Peace pair gear up for big battle

Sept. 9: There was no stopping the ‘Indo-Pak Express’ as Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi inched closer to their maiden Grand Slam title together by advancing to the US Open finals here.

Continuing with their message of ‘Stop War, Start Tennis’, 16th seeds Bopanna and Qureshi beat Argentines Eduardo Schwank and Horacio Zeballos 7-6 (5), 6-4 to set up a summit clash with top-seeded American brothers Bob and Mike Bryan in the finals.

The Indo-Pak duo was cheered on from the stands by, among others, the United Nations ambassadors from their respective countries. India’s ambassador Harpreet Suri and his Pakistan counterpart Abdullah H. Haroon even met the two players after the match.

Bopanna-Qureshi’s friendship of more than 10 years has weathered the political storm and the two 30-year-olds admit facing problems in the beginning of their partnership. “Initially we did have a few problems, because a Pakistani was partnering an Indian at major tournaments, but people appreciate the fact that we’re sticking together and have done well. There isn’t too much prejudice now, but I would be naive to say there wasn’t any grievance. It is only later the two realised the interest their unique partnership evoked in the public eye. It was just a case of finding somebody to play with on the tour. We spoke similar languages. I speak in Hindi and Aisam speaks Urdu. We didn’t think about the national divide, until the media were alerted by our success,” Bopanna was quoted as saying in the ATP website.

“I actually feel like it’s a dream. Last night I couldn’t sleep till 6 in the morning, and it’s been a great, unbelievable journey. I can’t thank Rohan enough to be my partner and playing with me. I really feel very lucky to have a partner and friend like him,” Qureshi said.

Qureshi thanked Bopanna for helping him promote the game in his trouble-torn country. “He probably doesn’t know, but he’s very, very popular in Pakistan. Every time I am in the news, his name is right there next to mine. So he’s helping me to promote tennis in Pakistan, and I just can’t thank him enough for that,” he said.

Sania Mirza congratulated the pair on twitter. “Sports and love can bring anything together
 who would have thought Indians and Pakistanis would be cheering for the same team!,” she wrote.

Meanwhile, in the men’s singles quarters, Roger Federer beat Robin Soderling 6-4, 6-4, 7-5. Djokovic beat Gael Monfils 7-6 (7/2), 6-1, 6-2. In the women’s singles semifinals, Caroline Wozniacki will play Vera Zvonareva on Friday. Wozniacki, a 20-year-old who was runner-up here last year, defeated Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia 6-2, 7-5. Zvonareva, a temperamental Russian, defeated Kaia Kanepi 6-3, 7-5.

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