A National Hero - Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi

Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi to return home today after a successful campaign in the US Open final , in New York.  He just came out of woods for Pakistanis , when everyone one was down because of Cricket position and scandals. We almost in lost of our major sports and Qureshi brings Pakistan on the road of pride.

Aisam is scheduled to land at Lahore Airport at 7:30pm, where scores of supporters are expected to greet him. Are you ready to give him just a surprise?

Entire Nation has done preparations to welcome him with Pride. Aisam was runners-up in both the men’s doubles final and mixed doubles final in the US Open in New York last week.  He is Pakistan’s most successful tennis player, as the ‘Indo-Pak Express’  of Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi and Rohan Bopanna secured the number 6th spot in ATP World Rankings.

Aisam’s success in the US Open has earned praise and appreciation from local and international writers.

Aisam-ul-Haq, a 30-year-old Pakistani tennis sensation has proved that through the beautiful platform of sport one can achieve success not only in terms of winning a match or a tournament; but also by spreading the message of peace, love and tolerance through the game. This year’s men’s doubles final at the US Open has been a great exemplar of that. (Christopher Mayers)

A Tribune blogger wrote:

Cricket has let us down, hockey has near-faded from memory and football has yet to emerge, but Aisam has shown us that with enough courage, integrity and hard work, our country is capable of producing people of caliber whom the whole world can look up to, regardless of the challenges we may face along the way (Tennis in Pakistan? Who would have thought!). Here’s hoping to seeing some of that same passion in other fields as well. (Jahanzaib Haque)

Aisam’s speech at the end of the mixed doubles final was a proud moment for Pakistanis as he delivered a heartfelt message about Pakistan’s image.

“My parents are watching in Pakistan and I love you all,” Qureshi said. “I want to say something on behalf of all Pakistanis. It is the wrong perception that Pakistan is being a terrorist country. We are a loving, caring people and we want peace as much as you guys want it. May God love us all.”

The second-seeded Nadal beat No. 19 Nicolas Almagro 7-6 (2), 7-6 (3), 6-4 Wednesday in an all-Spanish quarterfinal.

Nadal has yet to drop a set in the tournament. Last year, his 31-match winning streak at Roland Garros ended with a fourth-round loss to Robin Soderling, who upset Roger Federer on Tuesday.

Nadal improved to 7-0 against Almagro

Rafael Nadal didn’t mind starting his French Open on the secondary showcase court. The Spaniard was more concerned with the nerves he felt as he played what he called a poor match to advance into the second round.

His straight-set win over French teenager Gianni Mina was far from satisfying for the four-time champion. Nadal vowed to quickly lift his level after his 32nd victory at the venue.

“It doesn’t matter what court I play on. I’m always nervous in the first round of Roland Garros,” said Nadal, who lost his first-ever match at Roland Garros last year in the fourth round to Robin Soderling.

“Not playing on the center court for me doesn’t matter. I play where the organisation want me to play. If I win matches, I’m gonna have the chance to play there (on Chatrier showcase court).”

Aisam-Bopana

NICE, France: The pair of Pakistan’s ace tennis player Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi and India’s Rohan Bopanna qualified for the final of the doubles event in the ATP 250 Nice Open Championship here.

In the semi-finals of the 400,000-pound tournament, the Pak-India pair achieved success after a tense contest against the pair of Leos Friedl of Italy and Dusan Vemic of Serbia.

After losing the first set 6-7, they won the second set 6-3 and then the third and the decisive set went in favour of the Pak-India pair with a score of 10-8.