Battling Bopanna-Qureshi bow to Bryans

Bopanna and Qureshi, the 16th seeds, did not look like a team playing their first ever Grand Slam final as they made the world number one pair work hard for points and played enthralling tennis for more than one-and-a-half hours.

It was a dream run for the two players as for the first time, an Indian and a Pakistani combined to reach the final of a Grand Slam event.

For the Bryan brothers, it was their second Grand Slam title of the season and also a revenge victory, having lost the Washington quarterfinals to the Indo-Pak team. It was also was their ninth men’s doubles Grand Slam crown.

For Qureshi, it was double heart-break as he had lost the mixed doubles final on Thursday. Qureshi and Kveta Peschke of the Czech Republic had gone down 4-6, 4-6 to Bob and fellow-American Liesel Huber the previous day.

Hardly showing any signs of nerves, the Indo-Pak duo went about its business impressively, not dropping serve in the first set and creating the first break chance.
Bob’s serve was too hot to handle, so they attacked weak serve of Mike, and a forehand volley by Bopanna earned them a breakpoint in the third game. But crowd favourite the Bryans saved that. They were more dominant at the start of the tie-breaker but the Bryans knew how to handle the big points and came back from 1-3 down to win the tie-breaker and grab the lead.

Both pairs though played fascinating tennis as Bopanna hit some stunning shots, especially a backhand winner on the fourth point, and the Bryan brothers were a treat to watch at the net.

The Americans raised their game when it mattered and were in more control of the match in the second set, which saw the favourites clinching points more easily.
The Indo-Pak duo once again held its own on serve and pushed the set into a tie-breaker, but the greater experience of the Americans prevailed.

Texting to title!

It was a text message that brought Bob and Liezel Huber together for only the second tournament in their career, and it ended with them winning their second Grand Slam.

Last year's French Open champions reunited here for the mixed doubles title only after Huber contacted her former playing partner in the build-up to the tournament.
"I sent him a text saying we need to get in the draw and that was it," said Huber.