LAHORE – Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi of Pakistan and his Indian partner Rohan Bopanna effectively prevailed upon American Eric Butorac and his partner Roger Julien in the pre-quarterfinal of the ATP Masters Tennis Championship in Monte Carlo.
This is the year’s first Masters event on clay. This was also the first ever match on clay at Masters level for Aisam and Rohan. Butorac and Julien were the semi-finalists of the Australian Open and have been in great form ever since.
In the previous round here in Monte Carlo, they beat Spanish pair Albert Montanes and Garcia Lopez. Aisam and Rohan put pressure on their opponents from the very beginning and as a result managed to set up eight break points in the first set. Once on Butorac’s serve he was 0-40 down but managed to bail himself out with the help of two aces and two big serves. Roger Julien was down 15-40 in his next service game but he too somehow salvaged his position.
The pressure put by Aisam and Rohan continuously during the set, however, paid dividends in the tie break, which they won by getting a mini break at 3-4. Serving for the set at 5-3 in the tie break, Aisam made no mistake and won the first set 7-6 (7/4). Maintaining the same momentum, Aisam and Rohan continued to put pressure on Butorac and Julien in the second set and broke Butorac’s serve at 1-2 to take a 1-3 lead. They did not lose this lead until the end despite every bit of effort by their opponents and won the second set 6-3.
They completed their victory in 1 hours and 30 minutes with the help of 6 aces, while their opponents hit 7 aces. Aisam and Rohan saved 4 out of 4 break points while Butorac and partner saved 11 out of 12. In the quarter-finals, Aisam and Rohan will face second seeded Daniel Nestor of Canada and Max Mirnyi of Belarus.
