Shanghai, China: The ‘Indo-Pak Express’ doubles pairing of Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi will be back next season.
“We’ve already spoken about this and we will be back on the Tour for 2014,” Bopanna confirmed to Gulf News on the sidelines of the Shanghai Rolex Masters here. “It will be good to be back again. Let’s wait and see how things work out next season.”
The pair enjoyed a successful run during the 2011 season, but Bopanna decided to give their partnership a break in 2012 and concentrate on the London Olympic Games with countryman Mahesh Bhupathi.
The Indians had a fairly successful 2012 season, winning titles in Dubai and Paris and ending as runners-up in Shanghai and Cincinnati. Meanwhile, Qureshi, who is currently with Dutchman Jean-Julien Rojer, played in a semi-final at last year’s US Open followed by three runners-up finishes in Portugal, Miami and Marseille this season.
The Bopanna-Qureshi pairing broke into the top 10 doubles teams in 2010 after reaching the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, finishing runners-up at the US Open and winning the Johannesburg Open. But they had their biggest triumph when they won the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris in 2011.
In 2010, Bopanna and Qureshi were nominated as ‘Champions for Peace’ by Monaco-based organisation Peace and Sport. They were also recognised globally for their campaign ‘Stop War Start Tennis’, for which they were given the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year award.
