- Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi
Infobox Tennis biography
playername = Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi
nickname =
country = PAK
residence =Lahore , Punjab,Pakistan
datebirth = birth date and age|1980|3|17
placebirth =Lahore , Punjab,Pakistan
height = height|m=1.83
weight = convert|78|kg|lb st|abbr=on|lk=on
turnedpro =1998
plays = Right-handed; one-handed backhand
careerprizemoney = $440,465
singlesrecord = 21–18
singlestitles = 0
highestsinglesranking = No. 125 (December 10 ,2007 )
AustralianOpenresult = -
FrenchOpenresult = -
Wimbledonresult = 2r (2007)
USOpenresult = 1r (2008)
Othertournaments =
MastersCupresult =
WTAChampionshipsresult =
Olympicssresult =
doublesrecord = 26–24
doublestitles = 0
highestdoublesranking = No. 52 (July 14 ,2008 )
grandslamsdoublesresults = Yes
AustralianOpenDoublesresult = -
FrenchOpenDoublesresult = 1r (2003), (2008)
WimbledonDoublesresult = 3r (2002)
USOpenDoublesresult = 2r (2002)
OthertournamentsDoubles =
MastersCupDoublesresult =
WTAChampionshipsDoublesresult =
OlympicsDoublesresult =
updated =September 25 ,2008 Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi (born
March 17 ,1980 , inLahore ) is a professional tennis player fromPakistan . He is the Pakistani Number 1, Asian Singles Number 3 and Asian Doubles Number 4. His highest Singles Race ranking is 103rd.Aisam had a successful career in
Junior tennis , finishing No. 7 in the world in 1998, which made him Pakistan's highest-ranked player ever on the international youth tennis arena and turned pro in 1998. [ [http://www.projo.com/sports/content/sp_ten_newport11_07-11-07_P86B4DF.327cde4.html Qureshi has Fish to fry at the Casino | Rhode Island news | projo.com | The Providence Journal projo sports | ] ]He excels at grass courts, and his playing style is
serve-and-volley .Aisam teamed with
Israel i playerAmir Hadad during Wimbledon and the US Open tournaments in 2002. Together, they were eliminated at the 3rd round of Wimbledon, and then in the Second round at the US Open. They both won the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year award for playing together despite pressure from their communities.As Pakistan number one, he has led Pakistan's Davis Cup campaign. After shocking New Zealand in the Asia/Oceania Zone Group I second round play-off in 2004 to survive relegation, he took them to the World Group Play-Offs for the first time in 2005, before they were beaten by Chile. He has won the most Davis Cup matches for Pakistan, being the most successful singles and doubles player ever. He also has the best doubles pairing for Pakistan with
Aqeel Khan .In 2007 he reached the second round at Wimbledon and later in July at
Campbell's Hall of Fame Championships in Newport,USA he reached the quarter-finals. In September 2007, he reached his first ATP doubles final with IndianRohan Bopanna at theKingfisher Airlines Tennis Open in Mumbai, India, where they lost to Robert Lindstedt and Jarkko Nieminen.Early life
Aisam, grew up in Lahore, Pakistan, swimming and playing cricket and football. He started playing tennis late at age of 14 when his mother and first coach, [http://www.itftennis.com/womens/players/player.asp?player=20010468 Nausheen Ihtisham] , a former 10-time national champion who represented Pakistan in the
Fed Cup , took him to a tennis club.His maternal grandfather, Kwaja Iftikhar, was the All-India champion before Pakistan split from India in 1947.
At age 16, the ITF sponsored him for two years. He won the Pakistan International Junior Championships and went on to win more, such as the Casablanca Cup in Mexico and the LTA International Junior Championships in Roehampton where he beat
Olivier Rochus ,Andy Ram andTaylor Dent . In the World Super Junior Championships, he beatAndy Roddick . [ [http://www.socialpages.com.pk/131/sports.asp An Ace Called Aisam] ] By 18, he was a Top 20 junior player, and decided to turn pro.Coaches
As a junior, he was coached by LTA. As a pro Aisam was coached by American, Robert Davis, an International Sports Writer and former Davis Cup and National Coach for Peru, Panama and Thailand. He is currently coached by Brazilian, Rodrigo Nascimento.
ponsorship
Aisam clothing and shoes sponsor is Lotto. On
March 29 ,2008 , Aisam signed an agreement withPepsi for sponsorship of coach for one year.1998
In September 25, he played his first Davis Cup match against
Danai Udomchoke , winning 6–3 6–3 6–3. Paired with Mohamed-Khaliq Siddiq they won the doubles match 6–4 6–3 6–1. They helped Pakistan beat Thailand 3–2 for the Asia/Oceania Zone Group II Final and gained promotion to Group I.In September 28 he played his first pro match, and got into the finals of the doubles future tournament in
Japan . His singles career also started well, getting into 2 future level quarter finals inPakistan and Japan, and ended the year ranked 779th.1999
Aisam made it into the quarter final’s of his first challenger level tournament in
Calcutta , but lost to IndianLeander Paes 4–6 3–6. At the Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group I quarter-final match against Uzbekistan, Pakistan lost 4–1 with Aisam winning the only rubber. Paired withDmitri Tomashevich , he won two doubles futures titles inTurkey .In the Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group I Relegation Play-off Final, China defeated Pakistan 3–0, which saw them relegated back to Group II. In October went on to win his first futures singles tournament on the hard courts of
Indonesia , beatingDanai Udomchoke 5–7 7–5 6–3. In Vietnam, Aisam won a doubles futures title with Mark Nielsen. This was followed up by another singles futures win inBangladesh on clay, winning in straight sets. Aisam ended the year ranked 365th in singles, and 355th in doubles.2000
In January, he took Pakistan to a 3–2 victory against Hong Kong Asia/Oceania Group II quarter-final. Aisam now began to compete in more on the Challenger circuit, reaching the semi-finals at the Indian Oil Servo Cup in
Calcutta in February, defeated by Tuomas Ketola. At the Davis Cup Group II semi-final Pakistan were beaten by Chinese Taipei 3–2, with Aisam winning two of his three rubbers. In May, paired withDmitri Tomashevich , he reached the semis of the Samarkand Challenger inSamarkand ,Uzbekistan . At the The LTA Manchester Challenger, inManchester ,UK , Aisam made it to the semi-finals with partnerJamie Delgado .In July, he took part at the Ted Open, at Istanbul, Turkey, where he made it to the quarter-finals, but was beaten by
Oleg Ogorodov 4–6 7–5 6–3. Returning to the UK, he played at the LTA Men's Challenger inWrexham , where he, along with ItalianDaniele Bracciali , won in the final 6–4 6–2. With that Aisam also won his first Challenger doubles title.He won a futures doubles title in
France with IsraeliNoam Behr . Together, they participated at the Bukhara Challenger, inBukhara ,Uzbekistan , where they reached the final. Aisam won a futures single title inVietnam , beatingJaroslav Levinsky 3–6 6–2 6–3, and at the same tournament won a doubles title with Ashley Fisher. Aisam ended the year winning at the Neride Prague Indoor in Prague, Czech Republic where he partneredKristian Pless .He finished 2000 ranked 261st in singles and 211th in doubles.
2001
Aisam participated in his first ATP tournament at the
Chennai Open , inChennai India , with his partner Vadim Kutsenko of Uzbekistan. They won against Czech pairPeter Kovacka andPavel Kudrnac 6–1 6–7(3) 6–4. However they were knocked out by ZimbabweansByron Black andWayne Black 2–6 0–6. At the Davis Cup he was unable to help Pakistan as they lost to Chinese Taipei at the Asia/Oceania Group II quarter-final 3–2. He went toMumbai ,India to play in the MTNL ATP Challenger where he reached the doubles semi-final with Dennis van Scheppingen. At the Heineken Challenger inHo Chi Minh City ,Vietnam , he again made it to the doubles semis, this time paired with Denis Golovanov.In April at the Davis Cup Relegation Play-off semi-final, he helped Pakistan defeat Syria 5–0. The Fergana Challenger, in
Fergana Uzbekistan , still with Golovanov, they made it to the semi-finals but failed again to progress further. In the UK, he played at The Wrexham Challenger in Wrexham; he progressed to the singles semi-final but was knocked out by Ladislav Svarc 2–6 6–2 6–3. Although he did reach his first Challenger level doubles final of the year, now with new partner Luke Bourgeois they fell at the final hurdle.Asiam retuned to
Uzbekistan to take part in the Samarkand Challenger inSamarkand , where he made it to the quarter-finals in the singles, and with partner Kirill Ivanov-Smolensky, the doubles semi-final. He stayed in Uzbekistan to play at the Bukhara Challenger, inBukhara and with his Dutch partner Rogier Wassen, they won the final 6–2 6–4.He won a single futures title in
Thailand , beatingYeu-Tzuoo Wang 6–4 4–6 7–5. This followed a second inVietnam againstYen-Hsun Lu . He rounded off the year with a doubles challenger title withJaroslav Levinsky at the 69th King's Cup inBangkok , Thailand. Aisam ended the year ranked 251st in singles and 170th in doubles.2002
In February at the Davis Cup, he won both matches, as Pakistan beat Malaysia 4–1. In the next Davis Cup tie against Chinese Taipei, he won all three rubbers as Pakistan qualified for the Asia/Oceania Group II final. Aisam won a doubles futures title in
Kuwait withTuomas Ketola . At the Fergana Challenger, inFergana ,Uzbekistan , he and Ketola were unable win in the doubles final. Asiam qualified for his first Grand Slam at Wimbledon with doubles partnerAmir Hadad . This pairing cause much controversy. In the first round they beat Martin Rodriguez andTom Vanhoudt 7–5 7–6(5) 7–6(2). In the second round, the Pakistani-Israeli pairing caused an upset when they knocked out 11th seedsEllis Ferreira andRick Leach 6–4 6–4 6–4 to make it to the third round. They were finally beaten by 7th seed CzechsMartin Damm andCyril Suk . Aisam was threatened with expulsion from the Davis Cup by the Pakistan Tennis Federation. Although Aisam did have support from Pakistan’s Davis Cup captain. Aisam said, "I don't like religion or politics to interfere with sport. We're not here to change anything - politics and governments do that. We're just here to play the game and enjoy it." The ITF eventually intervened, forcing the PTF to rescind their threat.At the West of England Tennis tournament in
Bristol ,UK , he won his first Challenger doubles title of the season with Serbian Dejan Petrovic. Next, at the The Manchester Trophy in Manchester, UK, he won the doubles title withKarol Beck , although he was beaten by Beck in the singles semi-final. Asiam took his third doubles challenger title in a row when withStefano Pescosolido , they took the Hilversum Open title inHilversum ,Netherlands . In July atWrexham ,UK in the Wrexham Challenger, his doubles winning streak was broken when he lost the final withDaniele Bracciali . He also reached the single quarter-finals.He partnered Hadad again at the US Open, where they defeated
Mariano Hood andSebastian Prieto 6–4 6–2 in the first round. In the second round they faced fifth seeds Wayne Black andKevin Ullyett losing 4–6 6–4 2–6. In September, Aisam returned to Davis Cup action when Pakistan overcame China 3–2 to be promoted to Asia/Oceania Group I. However, he picked up an injury and missed the rest of the season. Despite this, Aisam ended the season ranked 265th in singles and 102nd in doubles.2003
Aisam and
Amir Hadad picked up the ATP's Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award. ATP Chief Executive Mark Miles said, "During a summer when fear and hatred garnered much of the headlines, Amir and Aisam-ul-Haq provided much needed relief with their simple message about tolerance through tennis." Aisam, partnering Hadad, participated at theMilan Open inMilan ,Italy , where they were knocked out of the first round by third seedsTomas Cibulec andPavel Vizner , 6–7(8) 1–6. At the Asia/Oceania Group I quarter-final, Pakistan were beaten 5–0 by New Zealand. Aisam went to Germany to play at the Warsteiner Challenger in Wolfsburg, where he reached the final with Austrian Alexander Peya.He went to play at his second ATP tournament of the year, partnered with Hadad, at the
Copenhagen Open inCopenhagen ,Denmark .They lost toGeorge Bastl andDavid Prinosil 5–7 3–6. In May, Aisam won a doubles futures title inUzbekistan with partner Justin Bower. They stayed together in the country to play at the Fergana Challenger inFergana where they won the doubles title. This victory saw Aisam reach 89th in the world for doubles rankings.At the
French Open , he played withDaniel Vacek , but they exited at the first round at the hands ofRick Leach andBrian MacPhie 3–6 3–6. At Wimbledon he and Hadad were beaten in the first round toJiri Novak andRadek Stepanek 6–7(5) 5–7 5–7.Asiam Partnered
Rohan Bopanna at the Manchester Trophy inManchester ,UK , where they reached the semi-fianls. They went all the way to the final and won the Colorado Classic inDenver ,USA .Returning to Davis Cup action in September, he helped save Pakistan from relegation as they beat South Korea 3–2. With his singles ranking sliding, Aisam concentrated on playing singles matches, winning three futures titles, one inThailand and two inIndia . He also won two doubles futures titles in India to round of the year, the first with Harsh Mankad and the second with Mustafa Ghouse.Asiam ended the year ranked 493rd in singles and 187th in doubles.
2004
Aisam won a single futures title in India on February. He then reached The Wrexham Challenger doubles semi-finals held in
Wrexham ,UK with Vladimir Voltchkov. Aisam went on to win the IX Challenger Internacional de Salinas inSalinas ,Ecuador with doubles partner Federico Browne. Next, at the USTA Challenger Of Calabasas inCalabasas ,USA with partner Cecil Mamiit, he reached the semis. At the Fergana Challenger inFergana ,Uzbekistan , he paired up with Harsh Mankad to reach the final. InSaudi Arabia , he won another singles futures title.In June, Aisam played his first singles ATP tournament at The
Nottingham Open inNottingham and was beaten in the first round byJonas Bjorkman in straight sets. He then paired up with Luxembourg’sGilles Muller and won at the XI Open International D'Andorra inAndorra . Aisam then took part in the Open de Montauban inMontauban ,France , where he and Mankad reached the semi-finals. At The LTA Nottingham Challenger inNottingham ,UK , they both again reached the semis. Next, at The Manchester Trophy inManchester ,UK he partnered Lovro Zovko to the final.Aisam reached the singles challenger semi-finals at the Arroyo de la Encomienda in
Valladolid ,Spain . In the same tournament he reached the doubles final with Michael Ryderstedt. After missing the previous tie, Aisam took part in the Davis cup relegation play-off final against favourites New Zealand. He assisted Pakistan in causing a huge upset when they won 3–2 to stay in Asia/Oceania Group I. He travelled toNigeria and won another singles futures title. In his final event of the season, Aisam partnered Jason Marshall to the Audi Challenger semi-final held inGroningen ,Netherlands . Aisam finished the season ranked 199th in singles and 136th in doubles.2005
In
Wolfsburg ,Germany , Aisam played at the Volkswagen Challenger, where partnered byLovro Zovko , he reached the final. At the Davis Cup Pakistan defeated Thailand, with Aisam beatingParadorn Srichaphan 7–5 2–6 6–4 6–4. Going to the Heineken Challenger atHo Chi Minh City ,Vietnam , he reached his second final, this time with Orest Tereshchuk, but they failed to win the final. Aisam went toMecca ,Saudi Arabia to represent Pakistan at the Islamic Solidarity Games where he won 3 Golds in the singles, doubles and team events. At the Davis Cup he won all his rubbers as Pakistan beat Chinese Taipei to reach the World Group play-offs for the first time.He returned to action in the Fergana Challenger, in
Fergana ,Uzbekistan , with Tereshchuk where they reached the semis. He travelled toSurbiton ,UK to play at the first grass court event of the season at The Surbiton Trophy, where with Stephen Huss he made it to the semi-final. Aisam stayed in Europe to play at the Arpa Ceramic Cup inReggio Emilia ,Italy , and reached another doubles semi-final, with Mustafa Ghouse. Returning to the UK, he played at The LTA Summer Challenger, inNottingham ,UK for his third doubles final, paired withJean-Michel Pequery , but Aisam still failed to win a final.There was more struggling for Aisam at the III Challenger Diursa in
Valladolid ,Spain , where with Igor Zelenay, he could only get to the doubles semi-final. However, Aisam stayed in Spain to take part at the Open de Tenis Amaya inPamplona , where with Zovko, they won the final and gave Aisam his first doubles Challenger title of the year. He continued his partnership with Zovko as they went toUzbekistan to play at the Samarkand Challenger inSamarkand , but fell at the semi-final.Pakistan faced Chile at the World Group play-offs. Aisam lost to
Nicolas Massu 2–6 6–7(4) 1–6, and then withAqeel Khan in the doubles, they were beaten by Massu andFernando Gonzalez 1–6 3–6 0–6 as Pakistan fell to a 5–0 loss. In December, Asiam won a singles futures title inIndia . He ended the year ranked 450th in singles and 168th in doubles.2006
Aisam played at the Davis Cup where he wasn’t able to help Pakistan, as they lost to Chinese Taipei 3–2. He travelled to the UK where he won a doubles futures title with Jean-Francois Bachelot. Aisam found himself in a media storm in Pakistan and India when he was romantically linked with
Sania Mirza after saying he was good friends with her. He had to clarify and state they were only friends and nothing more.At the Davis Cup, Pakistan were beaten by India, despite Aisam winning both his matches. The season continued to be a struggle, however, in June he made it to only his second ever ATP tournament at the
Ordina Open in's-Hertogenbosch ,Netherlands , losing out to third seedMario Ancic , 6–7(3) 7–6 5–7, in a closely fought match.He finally reached his first Challenger final of the year at the Bukhara Challenger, in
Bukhara ,Uzbekistan , reaching the doubles final with IndianRohan Bopanna , but lost in straight sets. Aisam returned to Davis Cup action, but Pakistan fell to their third loss of the year, losing to China. This saw them relegated back to Asia/Oceania Group II.Going to
India , he took part at the ATP tournament there, at theKingfisher Airlines Tennis Open inMumbai , and paired up withLeander Paes . They beat Paraguay’sRamon Delgado and GreekKonstantinos Economidis 6–4 6–4. But they lost the quarter-final to third seeds and eventual championsMario Ancic and IndianMahesh Bhupathi 6–1 7–5. In the first Indo-Pak tennis series, he and Aqeel Khan were beaten in the 5 rubber tournament 3–2. He stayed in India to play on the futures circuit, where he won a single futures title. At the 2006 Asian Games inDoha ,Qatar , Aisam reached the singles third round. In the doubles, he and Aqeel Khan progressed to the quarter-finals where they were beaten by first seeds and eventual championsMahesh Bhupathi andLeander Paes 2–6 4–6. In the team event they were knocked out in the first round. In December, Aisam was declared ITF player of the month. Aisam ended the year ranked 417th in singles and 365th in doubles.2007
Aisam started out in 2007 playing a number of Futures tournaments, he won two doubles titles in the
UK , one with Stephane Robert and the second with Purav Raja. Aisam won two more doubles titles with Jamie Baker. He went to theUAE where he won a single futures title and two doubles titles with partner Rameez Junaid. InKuwait , Aisam won another single and doubles title this time with Purav Raja. He qualified at the ATP tournament in Halle,Germany , for the Gerry Weber Open where he beat World number 11, and Wimbledon Semi-finalistRichard Gasquet , 7–6(10) 6–4, which had been the biggest victory of his career to date. Aisam was knocked out in the second round byPhilipp Kohlschreiber 4–6 3–6.He went on to achieve a landmark in his professional career by qualifying for the first time for the main rounds of Wimbledon 2007 Men's Singles competition. Aisam became the first Pakistani in over 31 years to play at a Grand Slam tournament. Aisam is also the second Pakistani person ever to reach the second round of Wimbledon. He won his first Grand Slam match at Wimbledon against
Lee Childs , 6–3, 6–4, 7–6, making him the second Pakistani player (the first beingHaroon Rahim in1976 ) to reach the second round of Wimbledon, before losing to former Australian Open and US Open championMarat Safin of Russia 2–6, 4–6 and 6–7(4–7).At the Campbell's Hall of Fame Championships at Newport, he continued his good form as he defeated first seed
Mardy Fish 6–3 6–4. In the second round he beatNathan Healey 7–6(2) 5–7 6–4, to reach the last 8 of an ATP tournament for the first time. However, at the quarter-final Asiam was beaten byDick Norman , 4–6 6–3 4–6. In the doubles, Asiam andPrakash Amritraj were knocked out of the first round byWesley Moodie andFabrice Santoro 0–6 4–6.Aisam followed up Newport with Challenger Series tournament in the
UK at the LTA Manchester Trophy inManchester and then The LTA Nottingham Challenger inNottingham . Aisam secured the doubles title withRohan Bopanna at Manchester. His red hot streak continued as he powered into the singles final at Nottingham, only to be bested by Australian Alun Jones 3–6 6–4 4–6. Aisam did however win back-to-back doubles titles by succeeding in the doubles final at Nottingham with Bopanna. At the Castilla and León Open Challenger Series tournament inSegovia ,Spain , his failure at singles did not seem to trouble Aisam, as he went on to lift his third consecutive doubles Challenger victory with partner Rohan Bopanna. The duo became known as the "Indo-Pak Express" Aisam returned home and picked up the “Salaam Pakistan Awards” alongside footballerMuhammad Essa and squash playerMaria Toor Pakay .Aisam then travelled to the US to take part in the GHI Bronx Tennis Classic Challenger Series in
Bronx to play in the doubles competition. Aisam and Bopanna continued their dominance in the doubles game, as they prepared for the US Open, by winning the hard court challenger, and in the process, forming a 16-match winning streak that spanned four tournaments. In doing so, Aisam won his 50th title including both singles and doubles at all levels.In order to fulfill his dream of playing at the US Open, Aisam had to deal with three qualifying matches. He started out strongly, advancing through to the third qualifying round where he met
Scoville Jenkins of the USA. Aisam pulled out before the third set due to a bout of tendinitis. The injury, which was aggravated by playing at the Bronx challenger resulted in Aisam's departure from the US Open.Although not fully fit, Aisam returned in time to play at the Kingfisher Airlines Open in
Mumbai , his forth ATP tournament of the year. It was also the first time Aisam was in the first round draw without needing to qualify or receiving a wildcard. Despite being the highest ranking Asian in the tournament, he was defeated in the first round by SerbianViktor Troicki 6–2 6–4. Aisam also resumed his partnership with Bopanna and easily won their first round encounter, beating Indian duoStephen Amritraj andSomdev Devvarman 6–3 6–2. In the quarters, they facedIvan Navarro Pastor of Spain and ArgentineSergio Roitman who however pulled out, allowing Aisam to reach his first ATP semi-final. The Qureshi-Bopanna partnership marched on to the final, brushing aside GermanLars Burgsmuller and BelgianOlivier Rochus 6–2 6–3. In Aisam's first career ATP tournament final, the duo faced third seedsRobert Lindstedt of Sweden andJarkko Nieminen of Finland, but went down fighting 6–7 (3) 6–7 (5), thus bringing down the curtain upon their 19-match win streak.At the Tarka Challenger in
Barnstaple , UK, Aisam teamed up with Frederik Nielsen of Denmark, the pair went on to win the tournament. As his singles ranks rose into the top 150 making him the third best Asian player, he took part in the second Indo-Pak tennis series, he and Aqeel Khan were beaten in the 3 rubber first leg 2–1 but won the second leg 2–1 to tie the series. Returning to the Challenger circuit at the Malaysian Open inKuala Lumpur ,Malaysia , he was runner up with Bopanna in the doubles. Aisam went toNew Delhi ,India to play in the second to last Challenger event of the year, though he lost the doubles final with Boanna, he won his first Challenger singles title with a victory against surprise finalist Jae Sung An 7–5 6–4 and with that reaching the top 130. Asiam spent the rest of December in Indian to prepare for the following season, withSania Mirza ,Mahesh Bhupathi andRohan Bopanna ; as they were coached by South Afrian physical trainer Shayamal Vallabhjee, a coach at theDolphins cricket team inDurban . Aisam ended the year ranked 125th in singles and 90th in doubles.2008
Aisam began the season at the Chennai Open in
Chennai ,India . He missed the singles qualifiers due to unrest in Pakistan, but made in in time to play doubles alongside CroatMarin Cilic . They defeated first round opponentsMustafa Ghouse andKaran Rastogi both from India, 6–4 7–6(1). In the quarter-finals they faced second seedsJaroslav Levinsky andMichal Mertinak , who they over came 6–1 7–5. In the semis they were beaten by eventual title winnersSanchai Ratiwatana , andSonchat Ratiwatana from Thailand 6–2 2–6 4-10. His doubles ranking rose to a new high of 82nd. Coincidentally, the Qureshi-Cilic partnership entered the 2008 doubles race ranked at 9th. Qureshi entered the qualification draw for men's singles at the 2008 Autralian Open. He was seeded 16 but lost in the first round in a tight three set match. Back on the Challenger circuit, Aisam teamed up withIgor Kunitsyn and reached the Heilbronn Open final inHeilbronn ,Germany .Aisam went to the
USA to play at the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships. WithBobby Reynolds they beatAmer Delic andRajeev Ram 6–1 6–7(3) 10-5. In the quarter-finals they lost to first seeds and world number onesBob Bryan andMike Bryan 4–6 4–6. He then paired up with long time doubles partner Bopanna at the SAP Open in San Jose, and were knocked out of the first round by third seedsMax Mirnyi andJamie Murray 4–6 4–6.5.Aisam and Bopanna were given wildcards for the Dubai Tennis Championships and defeated
Paul-Henri Mathieu andIgor Andreev 7–5 6–4 in the first Round. In the quarter-finals, they squandered a one set advantage against first seedsDaniel Nestor andNenad Zimonjic , losing 2–6, 7–6(5), 10-6. Aisam was called up the Pakistan Davis Cup squad and prepared for the hectic Asia/Oceania Group III schedule. During the Davis Cup, he was inspired form, as Pakistan won each tie 3-0 to gain promotion back to Asia/Oceania Group II. He went toLanzarote ,Spain and reached the doubles final of the VII Open Isla de Lanzarote withGilles Muller , but were beaten 2–6 6–7, however this saw his doubles ranking rise to 67th.Then in
New Delhi ,India , Aisam took part in the New Delhi Challenger, and was knocked out in the quarter-finals to World No. 78Yen-Hsun Lu 7-6 3-6 5-7. He teamed up with Bopanna for the French Open where in a tough first round draw they took on first seedsBob Bryan andMike Bryan for the second time in a year, but lost 1-6 4-6. They both moved on to Wimbledon and knocked out Polish 10th seedsMariusz Fyrstenberg andMarcin Matkowski 6-3 7-5 6-4. In the second round they lost toMarcel Granollers-Pujol andSantiago Ventura Bertomeu 2-6 4-6 2-6.He went to play a Challenger in
Dublin ,Ireland and withPrakash Amritraj they beatJonathan Marray andFrederik Nielsen it the doubles final 6-3 7-6. Aisam retuned to theUSA to play at the Campbell's Hall of Fame Championships where took onBenjamin Becker in the singles first round and won 7-5 7-6. In the second round he was defeated by second seed and defending championFabrice Santoro 6-7 2-6. In the doubles, he and Bopanna were seeded 4th, the first time both have been seeded in an ATP event. In the first round they beatTripp Phillips and Jim Thomas 4-6 6-3 10-2. They won their quarter-final 7-6 3-6 10-7 Kevin Anderson andJames Cerretani and followed that up by defeatingRik de Voest andAshley Fisher in the semis 5-7 6-4 11-9. In the second ATP doubles final of his career, they facedMardy Fish andJohn Isner , but despite being favourates, they lost 4-6 6-7.They then went to Indianapolis where Aisam lost his first round Singles match to
Wayne Odesnik 4-6 5-7. In the doubles, he and Bopanna defeated 4th seedsIgor Kunitsyn andDmitry Tursunov 2-6 7-5 10-6. In the second round Bopanna picked up an injury and retired at 2-6 0-1 against eventual championsAshley Fisher andTripp Phillips . Aisam went back to playing challengers toBelo Horizonte ,Brazi to play at the lBH Tenis Open International Cup 2008 where he reached the singles quarter-finals and in the doubles, he and Mexican Santiago Gonzalez won the title. InCampos do Jordao , at the Credicard Citi Mastercard Tennis Cup, Aisam was defeated at the semi-finals in both singles and doubles. He and Bopanna played at the 2008 Legg Mason Tennis Classic they were defeated in the first round by third seedsRik de Voest andAshley Fisher 4-6 4-6.Aisam took part in the US Open. In the Singles he faced former World No 1 and French Open champion
Carlos Moya in the first round but lost 4-6 7-6 6-7 2-6. In the Doubles he and Bopanna openeed againstMarc Gicquel andSebastien Grosjean , losing 5-7 3-6. He then appeared in the Thailand Open, losing in the first round to Swedish 6th seedRobin Soderling 2-6 4-6. In the doubles, he and Bopanna lost 6-7 6-4 7-10 to first seedsLukas Dlouhy andLeander Paes . Then in the Stockholm Open, Aisam teamed up withMario Ancic , however they were unable to get past the first round, losing to first seedsJonas Bjorkman andKevin Ullyett 5-7 4-6.ingles titles
Doubles Runner-up
References
External links
*ATP|id=Q019
*DavisCupplayerlink|id=10023495
* [http://steveghelper.com/MatchResults.php?players=Qureshi&weeks=12 Qureshi Recent Match Results]
* [http://steveghelper.com/RankingHistory.php?player=Qureshi Qureshi World Ranking History]
* [http://www.hinduonnet.com/2001/01/05/stories/07051022.htm Aisam Qureshi, a rarity from Pakistan]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/wimbledon/2079170.stm Pakistani doubles star defiant]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/tennis/wimbledon/2074054.stm Pakistan Sports Board frowns on doubles pairing]
* [http://espn.go.com/tennis/wimbledon02/s/2002/0701/1401114.html Qureshi & Hadad interview on ESPN]
* [http://cbs.sportsline.com/tennis/story/6172270 Hadad-Qureshi doubles team wins Arthur Ashe Award]
* [http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007%5C08%5C07%5Cstory_7-8-2007_pg2_11 Aim to break in the top 100]
* [http://pakistantimes.net/2005/05/03/sports2.htm Meeting with President]
* [http://thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=68387 Salaam Pakistan Award]
* [http://uk.reuters.com/article/tennisNews/idUKL2288849020070622 Qureshi carries Pakistani hopes at Wimbledon 2006]
* [http://uk.reuters.com/article/tennisNews/idUKL2689060820070626 Qureshi becomes first Pakistani in 31 years to advance]
* [http://www.app.com.pk/en/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=15081&Itemid=2 Wins 50th title]
* [http://pakistaniat.com/2007/06/24/aisam-ul-haq-1st-pakistani-in-wimbledon-since-1976/ Profile and Views from Pakistan on Aisam Qureshi]
* [http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/HMYT-6JWR62?OpenDocument Tennis star Aisam donates Rs 2.5m to President's Relief Fund]
* [http://www.hindu.com/2007/10/03/stories/2007100356412000.htm 2007 Kingfisher Open interview]
* [http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Team-spirit/220817/ Qureshi & Bopanna on their doubles partnership]
* [http://sports.indiatimes.com/Sections/Tennis/Qureshi_clinches_first_Challenger_title/articleshow/2587493.cms Qureshi clinches first Challenger title]
* [http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/007200712061252.htm Hard to believe players throw matches for money: Qureshi]
* [http://www.zeenews.com/articles.asp?aid=413225&sid=SPO&sname=&ssid=92&ssname= Qureshi hopes to improve ranking for 2008]
* [http://in.sports.yahoo.com/071126/32/6nq0d.html Aisam back, ready to resume the hunt]
* [http://www.deccanherald.com/Content/Jan52008/sports2008010544983.asp Qureshi eyeing top-100 finish]
* [http://www.app.com.pk/en_/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=33891&Itemid=1 Aisam has potential to reach top in tennis, coach Rodrigo]
* [http://www.app.com.pk/en_/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=39259&Itemid=1 Aisam vows to put up good show in French Open]
* [http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1166217 Bopanna and Qureshi team up]
* [http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gehvrjVkOjGsfbM5TfrHo4RQjLYQ Bopanna and Qureshi spark India-Pakistan tennis diplomacy]
* [http://in.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idINL2934981520080529 INTERVIEW-Tennis-Open-Friendship not politics behind pairing]
* [http://www.app.com.pk/en_/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=49996&Itemid=1 Aisam in US Open]*
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