Qureshi and Mirza Still Stroking Down Under

By Parvez Fatteh, Founder of http://sportingummah.com, sports@muslimobserver.com

Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi of Pakistan plays a forehand in their second round mixed doubles match with Andrea Hlavackova of the Czech Republic against Jelena Jankovic of Serbia and Bernard Tomic of Australia during day eight of the 2012 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 23, 2012 in Melbourne, Australia.

Pakistan men’s tennis star Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi and Julien Rojer of Netherlands won in straight sets over Dick Norman and Xavier Malisse of Belgium to reach the Round of 16 of the Australian Open Tennis Championship.

Aisam and Rojer, who paired up together for the first time last year and finished in the top 10, are seeded 6th in this year’s tournament. They had also reached the semifinals of last year’s French Open and Australian Open.

They took the first set after a long fight between the both pairs, which took 51 minutes between Aisam and Rojer won it 7-6 in the tie-breaker. They took the second set comparatively easily as they broke their opponents once and took the set in 42 minutes to book their place in next round. The Pakistani-Dutch pair will now face the winners of the match between Thomas Belluci and Beniot Paire and Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares.

India’s Sania Mirza was a surprise first round loser in the Ladies’ Doubles event. She and her American partner, Bethany Mattek-Sands, lost 7-6, 6-3 to an unseeded team. Mirza and Mattek-Sands were the 10th seeded ladies’ team.

However, Mirza is thriving in the Mixed Doubles event. Mirza and her American partner Bob Bryan beat the American pair of Abigail Spears and Scott Lipsky 4-6, 6-1, 10-4 in the second round. They are the third-seeded mixed doubles team, and they now await Lucie Hradecka and Frantisek Cermak of the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals.

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