“Every time there's a report about me, her picture is up there with me.” —Reuters Photo

NEW YORK Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi is now a household name in Pakistan with his exploits at the US Open and his bid to broker peace.

The 30-year-old lost in the finals of the mixed doubles on Thursday but will get another shot at his first grand slam when he teams up with India's Rohan Bopanna in the men's doubles final against the top-seeded Bryan brothers on Friday.

Qureshi and Bopanna have been trying to use their tennis partnership to promote more peaceful relations between India and Pakistan.

The pair wear sweatshirts emblazoned with the slogan “Stop War, Start Tennis” and there has been talk of a match being played across the India-Pakistan border.

“I've always said there's no reason the Indians and Pakistanis can't get along with each other,” said Qureshi.

“We always said sports can reach places where no religion or politics or politician can reach. If you can change a few people's minds on the Indian or Pakistani side, I think it's a great thing.”

Qureshi has already given the people of Pakistan something to cheer about amid catastrophic flooding in recent months which killed more than 1,700 people, displaced millions and caused an estimated $43 billion in damage.

“It's been hard times for Pakistan especially in the last two months so to be able to help send some positive news back each day has been fantastic,” he said.

Pakistan has been also been crying out for some positive sporting news following the investigation into cricket trio Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir for their alleged involvement in a spot-fixing scandal.

Of the cricket scandal, he added “The investigation is obviously still going on but watching the videos of what happened and hearing their voices, it looks like they were part of it. If it's proved, it's going to be a big setback.”

“I've spent the last 14 years trying to put tennis in the spotlight in my country,” the 30-year-old Qureshi said. “Cricket's like a religion there. This moment is like a highlight in my career. When I was growing up, I thought maybe someday I could win a Grand Slam or make it to one Grand Slam final. But two Grand Slam finals in a week? It's unbelievable.”

And now Peschke is by far the most popular Czech in Pakistan.

“Every time there's a report about me, her picture is up there with me,” he said. “People have been coming up to me asking how to pronounce her name, because they pronounce it differently on every TV show.

“To be honest,” he added. “I don't know how to pronounce it, either.”

For the record, it's KVE-tuh PESH-keh.

Whatever the result in Friday's final, Qureshi can expect to receive the sort of adulation previously reserved for cricketers when he returns to Pakistan.

Big screens have been set up across Pakistan for spectators to watch his matches while Qureshi received a call from Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani ahead of this week's finals.

“People recognised me a bit before now,” said Qureshi, who whipped Pakistan into a sporting frenzy last year after beating Roger Federer in a doubles match in Switzerland.

“When I beat Roger Federer, that was huge news for people back home, even people who didn't know that much about tennis. But I think it might be crazy when I get back.”

After his mixed doubles final, his opponent, Bob Bryan revealed he and his brother would be making a donation to the Pakistan Flood Relief Fund.

Bryan and Qureshi are two competitors with much mutual respect.

“Those guys are great guys,” Bryan said of Qureshi and teammate Rohan Bopanna of India. “Everyone in the locker room likes them. Just hearing about the problem, talked about it with my brother and my dad, and just wanted to do it.”

“Every little bit helps,” Qureshi said. “I've been trying to send some good news back home from here for two weeks. ... It's a really, really kind gesture. I owe them.”

Told he could pay the Bryans back by giving them the men's doubles title, Qureshi joked, “I gave him the mixed doubles title today.” —Agencies