Pak-Indian tennis duo of Aisam-ul-Haq and Rohan Bopanna effectively prevailed upon American Eric Butorac and his partner Roger Julien 7-6 (7/4),6-3 in the pre-quarters finals of ATP Masters Tennis Championship in Monte Carlo on Thursday. This is the year's first Master event of Clay. Also this was the first ever match on clay at Masters level for Aisam and Rohan, said a message received here.
-- Pak-Indian duo played their first match on clay
They completed their victory in 1 hours and 30 minutes with the help of 6 aces while their opponents hit 7 aces. Aisam & Rohan saved 4 out of 4 break points while Butorac and partner saved 11 out of 12. Butorac and Julien were the semi-finalists of Australian Open Grand Slam Tennis Championship and have been in great form ever since with many great wins under their belt this season. In the previous round here in Monte Carlo too they secured a good win against Spanish pair Albert Montanes and Garcia Lopez.
Aisam-Rohan put pressure on their opponents from the very beginning and as a result managed to set up 8 break points in the first set. Once on Butorac's serve he was 0-40 down but managed to bail himself out with the help of two aces and two big serves. Roger Julien was down 15-40 in his next service game but he too somehow salvaged his position.
The pressure put by Aisam and Rohan continuously during the set however paid them dividends in the tie break which they won by getting a mini break at 3-4. Serving for the set at 5-3 in the tie break Aisam made no mistake and won the first set. Maintaining the same momentum Aisam and Rohan continued to put pressure on Butorac and Julien in the second set and broke Butorac's serve at 1-2 to take a 1-3 lead. In the quarter finals Aisam & Rohan will face 2nd seeded Daniel Nestor of Canada and Max Mirnyi of Belarus.
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