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Indo-Pak Express shown the door
Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi's run at the BNP Paribas ATP Tour 1000 tournament was halted in the semi-finals as they went down 6-3, 3-6, 8-10 to Belgian Xavier Malisse and Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov.
Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi's run at the BNP Paribas ATP Tour 1000 tournament was halted in the semi-finals as they went down 6-3, 3-6, 8-10 to Belgian Xavier Malisse and Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov.
The match on Thursday went down to the wire with the Ukrainian-Belgian pair sealing the deal in the super tie-break. There really was nothing to separate between the two teams but Malisse and Dolgopolov won more points on their first serve than the Indo-Pak duo.
Bopanna and Qureshi, ranked 15th, had a successful week here, as the 'Indo-Pak Express' got the better of Indian veterans Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes in an earlier round and tamed Serbs Novak Djokovic and Viktor Troicki in the quarters.
In the men's singles, world No 1 Rafael Nadal withstood a barrage of power serving by Croat Ivo Karlovic to reach the semis with a thrilling 5-7, 6-1, 7-6 victory on Thursday.
Nadal will now meet Argentine Juan Martin del Potro, who was gifted a place in the last four when Spaniard Tommy Robredo pulled out of their match earlier in the day with a strained left abductor muscle.
In the women's singles, top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki advanced to the semis when her opponent, Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, retired because of a hip injury while trailing 0-3. The Dane will take on Russian Maria Sharapova, who defeated China's Peng Shuai 6-2, 5-7, 6-3.
