6-0.
In first-round mixed doubles, Pakistan’s Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi and the Czech Republic’s Andrea Hlavackova swept Australia’s Jelena Dokic and Paul Hanley 6-3, 6-1.
In second-round men’s doubles, Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin and Italy’s Flavio Cipolla lost to the United States’ Eric Butorac and Brazil’s Bruno Soares 2-6, 3-6.

Aisam makes winning start with new partner

KARACHI: Pakistan’s tennis ace Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi has made a winning start to the year’s first grand slam tournament with his new partner — Jean-Julien Rojer of Dutch Antilles — in Melbourne.

The Aisam-Rojer partnership proved too good for the pairing of Croatia’s Ivan Ljubicic and Germany’s Cedrik Marcel Stebe as they won the Australian Open first round men’s doubles match in straight sets.

Aisam and Rojer cruised to a 6-3 win in the first set but their opponents came back strongly in the second set which went into an exhaustive tie-breaker. Aisam-Rojer finally won the set 7-6 (13-11) to enter the second round of the Australian Open. Their match lasted for about 90 minutes. Aisam received a blow last month when his long-time partner – India’s Rohan Bopanna – announced that he was breaking the partnership to pursue his Olympic dream. Bopanna has now paired up with his compatriot Mahesh Bhupati.

Australian Open 2012: Day 5

MELBOURNE, Australia -- Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are taking similar paths to a potential semifinal matchup at the Australian Open.
Meanwhile, the last U.S. man fell out of the tournament when No. 16 John Isner lost to Spaniard Feliciano Lopez 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-7 (0), 6-1. It marks the first time since the start of the Open Era in 1968 that no American men have reached the fourth round at the Australian Open.
Neither the four-time Australian champion Federer nor 2009 titleholder Nadal have dropped a set, although Federer's path was made easier by a walkover win in the second round. They are in the same half of a Grand Slam singles draw for the first time since 2005.
Nadal, his right knee still taped from a recent injury, showed no problems while moving briskly around the court in a 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 win over qualifier Lukas Lacko.
Federer then edged Ivo Karlovic 7-6 (6), 7-5, 6-3, saving a set point in the tiebreaker with a scrambling lob over the 6-foot-10 Croatian. Nadal will face Lopez, and Federer will play Australian teenager Bernard Tomic on Sunday.
No. 7 Tomas Berdych beat No. 30 Kevin Anderson of South Africa 7-6 (5), 7-6 (1), 6-1 and will play No. 10 Nicolas Almagro of Spain, who beat 21st-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland 7-6 (2), 6-2, 6-4.
Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany defeated Alejandro Falla of Colombia 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (3), 11th-seeded Juan Martin del Potro beat Yen-Hsun Lu of Taiwan 6-2, 6-3, 6-0 and Tomic defeated 13th-seeded Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine 4-6, 7-6 (0), 7-6 (6), 2-6, 6-3. Del Potro plays Kohlschreiber in the fourth round.
Australian teenager Bernard Tomic will face Roger Federer in the fourth round of the Australian Open after a 4-6, 7-6 (0), 7-6 (6), 2-6, 6-3 win over Alexandr Dolgopolov on Friday.
Tomic reached the last 16 at his home Grand Slam for the first time in his career after a cat-and-mouse match against the 13th-seeded Ukrainian.
The 3-hour, 49-minute match featured a number of lengthy rallies, with each player trying to outmaneuver the other by using an unusual variety of shots.

Following are the Key Matches to be held on Day 6 (21st January) at the Australian Open 2012 :



Singles - Third Round
[1] N Djokovic (SRB) vs N Mahut (FRA)
[4] A Murray (GBR) vs M Llodra (FRA)
[27] J Chela (ARG) vs [5] D Ferrer (ESP)
F Gil (POR) vs [6] J Tsonga (FRA)
M Kukushkin (KAZ) vs [14] G Monfils (FRA)
[9] J Tipsarevic (SRB) vs [17] R Gasquet (FRA)
J Benneteau(FRA) vs [24] K Nishikori (JPN)
[23] M Raonic (CAN) vs L Hewitt (AUS

Djokovic, Murray to come out swinging

Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray answer the bell for round two at the Australian Open today with neither expected to struggle on day four, while Maria Sharapova kicks off the action against qualifier Jamie Hampton on Rod Laver Arena.
Djokovic, whose victory in Melbourne last year sparked a remarkable season in which he won three grand slam titles, beat Italian journeyman Paolo Lorenzi in just 92 minutes and will seek to make equally quick work of Colombia's Santiago Giraldo.
While the Serb has quickly found his rhythm at Melbourne Park, Briton Murray had a rude awakening in the first round by going a set down to American Ryan Harrison before rallying for an ultimately comfortable victory.
But the world number four, the losing finalist here for the last two years, should be sharper against Frenchman Edouard Roger-Vasselin as he seeks to put a smile on new coach Ivan Lendl's face at Hisense Arena.
The Scot will hope to avoid a physically taxing match against the well-rested Roger-Vasselin, who advanced to the second round when Xavier Malisse retired after the first set of their encounter on Tuesday.
American qualifier Hampton could be forgiven for being a bag of nerves ahead of her meeting with Sharapova after the Russian pounded Gisela Dulko 6-0 6-1 in her opening match on Tuesday.
Sharapova had not played a competitive match this year before coming to Melbourne Park after an ankle injury flared up but the world number four showed no signs of rust against the Argentine.
Ankle injuries have forced Serena Williams to join the ranks of the walking wounded for the first grand slam of the year but the American, who faces Czech Barbora Strycova, has no doubts she is more than capable of winning a sixth Australian Open.
Williams follows Sharapova on court at Rod Laver Arena, which should mean she will be able to avoid the dive-bombing crickets that drove her to distraction on Tuesday night against Tamira Paszek.Also in action are Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, Ana Ivanovic and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Nadal impressive as Federer takes free pass

Spain's Rafael Nadal bulldozed past Tommy Haas at the Australian Open on Wednesday as Swiss great Roger Federer reached the third round without even picking up his racquet.

Women's champion Kim Clijsters raced through in just 47 minutes to stay on course for a clash with China's Li Na, while former French Open winner Francesca Schiavone was stunned by fellow Italian Romina Oprandi.

But top seed Caroline Wozniacki survived a second-set fightback by Georgia's Anna Tatishvili to win 6-1, 7-6 (7/4). Federer, seeking his first grand slam win in two years, received a boost when Germany's Andreas Beck withdrew from their match with a back problem, giving the Swiss free passage to the third round.
The rest will be welcome for Federer, 30, who was forced out of this month's Qatar Open with back spasms and will break Jimmy Connors's record of 233 grand slam wins if he reaches the final.
"I would have loved to play. Feel sorry for the fans, you know, who were excited to see me on Hisense today. I was ready to go," he said.
"I was just coming for my warm-up hit, so I was completely focusing on the match.... Now I'll just take it easy this afternoon and come out tomorrow and hit intensely tomorrow, and then I'll be ready for the next match."
Federer's opponent on Friday is either Ivo Karlovic or Carlos Berlocq, while Nadal will play Donald Young or Lukas Lacko after his 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 over the classy Haas.
Nadal, moving freely despite a heavily bandaged right knee, was broken in the first and third sets but he always looked in control against the injury-hit German, who has reached the semi-finals on three occasions.
"He's a fantastic player and he's had a lot of injuries over the last couple of years and it's great to see him back," said Nadal, who suffered a dramatic flare-up in his long-troubled knee on the eve of the tournament.
"It's much better and I'm happy with how the knee is improving and I played today without any problems," added the 10-time grand slam-winner.
Clijsters brushed past France's Stephanie Foretz Gacon 6-0, 6-1, while French Open winner Li dispatched Australian wildcard Olivia Rogowska 6-2, 6-2 to stay on track for a fourth-round meeting with the Belgian.
But Schiavone followed US Open champion Samantha Stosur out of the tournament when she was shocked by 80th-ranked compatriot Romina Oprandi, who won 6-4, 6-3.
"I think it was a really bad match for me," Schiavone said. "I couldn't play like I was trying to play."
Daniela Hantuchova and Jelena Jankovic also went through in the women's draw, while Juan Martin del Potro, Feliciano Lopez and Tomas Berdych were the other men's seeds to progress.
Meanwhile, men's tour chief Brad Drewett admitted there were "frustrations" among players but played down swirling talk of a strike after several spoke out over pay and conditions.
"There are frustrations out there. As I said, I plan to take them on board. I've heard them," he said.
The new Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) boss was speaking after an unprecedented groundswell of discontent prompted strike rumours and a brief rift between Nadal and Federer.
Players have long complained about the tough tennis calendar, often blaming it for injuries, and they are reportedly unhappy over Davis Cup scheduling and prize money at grand slams.

Maria Sharapova Vs Jamie Hampton in Australian Open 2012

The former World No. 1 Maria Sharapova will meet Jamie Hampton in the second round at Australian Open 2012 at 00:00 GMT on Wednesday 19th January, which will held on outdoor hard courts at Melbourne Park.

The three-time Grand Slam champion Maria Sharapova has reached second Australian Open championship on Tuesday, after overpowered Gisela Dulko of Argentina in straight sets with a 6-0, 6-1 score line. Russian star has been playing first WTA Tournament in 2012 here in Australian, where she is looking one of the hot favorite to lift the championship. Sharapova has won the Australian Open in 2008, beating former World No. 1 Ana Ivanovic of Serbia in two sets in the final.

The United States qualifier Jamie Hampton will face tough battle in the second round and looking forward to show best performance against fourth seed. Hampton has overcome against Mandy Minella in two sets with a 6-1 and 6-1 score line in the opening round. American star has begun the new season at 2012 ASB Classic tournament earlier this month and felt in the first round by Monica Niculescu in two sets.

Maria Sharapova and Jamie Hampton have never played each other in career, where both the players are battling for the first time. The predications’ favor Maria Sharapova will win the second round match in straight sets and enter into the third round Australian Open 2012 tournament, being played here on outdoor hard courts at Melbourne Park.

Is Roger on the outer at Hisense?

IT SEEMED impossible. Roger Federer, Ice King of tennis, four times champion of the Australian Open, was to be cast into the outer.
Having played an unbroken chain of 52 games in Melbourne's central shrine to the game, the Rod Laver Arena, he was scheduled to appear yesterday in Hisense Arena, a futuristic satellite hovering at the edge of Melbourne Park. Indeed, it is less a tennis stadium than a velodrome.
Was this some dreadful insult constructed by the tennis gods? A cruel, albeit unintended, metaphor for a monarch on the slide, even one who has earned 70 singles titles and $67.4 million in winnings alone?

Worse, perhaps, the younger and much scruffier Rafael Nadal, who has spent recent years snapping at Federer's heels on the court and in the rankings, had this week taken to verbally snapping at him.
Peeved that Federer, president of the World Tour Player Council, was keeping his own cool counsel on grumblings in the dressing rooms about how the men's game should change, rather than making public statements in support of his colleagues, Nadal used a Spanish language news conference on Sunday to insert the needle.
''For him, it's good to say nothing,'' Nadal said. ''Everything positive - 'Oh, it's all well and good for me, I look like a gentleman' - and the rest can burn themselves.''
Nadal, clearly realising he was not being overly gentlemanly himself, has since tried to smooth it over, declaring he and Federer are on the best of terms. No one, however, could have missed the fact that the Spaniard, 25, had felt emboldened to bare his teeth at the former top dog, now 30.
And then, yesterday, as if to rub salt into the sore, Federer was to be consigned to a far pavilion, a converted velodrome, while Nadal was scheduled for the glamour match of the day against the German-born American Tommy Haas. And, of course, the Nadal-Haas rumble would be centre stage, in Rod Laver Arena.
It turned out to be an absorbing, edge-of-the-seat experience for the crowd of 15,000. Nadal appeared to have each set all but wrapped up when Haas would stage a thrilling fightback, forcing the Spaniard to shift gears and swat the American into submission, the fans shrieking their support for the underdog.
But then, merciful fate intervened for the distant Swiss. Federer's opponent, the German Andreas Beck, withdrew from the match, citing a back injury. Federer would not play at Hisense Stadium after all. He would advance like royalty, without having to play at all, to the next stage of the Open, which used to be his for the taking.
He opined that he had been looking forward to appearing at Hisense, that there was nothing unusual about playing on an ''outside'' court - why, it was commonplace at Wimbledon and the French Open - and declared he felt bad that fans who had come to see him play would go home disappointed.
He would simply go away and give himself an ''intense'' workout in preparation for his next round. Limbering up, you might think, with a view to treating young Nadal to a lesson in manners some time further into this intriguing competition. In the Rod Laver Arena. Naturally.

Indo-Pak Express going with full speed

Known inside the tennis domain as the ‘Indo-Pak Express’, the combination of Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi and Rohan Bopanna has made prime inroads into clap and accolades, both on top of and off the field. The “stop war turn on tennis” initiative that transmit desire flame within both twigs of the Indo-Pak divide was complemented via the United Nations Development Program towards appoint the duo as Goodwill Ambassadors inside November 2010. They also obtained Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year Award 2010 – one that Aisam had won with Amir Hadad within 2002 as well – and the “Peace and Sport Image of the Year” respect among a lot else accolades for peace and their off-field influence.
Even though Aisam and Bopanna had teamed up inside 2007, the international dynamics career within such a distance that any statement of goodwill, many often than not, land towards the fore alone as soon as on-field achievements. Such was the example for the Indo-Pak duo within September 2010, when their earth-shattering function towards the final at Flushing Meadows approved them towards the forefront. Aisam coupled that operate with a final’s berth within the included doubles as well; and his speech at the honor distribution ceremony won again hearts as soon as making a mark as a doubles player.
Back within 2010, Aisam and Bopanna were relatively unknown commodities. They usurped the tennis scene owing towards the part of clandestine that many often than not took their critics via surprise. This was clearly visible within their operate towards the final within US Open 2010. Aisam is a conventional serve and volleyer, whom backs his serving with dexterous volleying – the many textbook doubles performer of the two. Bopanna, onto the else hand, has pulverising ground strokes and a beast of a serve. Bopanna is a able ad-court instrumentalist, with a mighty backhand and Aisam hogs the deuce court, since his backhand is his weaker relate whilst the forehand is an indubitable weapon. Together the two formed a daunting dissent, as their respective ability complemented each else seamlessly.
However, what genuinely impacted the duo’s overall play package was the fact that they translated their off-court experience into matters onto the court – something Brian Brothers possess showcased within an unparalleled method again the years. The two were greatest allies ahead of they were partners – and this is what they possess contended ago as well. And want true allies they would stand up for each else, cover each other’s frailties and when the else was having a bad day, his partner would put within many than his fair share of tenacity. Such distinctive camaraderie ensured that their jointly prowess was considerably many than the sum of the two individuals.
After the US Open, there first-round exits galore for the team from the subcontinent, and the spark and the collaboration was crucially missing. However, the two managed towards assemble their greatest within Paris and won their alone ATP thousand happening, which carried them into the spotlight within the doubles toy yet again. Nonetheless, losing everybody three of their lake fits within the World Tour Finals – owing a number of of it towards luck and a number of towards lethargy – the two possess decided towards portion entrances activity, ostensibly, of Olympics glory.
They were a deadly team, with novel partners they powers well competition towards match their exploits – something they powers hear the steely distance next year. 2012 being an Olympic year meant that there was always going towards be a limp within the packs of doubles partners round the globe. And when Bhupathi and Paes informed their fork – again – rumours linking Bopanna with one of them gathered momentum. Bopanna opting for Bhupathi – or the else distance round – was surprising, since both of them are ad-court players; however what was even many surprising was the distance Aisam and Bopanna halted their express. The initial word was that the fork is passing, with the London Olympics within mind; but the noise produced via both halves of the Indo-Pak express is marred via bitterness – even although the two attempt towards downplay that – and it appears that the express is being halted for good.
The decision towards portion passages has been robbed via Bopanna, whom extrovertly alleged within modern interviews that he did not possess a successful year with Aisam and was expecting affecting that with Bhupathi. Such a announcement within a month of their maiden ATP thousand title within Paris was not alone uncalled for, it also reflects a feeling of resentment onto Bopanna’s part. The two reached the ATP World Tour Finals for the very former moment, and ranging the year-ending finale connotes a successful year.
Aisam shall be partnered via Jean-Julien Rojer next year – a top twenty musician – and has cleared that he holds none grudges against his ‘good friend’ Bopanna. Bopanna should possess done the equivalent and appreciated his moment with Aisam even whether he needed towards dub it a day onto the partnership.
Nevertheless, consulting what unraveled within Beijing 2008, with Bopanna and Bhupathi having a torrid moment as a team, it powers be Bopanna whom misses Aisam being adjoining him rather than the else distance round.

The Hottest Sex Symbols in Sports (Gallery)

Most men watch sports in order to see the athletes – both men and women – display incredible amounts of athleticism as they put their bodies on the line and test their limits while doing battle with the opposition.  And then there are those that watch sports for the opportunity to see a female athlete with a tight body showing off her sexy curves in a skimpy little uniform.  I’m not sure which category I fall into (both, I assume), but what I do know is that I have tuned into a sporting event to watch most of the following ladies at least once.
Can you blame me?  Before answering that question, I suggest you take a look at the images below.

Danielle Lloyd: WAG

Arianny Celeste- UFC Ring Girl

Irina Shayk- WAG

Carmella DeCesare- WAG

Jennifer Walcott- WAG

Partridge Twins- Surfing

Allison Stokke- Pole Vault

Almudena Cid- Rhythmic Gymnasts

Hannah Cornett- Triathlete

Anastasia Ashley- Surfing

Erica Hosseini- Surfing

Adriana Lima- WAG

Leyrn Franco- Javelin

Heather Mitts- Soccer

Emily OHara- WAG

Julia Mancuso- Skiing

Anna Kournikova- Tennis

Danica Patrick- Racing

Stephanie Rice- Swimming

Natalie Gulbis- Golf

Alana Blanchard- Surfing

Gina Carano- MMA

Sophie Horn- Golf

Ana Ivanovic- Tennis

Maria Sharapova: Tennis

Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi set to create history for Pakistan at the US Open Read more: http://www.gnepse.com/tennis-news-aisam-ul-haq-qureshi-set-to-creat

The beleaguered Pakistani nation finally has something to cheer about, as their tennis ace Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi made history at the last Grand Slam of the year by becoming the first man from the country to make it to the finals of a Grand Slam event.

The Lahore born 30-year old has made it to the finals of both the doubles and mixed doubles event, producing a stunning display of tennis along with his partners Rohan Bopanna and Kveta Peschke.

It has been a truly memorable week for Aisam-Ul-Haq and India’s Rohan Bopanna, as they finally made an impact on the tennis world after having easily their best season at the international level, winning some events whilst making it to the quarterfinals at the biggest stage of them all, Wimbledon, where only an injury to the Pakistani quashed their dreams.

However, they have redeemed themselves big time at the Arthur Ashe Stadium and that was visible as they trounced some of the biggest pairs in the game, before disposing off Argentine pair of Eduardo Schwank and Horacio Zeballos 7-6 (7-5) and 6-4.

This is the best ever performance for both players individually as well as a pair ever since they started playing together around two years ago.

The incredible aspect about the pair is that they belong to countries that have fought three wars and have a bitter history – to say the least – across the Wagah border.

The duo is a symbol of hope and peace, and if they win, they are set to be wild celebrations across Wagah and for once some more than a billion people will be united in a moment of triumph.

The two have been great buddies of the court and have brushed aside the bitterness that prevails; they have been extremely lucky that their games complement each other, and above all, they have proven to the rest of the world that the two nations can have love and tolerance for each other only if politics are kept aside.

With their golden run, they have proved to the poverty-stricken people of the region that they can touch the sky if they unite and spread across message of love, peace and tranquillity.

The duo was quietly confident before leaving for the United States. Aisam-Ul-Haq had remarked then that he and his partner were up for something very special and they sure have done that.

They were finally rewarded for their consistent performances, winning a berth amongst the seeds for the event; they are currently placed at number 15 in the ATP doubles team rankings.

While India has had many outstanding doubles pairs like Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi, Pakistan has struggled to make an impact at either the singles or doubles event.

Aisam-Ul-Haq is easily the best player to represent Pakistan on the ATP circuit and has proven that anything can be achieved with hard work and determination.

He has an impeccable demeanour off and on the court, and is already being hailed as a hero in the country as he continues breaking records at a time when Pakistan’s more esteemed and revered cricketing team lets the nation down with their spate of controversies and abysmal on-field performances.

He hails from a tennis background and he and his sister have the unique record of being one of the few pairs of siblings to have represented their country at the Davis Cup and Federation Cup, the country level competitions for men and women.

Now he is a step away from creating history; the success-starved people of Pakistan would be happy with either a doubles or mixed doubles crown, yet nothing would beat a pair of triumphs.