Bopanna-Qureshi Win First Title In Johannesburg

© Reg CaldecottRohan Bopanna and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi won their first ATP World Tour team title in Johannesburg.

In an all-unseeded, rain-delayed doubles final at the SA Tennis Open in Johannesburg on Sunday, Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi won their first ATP World Tour doubles title together by rallying to defeat Karol Beck and Harel Levy 2-6, 6-3, 10-5.

By virtue of winning the ATP World Tour 250 hard-court tennis tournament, Bopanna and Qureshi collected 250 ATP World Tour ranking points and shared $24,350 in prize money.

“I think it’s a great achievement," reflected Qureshi. "As a team we are really, really good and we can be in the Top 10 definitely together. Today’s win definitely proves it because the chips were really down and we were able to find the solution to get back."

“This win here is definitely going to help our confidence and our ranking so we will certainly play more [together] this year,” added Bopanna.

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Indian Bopanna and Qureshi of Pakistan had finished runner-up in their first two ATP World Tour doubles finals together, losing out in Mumbai (l. to Lindstedt-Nieminen) in 2007 and a year later at the Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships (l. to Fish-Isner) in Newport.

It was Beck and Levy who had the momentum when the rain delay struck with the Slovakian-Israeli duo leading 6-2, 1-1 in the second set. When play resumed Bopanna and Qureshi broke serve in the sixth game to lead 4-2 before later serving out the set to level the match. In the subsequent Match Tie-break, Bopanna and Qureshi sealed victory by 10 points to five after 68 minutes.

“We started off a little tentatively. Obviously it was our third final together, which meant there was a little bit of tentativeness starting off," admitted Bopanna. "The rain delay helped. We spoke a little bit. We said 'We’re here to fight and win'. We came out and started winning by playing aggressive tennis, the way we do normally."

Bopanna and Qureshi had upset two seeded teams to reach the final, ousting No. 2 Johan Brunstrom and Jean-Julien Rojer in the quarter-finals, when their opponents were defaulted at 9-9 in the Match Tie-break, and knocking out No. 3 Eric Butorac and Rajeev Ram in the semi-finals.

Victory marked the 29-year-old Bopanna’s second ATP World Tour title from eight finals. The Bangalore native previously triumphed at the 2008 LA Tennis Open with American Butorac. Qureshi, also 29, was contesting his third ATP World Tour doubles final.