Indo-Pak Express Triumphs In Halle

© Gerry Weber OpenThe close doubles final was decided in a Match Tie-break.

Top seeds Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi won their second ATP World Tour team title on Sunday at the Gerry Weber Open as they edged Robin Haase and Milos Raonic 7-6(8), 3-6, 11-9 in the final of the ATP World Tour 250 grass-court tennis tournament in Halle.

‘The Indo-Pak Express’ were playing in their ninth tour-level doubles final and improved to a 2-7 mark after adding to the trophy they won on hard court in Johannesburg (d. Beck-Levy) last year. Five of their runner-up finishes came in 2010, including defeat in their first Grand Slam final at the US Open (l. to Bryans).

"Aisam and I are loving playing on the grass; it’s our favourite surface," said Bopanna. "So getting a title here is fantastic for us. We’ve been coming to Halle for many years now so it’s a really happy moment for us getting this title."

In a closely fought final, Bopanna and Qureshi held their nerve to rally from 1-5 down in the Match Tie-break and claim victory after 79 minutes. They had been unable to convert on any of their four break point chances as they faced a barrage of 16 aces, and had lost their own serve once in surrendering the second set.

"Today we were a set up, but also 5-1 down in the Match Tie-break so we were lucky, played some good shots and showed some quick hands," assessed Bopanna. "That’s how it goes, it’s like Russian Roulette, so we were happy to come through all these breakers [this week]."

As champions, Bopanna and Qureshi received 250 ATP World Tour ranking points. They are currently sixth in the 2011 ATP Doubles Team Rankings, with the top eight teams at the end of regular season to qualify for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals

"I’m really happy that we won our last two matches in a Match Tie-break; it’s going to make us mentally tougher and believe in ourselves even more," said Qureshi. "We’re just looking forward to the rest of the year; our goal is to win a Grand Slam title and to qualify for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, and this is one step forward."

First-time pairing Haase and Raonic had defeated Australian Lleyton Hewitt and Peter Luczak to reach the final. Haase of The Netherlands dropped to a 1-3 mark in ATP World Tour doubles finals, with his lone title coming in Marseille earlier this season with Ken Skupski. Canada’s Raonic was contesting his first ATP World Tour doubles final.

"We made the final and actually had a good, good chance to win," said Haase. "Maybe we should have won in the end because we were 5-1 up, and then they started to play better again. We were close and I’m looking forward to playing with [Raonic] again."

Raonic added, "I think it’s been a great week, as the whole year so far has been for me; it’s all new. It’s a pretty special feeling being able to play well here. I’m very happy with how I prepared for the upcoming tournament at Wimbledon and I think it’s the right step."