IndoPak Express’ Stockholm Battle – Nathan’s Blog

Written by: Staff on 22nd October 2011

IndoPak Express’ Stockholm Battle - Nathan's Blog |

by Nathan M. Cuny

The members of IndoPak Express, Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi advanced onto the Stockholm Open Finals today, the 21^st of October, after defeating the doubles team of Jaun Del Potro and Marcos Baghdatis. Bopanna is currently ranked the No. 16 doubles player; this season he reached a record high of No. 9 in the months of June and August. After defeating the team of Del Potro and Baghdatis, the IndoPak Express team is one step closer in retaining a spot in the battle for London, where they are currently ranked at No.7 but do not hold a qualifying position yet.

Only the top eight will qualify. The current qualifying doubles teams are: Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan No.1; NenadZimonjic/Michael Llodra No.2; Daniel Nestor/Max Mirnyi No.3; Mahesh Bhupathi/Leander Paes No.4; and Jurgen Melzer/Philipp Petzschner No.6.

The match between Bopanna/Qureshi and Del Potro/Baghdatis was close, with the IndoPak express team winning by a marginal 2 points. Bopanna/Qureshi had match points of 2 6 10 while Del Potro/Baghdadtis scored 6 2 8. Bopanna and Qureshi’s Year to Date Win/Loss record is 28/21, including today’s match.

Bopanna and Qureshi will either face the teams Melo/Soares (doubles No.10) or Butorac/Rojer (doubles No. 9) on Sunday October 23. Melo/Soares and Butorac/Roger face-off tomorrow at an undetermined time following 2:30 pm, so keep posted for that. If and when Bopanna and his teammate defeat the team that makes it to the Stockholm Open Finals, they will be 250 points closer to locking in their London qualifying position. Winning the Stockholm Open will boost their current points ranking from 3,310 points to 3,560 points.

Rohan and his doubles teammate only hold the Halle title this season from the Gerry Weber open. Bopanna and Qureshi reached the quarter finals three times this season at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Miami, Dubai, and Chennai. They also made four semifinals appearances at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Monte Carlo, ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells, Sydney, and Estoril.

Bopanna has had a strong season overall, linked with his teammate Qureshi. This may be their best season yet. I predict they’ll have a good chance of making it to London this year. It is unlikely Bopanna and Qureshi will be crowned champions at the Barclays ATP world finals, but they have a shot at the quarterfinals at the least. Perhaps the IndoPak Express underdog team will make a jump like Djokovic towards the top, overthrowing the long reigning doubles kings Bob and Mike Bryan, as Djokovic did the singles king Nadal.