Bopanna-Qureshi in doubles quarters; Paes-Black too advances

Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi advanced to the men`s doubles quarters of US Open.

New York: India`s Rohan Bopanna and his Pakistani partner Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi advanced to the men`s doubles quarterfinals of the US Open with an upset win over second seeded Canadian-Serbian pair of Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic here.

Indo-Zimbabwean pair of Leander Paes and Cara Black also advanced to the last-eight stage of the tournament in the mixed doubles event. The 16th seeded Indo-Pak pair of Bopanna and Qureshi streamrolled their opponents 6-3 6-4 in a one-sided pre-quarterfinal clash at Flushing Meadows here. Both Bopanna and Qureshi were on song with their trademark aggressive serves and precision forehands as the duo demolised the Grand Slam contenders in straight sets. They will next face the daunting South African-Belgian pair of Wesley Moodie and Dick Norman, who reached the semi-finals of the French Open and Wimbledon this year. This will be the second consecutive appearance at a Grand Slam quarter-final for the Indo-Pak pair who made it to the final eight at the Wimbledon. "They are formidable opponents, but they have had a relatively easier draw, the draws have been tougher on us so we are ready, prepared and focused on the task at hand," said a determined Bopanna. Bopanna and Qureshi had a phenomenal 2010 season, with stellar performances at Wimbledon, besides winning an ATP Tour Title, reaching the finals of three others and picking up a Challenger Series Title along the way. In the second round of the mixed doubles event, second seeded Paes and Black lived up to their billings, defeating unseeded Estonia-Swedish pair of Kaia Kanepi and Robert Lindstedt 6-1, 6-4. They will next meet Anna-Lena Groenefeld of Germany and Mark Knowles of Bahrain in the third round of the last Grand Slam event of the year. PTI