We wont let the situation overwhelm us

In their first Grand Slam final,Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi promise to give Bryan brothers a run for their money...

When Rohan Bopanna stepped on the Louis Armstrong court in New York on Wednesday afternoon,a glance at the spectators box would have given him an idea of how big a moment it was for him,his country and his Pakistani partner Aisam-ul-haq Qureshi. Rooting for the Indo-Pak pair from the stands were both countries ambassadors to the United Nations Harpreet Suri and Abdullah H Haroon.

In about an hour,Bopanna and Qureshi were seen pumping their fists,congratulating each other after defeating unseeded Argentines Eduardo Schwank and Horacio Zeballos 7-6 5 6-4 to enter the mens doubles final. A jubilant Bopanna told The Indian Express after streamrolling into his maiden Grand Slam final how special the U.S Open is for him and his partnership with Quereshi.

Winning our first ATP trophy in Johannesburg earlier this year gave us a confidence boost. Being a tennis player your dream is to win a Grand Slam so reaching the finals here in New York is an incredibly special feeling. Aisam and I both love NYC the energy is amazing,and were elated to have gotten this far, Bopanna said.

But tennis is not the only thing the duo have on their mind when they step on the courts. Bopanna and Qureshi have often played tennis sporting warmup jackets that say Stop War,Start Tennis.

As long as they are on court,the duo also manage to bridge the chasm between the fans from the two countries. Bopanna probably is the only Indian sportsperson a Pakistan supporter cheers for,while the Indians in the stands consider Qureshi as one of their own.

We first experienced the beautiful feeling of watching Indian and Pakistani fans cheering for us as one in 2007 during the Mumbai tournament. Recently the outpouring of fan support has been overwhelming and thats contributed a great deal to us doing better on the circuit, Bopanna,30 says. His partner for six years,Qureshi has also noticed the growing fan base at the Flushing Meadows. More and more Indians and Pakistanis are coming. Theyre all mixed together sitting in the crowd. You cant tell who is Pakistani and who is Indian. Thats the beauty about sports. Thats the beauty about our playing, he says.

Despite having a great season en route to which they also upset Mahesh Bhupathi and Max Mirnyi at New Haven last month,Bopanna and Qureshi are yet to win an ATP Masters title together. Adding to that statistic,waiting for them at the other side of the court in the finals will be the Bryan brothers of the US,one of the most successful doubles pair. But then 16th seeds Bopanna-Qureshi can take heart from the fact that they are the only team to have beaten Mike and Bob Bryan this season in the quarter-finals of the Legg Mason hard court event last month when the Americans were bidding for a record 63rd doubles title together.

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And Bopanna is surely taking the latter statistic into account ahead of the Friday final. They are the best team in the world 8211; but we refuse to let the situation overwhelm us. We studied their game after the LA defeat,focused on what went wrong and came back to win against them at Legg Mason. That really showed us that with careful planning we could really achieve some great feats, Bopanna said.

With this maiden Grand Slam final appearance Bopanna-Qureshi may achieve another goal they had set for themselves 8211; a tennis match at the Indo-Pak border. Hopefully by doing well at the big events and,both our countries agreeing we can have that match on the border, Bopanna said. With the two countries dignitaries promising to come back to cheer them for their final,that dream doesnt seem too far-fetched now.