Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi is the defending champion at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, where he won the men's doubles title with Rohan Bopanna last year. – Photo courtesy Gerry Weber Open
Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi is the defending champion at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, where he won the men's doubles title with Rohan Bopanna last year. – Photo courtesy Gerry Weber Open

KARACHI: Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi is all set to defend his Halle Open title in Germany, after he and doubles partner Jean-Julien Rojer sailed through to the final of the tournament on Saturday.

Qureshi and Rojer, who have enjoyed some success in recent tournaments, overcame Poland’s Lukasz Kubot and Russia’s Mikhail Youzhny 6-2, 6-4 in the semi-final that lasted just over an hour.

Thirty-one-year-old Qureshi favours the green surface and has achieved some of his best results on the grass. Of late, however, he has advanced to the latter stages of hard and clay court grand slams as well.

The Pak-Dutch duo had a great run at the French Open, where they reached the semi-finals, only to be ousted by doubles maestros Bob and Mike Bryan.

Qureshi and Rojer have played 13 tournaments together so far and enjoy a top-ten rank (nine) in the ATP doubles team rankings.

They will face Philippnes’ Treat Conard Huey and America’s Scott Lipsky tomorrow as Qureshi bids to defend his ATP title with Rojer.

Qureshi, who won the men’s doubles final with his then partner Rohan Bopanna at the ATP event last June, was playing his first grass-court event before he heads to London for Wimbledon.

Opinion

Editorial

Budget presser
Updated 14 Jun, 2026

Budget presser

If the FBR falters, the government will find itself in hot water sooner rather than later.
Muharram precautions
14 Jun, 2026

Muharram precautions

WITH Muharram due to start next week, the authorities have already begun annual exercises to ensure that the ...
Blood bequests
14 Jun, 2026

Blood bequests

WORLD Blood Donor Day offers a moment of “gratitude, advocacy and renewed commitment” for thalassaemia patients...
Sustainable path?
Updated 13 Jun, 2026

Sustainable path?

The FY27 budget is the first clear signal that the government is ready to transition from stabilisation to growth.
Prioritising education
13 Jun, 2026

Prioritising education

THOUGH the improvement in the country’s literacy rate may be slight, as highlighted by the Economic Survey, it ...
Poverty’s rise
13 Jun, 2026

Poverty’s rise

AS attention turns to the government’s plans for the coming fiscal year, one set of figures deserves particular...