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Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi ( Punjabi, ; born 17 Mar 1980) is a Pakistani professional
tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...
player who specialises in doubles. He is the only Pakistani player ever to reach a Grand Slam final, having done so in both men's and mixed doubles at the 2010 US Open, alongside
Rohan Bopanna Rohan Machanda Bopanna ( ; born 4 March 1980) is an Indian professional tennis player who specializes in doubles. He attained the List of ATP number 1 ranked doubles tennis players, world No. 1 ranking after winning his first Grand Slam (tenni ...
and Květa Peschke respectively. Qureshi has also reached seven further major semifinals across the two disciplines. He reached his career-high doubles ranking of world No. 8 in June 2011, and has won 18 titles on the
ATP Tour The ATP Tour (known as ATP World Tour between January 2009 and December 2018) is the sole worldwide top-tier tennis tour for men organized by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) founded in 1990 that replaced the earlier dual Grand Prix ...
, including the 2011 Paris Masters and 2013 Miami Open, with Bopanna and
Jean-Julien Rojer Jean-Julien Rojer ( "John Julian" , ; born 25 August 1981) is a Dutch professional tennis player from Curaçao, who specializes in doubles. He reached his career-high doubles ranking of world No. 3 in November 2015. He is a four-time Grand Sla ...
respectively. Qureshi has also qualified for the
ATP Finals The ATP Finals is the season-ending championship of the ATP Tour. It is the most significant tennis event in the men's annual calendar after the four majors, as it features the top eight singles players and top eight doubles teams based on their ...
in doubles on three occasions. In singles, he reached his highest ranking of world No. 125 in December 2007, and achieved his best Grand Slam result at the
Wimbledon Championships The Wimbledon Championships, commonly called Wimbledon, is a tennis tournament organised by the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in collaboration with the Lawn Tennis Association annually in Wimbledon, London. It is chronologically the ...
that year, reaching the second round. Qureshi is also the most successful Davis Cup player in Pakistan's history, with the team most notably reaching the World Group play-offs in
2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...
, being defeated by
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
. He has played in the competition since
1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...
and has won more matches for Pakistan than any other player, additionally being appointed captain of the team in 2022. Qureshi and Aqeel Khan have regularly spearheaded Pakistan's Davis Cup campaigns, partnering each other in doubles and also competing in singles matches. He recently started a talent-hunting program to find the best tennis players in Pakistan. He has also currently serving as the President of the Pakistan Tennis Federation since February 2024.


Early life

Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi was born in a Punjabi family and grew up in Lahore, Pakistan; swimming, playing cricket and football being his favorite pastimes at his alma-mater Crescent Model Higher Secondary School. He started playing tennis relatively late, aged 14, when his maternal grandfather and first coach, Khawaja Iftikhar Ahmed, a former 10-time national champion, took him to a tennis club in Model Town, Lahore. Khawaja Iftikhar Ahmed was the All-India champion in
British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...
before Pakistan's Independence in 1947. His mother, Nosheen Ihtsham, was also a former women's tennis champion. At age 16, the ITF sponsored him for two years. He won the Pakistan International Junior Championships and went on to win the Casablanca Cup in
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
and the LTA International Junior Championships in Roehampton, where he beat Olivier Rochus,
Andy Ram Andreas "Andy" Ram (; born April 10, 1980) is a retired Israeli professional tennis player. He was primarily a doubles player, and competed in three Olympics. He is the first Israeli tennis player to win a senior Grand Slam event. Ram first ...
, and Taylor Dent. In the World Super Junior Championships, he beat Andy Roddick. By 18, he was a top-20 junior player and decided to turn pro. Aisam was educated at the University of Punjab.


Coaches

As a junior, he was coached by LTA. Aisam has been coached by American Robert Davis since 1998. Robert Davis has served as national coach for Peru, Panama, Thailand, and Indonesia. As a writer, he contributes to the ATP's ''Deuce Magazine'', ''Tennis Magazine USA'', tennis.com, ''Tennis Magazine Australia'', and ITF publications, as well as non-sporting publications and newspapers.


Playing style

Qureshi prefers the quicker grass courts and has seen his greatest success on grass and hard courts. His playing style is serve-and-volley, relying on his serve to win him points by putting pressure on his opponents.


Sponsorship

Qureshi's clothing and shoe sponsor is Lotto. On 29 March 2008, Aisam signed an agreement with
Pepsi Pepsi is a Carbonated water, carbonated soft drink with a cola flavor, manufactured by PepsiCo which serves as its flagship product. In 2023, Pepsi was the second most valuable soft drink brand worldwide behind Coca-Cola; the two share a long ...
for sponsorship of a coach for one year. He became the first Pakistani sportsman who wasn't a cricketer to star in a Pepsi advert and become one of their brand ambassadors.


Awards and accolades

Qureshi teamed with Israeli player Amir Hadad during Wimbledon and the US Open tournaments in 2002. He is now a member of the "Champions for Peace" club, a group of 54 athletes committed to serving peace in the world through sport, created by
Peace and Sport Peace and Sport (also known as "L’Organisation pour la Paix par le Sport") is a sports organization based in Monaco under the patronage of Prince Albert II of Monaco. Ivorian Football player, footballer Didier Drogba became the organization's ...
, a
Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...
-based international organization. In November 2010 Aisam was appointed The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) goodwill ambassador. Aisam was awarded the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year, in 2010 along with his doubles tennis partner
Rohan Bopanna Rohan Machanda Bopanna ( ; born 4 March 1980) is an Indian professional tennis player who specializes in doubles. He attained the List of ATP number 1 ranked doubles tennis players, world No. 1 ranking after winning his first Grand Slam (tenni ...
of India. Along with Bopanna, Qureshi received the 2010 "Peace and Sport Image of the Year" award, in recognition of their dedicated efforts to spread the message of peace through sport. Qureshi and his doubles partner Bopanna also created a campaign, "Stop War Start Tennis", with their goal of playing a match on the border of India and Pakistan. He was also given the Pakistan President's Award for Performance in 2002, the Salam Pakistan Youth Award by the President of Pakistan in 2007, and was runner-up for the 2003 Anne Frank Award For Moral Courage by the Anne Frank Trust, UK. In 2011, he was awarded Lux Style Award for Most Stylish Sports Person. Being high-profile tennis star of Pakistan and alumni, he was invited to Crescent Model Higher Secondary School for groundbreaking ceremony of Tennis courts in school.


Career


Juniors

Qureshi played his first junior match in August 1995 at the age of 15 at a grade 5 tournament in
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
hand ad a successful career in junior tennis, finishing no. 7 in the world in 1998, which made him Pakistan's highest-ranked player ever in the international youth tennis arena. Qureshi turned pro in 1998. Junior Grand Slam results - Singles: Australian Open: 1R (1997, 1998)
French Open: 2R (
1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...
)
Wimbledon: 3R (
1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...
)
US Open: 1R (1997, 1998) Junior Grand Slam results - Doubles: Australian Open: QF (1998)
French Open: QF (
1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...
)
Wimbledon: QF (
1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...
)
US Open: QF (1998)


1998: Turning pro and making his Davis Cup debut

On 25 September, he played and won his first Davis Cup match against Danai Udomchoke. Paired with Mohamed-Khaliq Siddiq, he won the doubles match. They helped Pakistan beat Thailand 3–2 for the Asia/Oceania Zone Group II Final and gained promotion to Group I. On 28 September, he played his first pro match and got into the doubles final of a Futures tournament in Japan. His singles career also started well, getting into two Futures quarterfinals in Pakistan and Japan, and ended the year ranked no. 779.


1999: Challenger Tour debut

Aisam made it into the quarterfinals of his first Challenger tournament in
Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...
but lost to Indian
Leander Paes Leander Adrian Paes ( ; born 17 June 1973) is an Indian former professional tennis player and the first Asian man to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. He is regarded as one of the greatest doubles tennis players of all-tim ...
. At the Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group I quarterfinal match against Uzbekistan, Pakistan lost 4–1, with Aisam winning the only rubber. Paired with Dmitri Tomashevich, he won two doubles Futures titles in Turkey. In the Davis Cup Asia/Oceania I Relegation Play-off final, China defeated Pakistan 3–0, which saw them relegated back to Group II. In October, Qureshi went on to win his first Futures singles tournament on the hard courts of
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
, beating Danai Udomchoke. In Vietnam, Aisam won a doubles Futures title with Mark Nielsen. This was followed up by another singles Futures win in
Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
on clay, winning in straight sets. Aisam ended the year ranked no. 365 in singles, and no. 355 in doubles.


2000: Top 250 debut in doubles

In January, he took Pakistan to a 3–2 victory against Hong Kong Asia/Oceania Group II quarter-final. Aisam then began to compete in more on the Challenger circuit, reaching the semi-finals at the Indian Oil Servo Cup in
Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...
in February, defeated by Tuomas Ketola. At the Davis Cup Group II semi-final Pakistan was beaten by Chinese Taipei 3–2, with Aisam winning two of his three rubbers. In May, paired with Dmitri Tomashevich, he reached the semis of the Samarkand Challenger in
Samarkand Samarkand ( ; Uzbek language, Uzbek and Tajik language, Tajik: Самарқанд / Samarqand, ) is a city in southeastern Uzbekistan and among the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central As ...
, Uzbekistan. At The LTA Manchester Challenger, in
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
, UK, Aisam made it to the semi-finals with partner Jamie Delgado. In July, he took part in the Ted Open, in Istanbul, Turkey, where he made it to the quarter-finals, but was beaten by Oleg Ogorodov 4–6, 7–5, 6–3. Returning to the UK, he played at the LTA Men's Challenger in
Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...
, where he, along with Italian Daniele Bracciali, won in the final 6–4, 6–2. With that Aisam also won his first Challenger doubles title. He won a futures doubles title in France with Israeli Noam Behr. Together, they participated at the Bukhara Challenger, in
Bukhara Bukhara ( ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan by population, with 280,187 residents . It is the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and t ...
, Uzbekistan, where they reached the final. Aisam won a futures single title in
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
, beating
Jaroslav Levinský Jaroslav Levinský (born 11 February 1981) is a former Czech professional doubles tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between ...
3–6, 6–2, 6–3, and at the same tournament won a doubles title with Ashley Fisher. Aisam ended the year winning at the Neride Prague Indoor in Prague, Czech Republic where he partnered
Kristian Pless Kristian Peter Pless (born 9 February 1981) is a former professional male tennis player from Denmark. Tennis career Juniors Pless had an excellent junior career, winning the 1999 Australian Open Boys' Singles (defeated Mikhail Youzhny), and rea ...
. He finished the year 2000 ranked 261st in singles and 211th in doubles.


2001

Aisam participated in his first ATP tournament at the Chennai Open in
Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...
, India, with his partner Vadim Kutsenko of Uzbekistan. They won against Czech pair Petr Kovačka and Pavel Kudrnáč 6–1, 6–7(3), 6–4. However they were knocked out by Zimbabweans Byron Black and Wayne Black 2–6, 0–6. At the Davis Cup, he was unable to help Pakistan as they lost to Chinese Taipei in the Asia/Oceania Group II quarter-final 3–2. He went to
Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...
, India to play in the MTNL ATP Challenger where he reached the doubles semi-final with Dennis van Scheppingen. At the Heineken Challenger in
Ho Chi Minh City Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...
, Vietnam, he again made it to the doubles semis, this time paired with Denis Golovanov. In April at the Davis Cup Relegation Play-off semi-final, he helped Pakistan defeat Syria 5–0. The Fergana Challenger, in
Fergana Fergana ( uz-Latn-Cyrl, Fargʻona, Фарғона, ), () or Ferghana, also Farghana is a district-level city and the capital of Fergana Region in eastern Uzbekistan. Fergana is about 320 km east of Tashkent, about 75 km southwest of A ...
, Uzbekistan, still with Golovanov, they made it to the semi-finals but failed again to progress further. In the UK, he played at The Wrexham Challenger in Wrexham; he progressed to the singles semi-final but was knocked out by Ladislav Švarc 2–6, 6–2, 6–3. Although he did reach his first Challenger level doubles final of the year, now with a new partner Luke Bourgeois they fell at the final hurdle. Asiam returned to
Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...
to take part in the Samarkand Challenger in
Samarkand Samarkand ( ; Uzbek language, Uzbek and Tajik language, Tajik: Самарқанд / Samarqand, ) is a city in southeastern Uzbekistan and among the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central As ...
, where he made it to the quarter-finals in the singles, and with partner Kirill Ivanov-Smolensky, the doubles semi-final. He stayed in Uzbekistan to play at the Bukhara Challenger, in
Bukhara Bukhara ( ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan by population, with 280,187 residents . It is the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and t ...
, and with his Dutch partner Rogier Wassen, they won the final 6–2, 6–4. He won a single futures title in
Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
, beating Yeu-Tzuoo Wang 6–4, 4–6, 7–5. This followed a second in Vietnam against Yen-Hsun Lu. He rounded off the year with a doubles challenger title with
Jaroslav Levinský Jaroslav Levinský (born 11 February 1981) is a former Czech professional doubles tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between ...
at the 69th King's Cup in
Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...
, Thailand. Aisam ended the year ranked 251st in singles and 170th in doubles.


2002

In February at the Davis Cup, he won both matches, as Pakistan beat Malaysia 4–1. In the next Davis Cup tie against Chinese Taipei, he won all three rubbers as Pakistan qualified for the Asia/Oceania Group II final. Aisam won a doubles futures title in
Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...
with Tuomas Ketola. At the Fergana Challenger, in
Fergana Fergana ( uz-Latn-Cyrl, Fargʻona, Фарғона, ), () or Ferghana, also Farghana is a district-level city and the capital of Fergana Region in eastern Uzbekistan. Fergana is about 320 km east of Tashkent, about 75 km southwest of A ...
, Uzbekistan, he and Ketola were unable to win in the doubles final. Asiam qualified for his first Grand Slam at Wimbledon with doubles partner Amir Hadad. This pairing caused much controversy. In the first round they beat Martín Rodríguez and Tom Vanhoudt 7–5, 7–6(5), 7–6(2). In the second round, the Pakistani-Israeli pairing caused an upset when they knocked out 11th seeds Ellis Ferreira and Rick Leach 6–4, 6–4 6–4 to make it to the third round. They were finally beaten by seventh-seed Czechs
Martin Damm Martin Damm Sr. (born 1 August 1972) is a former professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. He is best known as a doubles player (his highest ranking being No. 5 in the world in April 2007). His highest singles ranking was No. 42 in A ...
and Cyril Suk. Aisam was threatened with expulsion from the Davis Cup by the Pakistan Tennis Federation. Although Aisam did have support from Pakistan's Davis Cup captain. Aisam said, "I don't like religion or politics to interfere with sport. We're not here to change anything – politics and governments do that. We're just here to play the game and enjoy it." The ITF eventually intervened, forcing the PTF to rescind their threat. At the West of England Tennis tournament in
Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
, UK, he won his first Challenger doubles title of the season with Dejan Petrovic. Next, at The Manchester Trophy in Manchester, UK, he won the doubles title with Karol Beck, although he was beaten by Beck in the singles semi-final. Asiam took his third doubles challenger title in a row when with Stefano Pescosolido he took the Hilversum Open title in
Hilversum Hilversum () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland, Netherlands. Located in the heart of the Gooi, it is ...
, Netherlands. In July at
Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...
, UK in the Wrexham Challenger, his doubles winning streak was broken when he lost the final with Daniele Bracciali. He also reached the singles quarter-finals. He partnered Hadad again at the US Open, where they defeated
Mariano Hood Mariano Hood (born 14 August 1973) is a retired left-handed professional Argentine tennis player who specialized in doubles. In his career, Hood won 13 out of the 26 top level doubles finals he was in. He turned professional in 1993, and curren ...
and Sebastián Prieto 6–4, 6–2 in the first round. In the second round, they faced fifth seeds Wayne Black and Kevin Ullyett losing 4–6, 6–4, 2–6. In September, Aisam returned to Davis Cup action when Pakistan overcame China 3–2 to be promoted to Asia/Oceania Group I. However, he picked up an injury and missed the rest of the season. Despite this, Aisam ended the season ranked 265th in singles and 102nd in doubles.


2003

Aisam and Amir Hadad picked up the ATP's Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award. ATP chief executive Mark Miles said, "During a summer when fear and hatred garnered much of the headlines, Amir and Aisam-ul-Haq provided much-needed relief with their simple message about tolerance through tennis." Aisam, partnering with Hadad, participated at the Milan Indoor in Milan, Italy, where they were knocked out of the first round by third seeds Tomáš Cibulec and
Pavel Vízner Pavel Vízner (born 15 July 1970) is a retired professional male tennis player from the Czech Republic. Vízner has reached the French Open final twice, having had turned professional in 1990 and achieved a career high doubles ranking of World ...
, 6–7(8), 1–6. At the Asia/Oceania Group I quarter-final, Pakistan were beaten 5–0 by New Zealand. Aisam went to Germany to play at the Warsteiner Challenger in Wolfsburg, where he reached the final with Austrian Alexander Peya. He went to play at his second ATP tournament of the year, partnered with Hadad, at the Copenhagen Open. They lost to George Bastl and David Prinosil 5–7, 3–6. In May, Aisam won a doubles futures title in
Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...
with partner Justin Bower. They stayed together in the country to play at the Fergana Challenger in
Fergana Fergana ( uz-Latn-Cyrl, Fargʻona, Фарғона, ), () or Ferghana, also Farghana is a district-level city and the capital of Fergana Region in eastern Uzbekistan. Fergana is about 320 km east of Tashkent, about 75 km southwest of A ...
where they won the doubles title. This victory saw Aisam reach 89th in the world for doubles rankings. At the French Open, he played with Daniel Vacek, but they exited in the first round at the hands of Rick Leach and Brian MacPhie 3–6, 3–6. At Wimbledon he and Hadad were beaten in the first round to Jiří Novák and
Radek Štěpánek Radek Štěpánek (; born 27 November 1978) is a Czech former professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking was world No. 8 and best doubles ranking was world No. 4. Štěpánek's biggest achievements are reaching two Masters 1000 ...
6–7(5), 5–7, 5–7. Asiam Partnered
Rohan Bopanna Rohan Machanda Bopanna ( ; born 4 March 1980) is an Indian professional tennis player who specializes in doubles. He attained the List of ATP number 1 ranked doubles tennis players, world No. 1 ranking after winning his first Grand Slam (tenni ...
at the Manchester Trophy in
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
, UK, where they reached the semi-finals. They went all the way to the final and won the Colorado Classic in
Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
, US. Returning to Davis Cup action in September, he helped save Pakistan from relegation as they beat South Korea 3–2. With his singles ranking sliding, Aisam concentrated on playing singles matches, winning three future titles, one in
Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
and two in India. He also won two doubles future titles in India to round off the year, the first with Harsh Mankad and the second with Mustafa Ghouse. Aisam ended the year ranked 493rd in singles and 187th in doubles.


2004

Aisam won a single futures title in India in February. He then reached The
Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...
Challenger doubles semi-finals with Vladimir Voltchkov. Aisam went on to win the IX Challenger Internacional de Salinas in Salinas, Ecuador with doubles partner Federico Browne. Next, at the USTA Challenger of Calabasas in Calabasas, USA with partner Cecil Mamiit, he reached the semis. At the Fergana Challenger in
Fergana Fergana ( uz-Latn-Cyrl, Fargʻona, Фарғона, ), () or Ferghana, also Farghana is a district-level city and the capital of Fergana Region in eastern Uzbekistan. Fergana is about 320 km east of Tashkent, about 75 km southwest of A ...
, Uzbekistan, he paired up with Harsh Mankad to reach the final. In
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
, he won another singles futures title. In June, Aisam played his first singles ATP tournament at The Nottingham Open in
Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...
and was beaten in the first round by Jonas Björkman in straight sets. He then paired up with Luxembourg's Gilles Müller and won at the XI Open International D'Andorra in
Andorra Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra, is a Sovereignty, sovereign landlocked country on the Iberian Peninsula, in the eastern Pyrenees in Southwestern Europe, Andorra–France border, bordered by France to the north and Spain to A ...
. Aisam then took part in the Open de Montauban in
Montauban Montauban (, ; ) is a commune in the southern French department of Tarn-et-Garonne. It is the capital of the department and lies north of Toulouse. Montauban is the most populated town in Tarn-et-Garonne, and the sixth most populated of Oc ...
, France, where he and Mankad reached the semi-finals. At The LTA Nottingham Challenger in
Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...
, UK, they both again reached the semis. Next, at The Manchester Trophy in
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
, UK he partnered Lovro Zovko to the final. Aisam reached the singles challenger semi-finals at the Arroyo de la Encomienda in
Valladolid Valladolid ( ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and ''de facto'' capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the pr ...
, Spain. In the same tournament, he reached the doubles final with Michael Ryderstedt. After missing the previous tie, Aisam took part in the Davis Cup relegation play-off final against favorites New Zealand. He assisted Pakistan in causing a huge upset when they won 3–2 to stay in Asia/Oceania Group I. He travelled to
Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...
and won another singles future title. In his final event of the season, Aisam partnered Jason Marshall to the Audi Challenger semi-final held in
Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...
, Netherlands. Aisam finished the season ranked 199th in singles and 136th in doubles.


2005

In Wolfsburg, Germany, Aisam played at the Volkswagen Challenger, where partnered by
Lovro Zovko Lovro Zovko (born 18 March 1981) is a former professional tennis player from Croatia. Tennis career Juniors As a junior Zovko reached as high as No. 9 in the world rankings in 1998 (and No. 10 in doubles). Pro tour Early in 2000 and 2001, Zov ...
, he reached the final. At the Davis Cup Pakistan defeated Thailand, with Aisam beating Paradorn Srichaphan 7–5, 2–6, 6–4, 6–4. Going to the Heineken Challenger at
Ho Chi Minh City Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...
, Vietnam, he reached his second final, this time with
Orest Tereshchuk Orest Tereshchuk (born 18 August 1981) is a former professional tennis player from Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia� ...
, but they failed to win the final. Aisam went to
Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...
, Saudi Arabia to represent Pakistan at the Islamic Solidarity Games where he won 3 Golds in the singles, doubles, and team events. At the Davis Cup, he won all his rubbers as Pakistan beat Chinese Taipei to reach the World Group play-offs for the first time. He returned to action in the Fergana Challenger, in
Fergana Fergana ( uz-Latn-Cyrl, Fargʻona, Фарғона, ), () or Ferghana, also Farghana is a district-level city and the capital of Fergana Region in eastern Uzbekistan. Fergana is about 320 km east of Tashkent, about 75 km southwest of A ...
, Uzbekistan, with Tereshchuk where they reached the semis. He travelled to
Surbiton Surbiton is a suburban neighbourhood in South West London, within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (RBK). It is next to the River Thames, southwest of Charing Cross. Surbiton was in the Historic counties of England, historic county of ...
, UK to play at the first grass court event of the season at The Surbiton Trophy, where with Stephen Huss he made it to the semi-final. Aisam stayed in Europe to play at the Arpa Ceramic Cup in
Reggio Emilia Reggio nell'Emilia (; ), usually referred to as Reggio Emilia, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, and known until Unification of Italy, 1861 as Reggio di Lombardia, is a city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has about 172,51 ...
, Italy, and reached another doubles semi-final, with Mustafa Ghouse. Returning to the UK, he played at The LTA Summer Challenger, in
Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...
, UK for his third doubles final, paired with Jean-Michel Pequery, but Aisam still failed to win a final. There was more struggling for Aisam at the III Challenger Diursa in
Valladolid Valladolid ( ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and ''de facto'' capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the pr ...
, Spain, where with Igor Zelenay, he could only get to the doubles semi-final. However, Aisam stayed in Spain to take part at the Open de Tenis Amaya in
Pamplona Pamplona (; ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Navarre, Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. Lying at near above sea level, the city (and the wider Cuenca de Pamplona) is located on the flood pl ...
, wherewith Zovko, they won the final and gave Aisam his first doubles Challenger title of the year. He continued his partnership with Zovko as they went to
Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...
to play at the Samarkand Challenger in
Samarkand Samarkand ( ; Uzbek language, Uzbek and Tajik language, Tajik: Самарқанд / Samarqand, ) is a city in southeastern Uzbekistan and among the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central As ...
, but fell at the semi-final. Pakistan faced Chile in the World Group play-offs. Aisam lost to Nicolás Massú 2–6, 6–7(4), 1–6, and then with Aqeel Khan in the doubles, they were beaten by Massu and
Fernando González Fernando Francisco González Ciuffardi (; born 29 July 1980) is a Chilean former professional tennis player. During his career, he reached at least the quarterfinals of all four Grand Slam (tennis)#Tournaments, major tournaments. He contested hi ...
1–6, 3–6, 0–6 as Pakistan fell to a 5–0 loss. In December, Asiam won a singles futures title in India. He ended the year ranked 450th in singles and 168th in doubles.


2006

Aisam played at the Davis Cup where he wasn't able to help Pakistan, as they lost to Chinese Taipei 3–2. He travelled to the UK where he won a doubles futures title with Jean-François Bachelot. At the Davis Cup, Pakistan was beaten by India, despite Aisam winning both his matches. The season continued to be a struggle, however, in June he made it to only his second-ever ATP tournament at the Ordina Open in
's-Hertogenbosch s-Hertogenbosch (), colloquially known as Den Bosch (), is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands with a population of 160,783. It is the capital of ...
, Netherlands, losing out to third seed Mario Ančić, 6–7(3), 7–6, 5–7, in a closely fought match. He finally reached his first Challenger final of the year at the Bukhara Challenger, in
Bukhara Bukhara ( ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan by population, with 280,187 residents . It is the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and t ...
, Uzbekistan, reaching the doubles final with Indian
Rohan Bopanna Rohan Machanda Bopanna ( ; born 4 March 1980) is an Indian professional tennis player who specializes in doubles. He attained the List of ATP number 1 ranked doubles tennis players, world No. 1 ranking after winning his first Grand Slam (tenni ...
, but lost in straight sets. Aisam returned to Davis Cup action, but Pakistan fell to their third loss of the year, losing to China. This saw them relegated back to Asia/Oceania Group II. Going to India, he took part in the ATP tournament there, at the Kingfisher Airlines Tennis Open in
Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...
, and paired up with
Leander Paes Leander Adrian Paes ( ; born 17 June 1973) is an Indian former professional tennis player and the first Asian man to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. He is regarded as one of the greatest doubles tennis players of all-tim ...
. They beat Paraguay's Ramón Delgado and Greek Konstantinos Economidis 6–4, 6–4. But they lost the quarter-final to third seeds and eventual champions Mario Ančić and Indian Mahesh Bhupathi 6–1, 7–5. In the first Indo-Pak tennis series, he and Aqeel Khan were beaten in the 5 rubber tournament 3–2. He stayed in India to play on the futures circuit, where he won a single futures title. At the 2006 Asian Games in
Doha Doha ( ) is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor and Lusail, it is home to most of the country's population. It ...
, Qatar, Aisam reached the singles third round. In the doubles, he and Aqeel Khan progressed to the quarter-finals where they were beaten by first seeds and eventual champions Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes 2–6, 4–6. In the team event, they were knocked out in the first round. In December, Aisam was declared ITF player of the month. Aisam ended the year ranked 417th in singles and 365th in doubles.


2007

Aisam started in 2007 playing in a number of Futures tournaments. He won two doubles titles in the UK, one with Stéphane Robert and the second with Purav Raja. Aisam won two more doubles titles with Jamie Baker. He went to the
UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a federal elective monarchy made up of seven emirates, with Abu Dhabi serving as i ...
where he won a single futures title and two doubles titles with partner Rameez Junaid. In
Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...
, Aisam won another single and doubles title, this time with Purav Raja. He qualified at the ATP tournament in Halle, Germany, for the Gerry Weber Open where he beat World number 11, and Wimbledon Semi-finalist
Richard Gasquet Richard Gabriel Cyr Gasquet (; born 18 June 1986) is a French former professional tennis player. He was ranked as high as world No. 7 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals, ATP, attained in July 2007. Gasquet won 16 singles ...
, 7–6(10), 6–4, which has been the biggest victory of his career to date. Aisam was knocked out in the second round by Philipp Kohlschreiber 4–6, 3–6. He went on to achieve a landmark in his professional career by qualifying for the first time for the main rounds of Wimbledon 2007 Men's Singles competition. Aisam became the first Pakistani in over 31 years to play at a Grand Slam tournament and the second Pakistani to reach the second round of Wimbledon. He won his first Grand Slam match at Wimbledon against
Lee Childs Lee Childs (born 6 November 1982, in Yeovil) is a retired British tennis player from England. Following match victories in 2000, Childs was hailed as "the future of British tennis" and a successor to Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski. At the 200 ...
, 6–3, 6–4, 7–6, making him the second Pakistani player (the first being Haroon Rahim in 1976) to reach the second round of Wimbledon, before losing to
Marat Safin Marat Mubinovich Safin ( rus, Мара́т Муби́нович Са́фин, , mɐˈrat ˈsafʲɪn, Ru-Marat-Safin.ogg; ; born 27 January 1980) is a Russian former professional tennis player and former politician. He was ranked as the List of ...
2–6, 4–6 and 6–7 (4–7). At the Campbell's Hall of Fame Championships at Newport, he continued his good form as he defeated first seed Mardy Fish 6–3, 6–4. In the second round, he beat Nathan Healey 7–6(2), 5–7, 6–4, to reach the last 8 of an ATP tournament for the first time. However, at the quarter-final, Asiam was beaten by Dick Norman, 4–6, 6–3, 4–6. In the doubles, Asiam and Prakash Amritraj were knocked out of the first round by Wesley Moodie and Fabrice Santoro 0–6, 4–6. Aisam followed up Newport with the Challenger Series tournament in the UK at the LTA Manchester Trophy in
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
and then The LTA Nottingham Challenger in
Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...
. Aisam secured the doubles title with
Rohan Bopanna Rohan Machanda Bopanna ( ; born 4 March 1980) is an Indian professional tennis player who specializes in doubles. He attained the List of ATP number 1 ranked doubles tennis players, world No. 1 ranking after winning his first Grand Slam (tenni ...
at Manchester. His red-hot streak continued as he powered into the singles final at Nottingham, only to be bested by Australian Alun Jones 3–6, 6–4, 4–6. Aisam did however win back-to-back doubles titles by succeeding in the doubles final at Nottingham with Bopanna. At the Castilla and León Open Challenger Series tournament in
Segovia Segovia ( , , ) is a city in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Segovia. Segovia is located in the Meseta central, Inner Pl ...
, Spain, his failure at singles did not seem to trouble Aisam, as he went on to lift his third consecutive doubles Challenger victory with partner Rohan Bopanna. The duo became known as the "Indo-Pak Express". Aisam returned home and picked up the "Salaam Pakistan Awards" alongside footballer Muhammad Essa and squash player Maria Toor Pakay. Aisam then traveled to the US to take part in the GHI Bronx Tennis Classic Challenger Series in
Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...
to play in the doubles competition. Aisam and Bopanna continued their dominance in the doubles game, as they prepared for the US Open, by winning the hard-court challenger, and in the process, forming a 16-match winning streak that spanned four tournaments. In doing so, Aisam won his 50th title including both singles and doubles at all levels. To fulfill his dream of playing at the US Open, Aisam needed to win three qualifying matches. He started strongly, advancing to the third qualifying round where he met Scoville Jenkins of the US. Aisam pulled out before the third set due to a bout of tendinitis. Although not fully fit, Aisam returned in time to play at the Kingfisher Airlines Open in
Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...
, his fourth ATP tournament of the year. It was also the first time Aisam was in the first-round draw without needing to qualify or receiving a wildcard. Despite being the highest-ranking Asian in the tournament, he was defeated in the first round by Serbian Viktor Troicki 6–2, 6–4. Aisam also resumed his partnership with Bopanna and easily won their first-round encounter, beating Indian duo Stephen Amritraj and Somdev Devvarman 6–3, 6–2. In the quarters, they faced Iván Navarro Pastor and Sergio Roitman, who pulled out, allowing Aisam to reach his first ATP semi-final. The Qureshi-Bopanna partnership beat Lars Burgsmüller and Olivier Rochus, 6–2, 6–3. In Aisam's first career ATP tournament final, the duo faced third seeds Robert Lindstedt and
Jarkko Nieminen Jarkko Kalervo Nieminen (born 23 July 1981) is a Finnish former professional tennis player. His highest ranking of world No. 13, achieved in July 2006, is a Finnish record. He has won two ATP singles titles and five doubles titles in his caree ...
, but lost, 6–7(3), 6–7(5). This loss ended their 19-match win streak. At the Tarka Challenger in
Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town and civil parish in the North Devon district of Devon, England. The town lies at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool from ...
, UK, Aisam teamed up with Frederik Nielsen and won the tournament. As his singles ranks rose into the top 150, making him the third-best Asian player, he took part in the second Indo-Pak tennis series. He and Aqeel Khan were beaten in the 3-rubber first leg 2–1 but won the second leg 2–1 to tie the series. Returning to the Challenger circuit at the Malaysian Open in
Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...
, Malaysia, he was runner-up with Bopanna in the doubles. Aisam went to New Delhi, India to play in the second to last Challenger event of the year, though he lost the doubles final with Boanna, he won his first Challenger singles title with a victory against surprise finalist Jae Sung An 7–5, 6–4 and with that reaching the top 130. Asiam spent the rest of December in India to prepare for the following season, with Sania Mirza, Mahesh Bhupathi, and
Rohan Bopanna Rohan Machanda Bopanna ( ; born 4 March 1980) is an Indian professional tennis player who specializes in doubles. He attained the List of ATP number 1 ranked doubles tennis players, world No. 1 ranking after winning his first Grand Slam (tenni ...
. Aisam ended the year ranked 125th in singles and 90th in doubles.


2008

Aisam began the season at the Chennai Open in
Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...
, India. He missed the singles qualifiers due to unrest in Pakistan but made it in time to play doubles alongside Croat
Marin Čilić Marin Čilić (; born 28 September 1988) is a Croatian professional tennis player. He has been ranked world No. 3 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), achieved on 28 January 2018. Čilić has won 21 ATP Tour-level si ...
. They defeated first-round opponents Mustafa Ghouse and Karan Rastogi both from India, 6–4, 7–6(1). In the quarter-finals, they faced second seeds
Jaroslav Levinský Jaroslav Levinský (born 11 February 1981) is a former Czech professional doubles tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between ...
and Michal Mertiňák, who they overcame 6–1, 7–5. In the semis they were beaten by eventual title winners Sanchai Ratiwatana, and Sonchat Ratiwatana from Thailand 6–2, 2–6, 4–10. His doubles ranking rose to a new high of 82nd. Coincidentally, the Qureshi-Cilic partnership entered the 2008 doubles race ranked ninth. Qureshi entered the qualification draw for men's singles at the 2008 Australian Open. He was seeded 16 but lost in the first round in a tight three-set match. Back on the Challenger circuit, Aisam teamed up with Igor Kunitsyn and reached the Heilbronn Open final in Heilbronn, Germany. Aisam went to the US to play at the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships. With Bobby Reynolds they beat Amer Delic and Rajeev Ram 6–1, 6–7(3) 10–5. In the quarter-finals, they lost to first seeds and world number ones
Bob Bryan Robert "Bob" Charles Bryan (born April 29, 1978) is an American former professional tennis player. Widely regarded as one of the greatest doubles tennis players of all time, Bryan was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked doubles tennis pl ...
and
Mike Bryan Michael Carl Bryan (born April 29, 1978) is an American former professional tennis player. Widely regarded as one of the greatest doubles tennis players of all time, Bryan was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's doubles for a record 506 weeks ...
4–6, 4–6. He then paired up with longtime doubles partner Bopanna at the SAP Open in San Jose, and was knocked out of the first round by third seeds
Max Mirnyi Maksim Mikalaevich "Max" Mirnyi (born 6 July 1977) is a Belarusian former professional tennis player. Mirnyi became a doubles specialist following his singles career, in which he reached a career-high of World No. 18 (August 2003) and finished ...
and
Jamie Murray Jamie Robert Murray (born 13 February 1986) is a British professional tennis player who specialises in doubles. He is a seven-time Grand Slam (tennis), major doubles champion (five in mixed doubles and two in men's doubles), a Davis Cup winne ...
4–6, 4–6. Aisam and Bopanna were given wildcards for the
Dubai Tennis Championships The Dubai Tennis Championships (also known as the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships for sponsorship reasons) (formerly known for sponsorship reasons as the ''Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships'' and the ''Dubai Duty Free Men's and Women's Champ ...
and defeated Paul-Henri Mathieu and
Igor Andreev Igor Valeryevich Andreev (, BGN/PCGN: ''Andreyev'', ISO 9: ''Andreev'', ; born 14 July 1983) is a Russian coach and a former professional tennis player. He won three ATP Tour singles titles, reached the quarterfinals of the 2007 French Open a ...
7–5, 6–4 in the first round. In the quarter-finals, they squandered a one-set advantage against first seeds
Daniel Nestor Daniel Mark Nestor ( ; ; born Danijel Nestorović, September 4, 1972) is a Canadian former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's doubles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 108 weeks ( fifth-most ...
and Nenad Zimonjić, losing 2–6, 7–6(5), 10–6. Aisam was called up to the Pakistan Davis Cup squad and prepared for the hectic Asia/Oceania Group III schedule. During the Davis Cup, he was inspired form, as Pakistan won each tie 3–0 to gain promotion back to Asia/Oceania Group II. He went to
Lanzarote Lanzarote (, , ) is a Spanish island, the easternmost of the Canary Islands, off the north coast of Africa and from the Iberian Peninsula. Covering , Lanzarote is the fourth-largest of the islands in the archipelago. With 163,230 inhabi ...
, Spain, and reached the doubles final of the VII Open Isla de Lanzarote with Gilles Müller, but were beaten 2–6, 6–7, however, this saw his doubles ranking rise to 67th. Then in New Delhi, India, Aisam took part in the New Delhi Challenger and was knocked out in the quarter-finals to World No. 78 Yen-Hsun Lu 7–6, 3–6, 5–7. He teamed up with Bopanna for the
French Open The French Open (), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a tennis tournament organized by the French Tennis Federation annually at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. It is chronologically the second of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam ...
where in a tough first-round draw they took on first seeds
Bob Bryan Robert "Bob" Charles Bryan (born April 29, 1978) is an American former professional tennis player. Widely regarded as one of the greatest doubles tennis players of all time, Bryan was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked doubles tennis pl ...
and
Mike Bryan Michael Carl Bryan (born April 29, 1978) is an American former professional tennis player. Widely regarded as one of the greatest doubles tennis players of all time, Bryan was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's doubles for a record 506 weeks ...
for the second time in a year, but lost 1–6, 4–6. They both moved on to Wimbledon and knocked out Polish tenth seeds Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski 6–3, 7–5, 6–4. In the second round, they lost to Marcel Granollers-Pujol and Santiago Ventura Bertomeu 2–6, 4–6, 2–6. He went to play a Challenger in
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
, Ireland, and with Prakash Amritraj they beat
Jonathan Marray Jonathan Marray (born 10 March 1981) is a former British tennis player and a 2012 Wimbledon Championships – Men's doubles, Wimbledon Men's Doubles champion. Marray is a former top 20 doubles (tennis), doubles player, reaching a career high of ...
and Frederik Nielsen in the doubles final 6–3, 7–6. Aisam returned to the US to play at the Campbell's Hall of Fame Championships where he took on Benjamin Becker in the singles first round and won 7–5, 7–6. In the second round, he was defeated by second seed and defending champion Fabrice Santoro 6–7, 2–6. In the doubles, he and Bopanna were seeded fourth, the first time both have been seeded in an ATP event. In the first round, they beat Tripp Phillips and Jim Thomas 4–6, 6–3, 10–2. They won their quarterfinal 7–6, 3–6, 10–7 Kevin Anderson and James Cerretani and followed that up by defeating Rik de Voest and Ashley Fisher in the semis 5–7, 6–4, 11–9. In the second ATP doubles final of his career, they faced Mardy Fish and
John Isner John Robert Isner (born April 26, 1985) is an American former professional tennis player. He was ranked as high as world No. 8 in singles and No. 14 in doubles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Considered one of the best servers ...
, but despite being favorites, they lost 4–6, 6–7. They then went to
Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...
where Aisam lost his first round singles match to Wayne Odesnik 4–6, 5–7. In the doubles, he and Bopanna defeated fourth seeds Igor Kunitsyn and Dmitry Tursunov 2–6, 7–5, 10–6. In the second round Bopanna picked up an injury and retired at 2–6, 0–1 against eventual champions Ashley Fisher and Tripp Phillips. Aisam went back to playing challengers to
Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte is the List of largest cities in Brazil, sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population of around 2.3 million, and the third largest metropolitan area, containing a population of 6 million. It is the List of cities in Sout ...
, Brazil to play at the lBH Tenis Open International Cup 2008 where he reached the singles quarter-finals and in the doubles, he and Mexican Santiago González won the title. In Campos do Jordão, at the Credicard Citi MasterCard Tennis Cup, Aisam was defeated in the semi-finals in both singles and doubles. He and Bopanna played at the 2008 Legg Mason Tennis Classic they were defeated in the first round by third seeds Rik de Voest and Ashley Fisher 4–6, 4–6. Aisam took part in the US Open. In the Singles he faced former World No. 1 and French Open champion Carlos Moyà in the first round but lost 4–6, 7–6, 6–7, 2–6. In the Doubles he and Bopanna opened against Marc Gicquel and
Sébastien Grosjean Sébastien René Grosjean (; born 29 May 1978) is a French tennis coach and a former professional player. Grosjean reached the semifinals at the 2001 Australian and French Opens, and at Wimbledon in 2003 and 2004. He finished eight consecutive ...
, losing 5–7, 3–6. He then appeared in the Thailand Open, losing in the first round to Swedish sixth seed
Robin Söderling Robin Bo Carl Söderling (; born 14 August 1984) is a Swedish former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 4 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) in November 2010. Söderling won ten singles titles on th ...
2–6, 4–6. In the doubles, he and Bopanna lost 6–7, 6–4, 7–10 to first seeds Lukáš Dlouhý and
Leander Paes Leander Adrian Paes ( ; born 17 June 1973) is an Indian former professional tennis player and the first Asian man to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. He is regarded as one of the greatest doubles tennis players of all-tim ...
. Then in the
Stockholm Open Stockholm Open (SO) is an annual tennis tournament in Sweden that is part of the ATP Tour's 250 Series. The tournament features both men's singles and doubles events and is organized by the Royal Lawn Tennis Club (KLTK), Stockholms Allmä ...
, Aisam teamed up with Mario Ančić, however, they were unable to get past the first round, losing to first seeds Jonas Björkman and Kevin Ullyett 5–7, 4–6. He traveled to
Kolding Kolding () is a Denmark, Danish seaport city located at the head of Kolding Fjord in the Region of Southern Denmark. It is the seat of Kolding Municipality. It is a transportation, commercial, and manufacturing centre and has numerous industria ...
, Denmark to play in the Kobstaedernes ATP Challenger, reaching the doubles semi-finals before going on to Russia to take part in St. Petersburg Open where he partnered Rogier Wassen, but they lost to Igor Kunitsyn and
Marat Safin Marat Mubinovich Safin ( rus, Мара́т Муби́нович Са́фин, , mɐˈrat ˈsafʲɪn, Ru-Marat-Safin.ogg; ; born 27 January 1980) is a Russian former professional tennis player and former politician. He was ranked as the List of ...
3–6, 6–2 9–11 in the first round. Aisam then went to play in Challenger in
Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...
, Japan at the Keio Challenger International Tennis Tournament where he reached the singles quarterfinals, losing to former Asian number 1 and World No. 36 Hyung-Taik Lee 6–4, 4–6, 4–6. The Pakistani rounded off the year with a win in the Dunlop Challenger in
Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...
, Japan alongside Frederik Nielsen.


2009

Aisam played in a future event in Sheffield, England, as the second seed. Aisam beat British Timothy Bradshaw in the first round 6–4, 6–0 but lost 6–4, 6–2 to Matthew Illingworth in the second. Aisam lost to Matthias Bachinger in the first round of qualifying in the Heilbronn Challenger in Germany 7–6(4), 2–6, 3–6, and also lost in the first round of doubles with James Auckland. Next week, Aisam went to the Wrocław Challenger but lost in the second round of qualifying. Teaming up with Auckland again, he lost in the second round of the doubles. Aisam went to the qualifying rounds in the Belgrade Challenger but lost in the first round to Julian Reister 7–5, 5–7, 4–6, Aisam was a break up in the second set and he also missed a match point in the tenth game of the second set as Reister was serving to stay in the match. Aisam teamed up with Lovro Zovko in the Doubles they lost in the final 6–3, 2–6 8–10. Aisam teamed up with Prakash Amritraj in the Dubai Championship but lost in the first round. Aisam played in Pakistan's win over Oman in the Davis Cup which they won 4–1. Aisam won his first rubber and he won the Doubles match with Aqeel Khan, but did not play in the dead rubbers. Back on the Challenger Circuit, Aisam traveled to Kyoto, Japan where he beat Chris Guccione in the first round 7–6(3), 6–4. He played I. Dodig in the second round, Aisam lost 5–7, 1–6, hurting his ankle during the match, but recovered to play in his Doubles Match. Aisam claimed the Doubles Title in Kyoto with partner M. Slanar. Aisam partnered with R. Bopanna in the Bangkok Challenger and they reached the semi-finals but lost in two close Tie-Breakers 6–7(4), 6–7(5) to Elgin & Kudryavtsev. Qureshi went to the Korat Challenger teaming up with Rohan Bopanna, where they reached the semi-finals. They defeated Levy and Okun 7–6(5), 3–6, 10–6 to reach the final, in which they beat Sanchai and Sonchat Ratiwatana 6–3, 6–7(5) 10–5. Qureshi & Bopanna had to play their semi-final and final matches on the same day. This meant Qureshi claimed his second title in three weeks, Aisam also was a semi-finalist in Bangkok. Aisam went to the Johannesburg Challenger where he lost in the first round. Aisam traveled to Busan, Korea to take part in the Challenger event. Aisam won his first round match against M. Semjan 6–3, 6–4, and in the second round Aisam won 7–6, 6–4 against T. Iwami to reach the quarter-finals. Qureshi travelled to Fergana where he lost in the second round in the Singles and lost in the Final in the Doubles. He qualified for the main round of the 2009 Wimbledon doubles, paired with Prakash Amritraj. After upsetting the 16th seeds Huss and Hutchins, they next defeated Junaid and Marx in the second round. They faced fourth seeds Mahesh Bhupathi and Mark Knowles in the third Round and lost 4–6, 7–5, 6–7, 0–6. Qureshi lost in the second round in the qualifying rounds in Newport and lost in the first round in the main draw in the doubles. Qureshi then went to Båstad for the doubles event but lost in the first round. Qureshi then traveled to Indianapolis to take part in the singles qualifiers and the main draw in the doubles, where he was partnered with Sam Querrey. Qureshi won his first round qualifier against Joe Bates 6–3, 1–6, 6–3. Qureshi then faced L.Gregorc in the second round and won 6–3, 7–6 (7–4). Qureshi lost to Alex Bogomolov, Jr. in the final round 5–7, 4–6. In the doubles Qureshi and Querrey made it to the semi-finals before losing to E.Gulbis & D.Tursunov 6–1, 2–6 8–10. Qureshi played in the US Open 2009 main draw, partnering with Jarkko Nieminen. They won the first round match, defeating A Golubev & D Istomin 4–6, 7–6(11), 6–4. They lost in the second round to second seeds Nestor & Zimonjic 7–6(5), 6–3. On 3 November 2009, Qureshi with his partner James Cerretani defeated
Roger Federer Roger Federer ( , ; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 3 ...
and Marco Chiudinelli in straight sets at th
Basel Open
Doubles. The final score was 6–4, 6–3. Qureshi said this was the greatest achievement of his career. Qureshi and Bopanna teamed up for both Challengers in Aachen & Helsinki and they won both Titles which marked a good end to the year for Qureshi. Qureshi ended the year at Number 59 in the Doubles Ranking.


2010: Breakthrough season, US Open men's and mixed doubles runner up

Qureshi won his first ATP title ever at the 2010 SA Tennis Open in
Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...
, South Africa, with his partner
Rohan Bopanna Rohan Machanda Bopanna ( ; born 4 March 1980) is an Indian professional tennis player who specializes in doubles. He attained the List of ATP number 1 ranked doubles tennis players, world No. 1 ranking after winning his first Grand Slam (tenni ...
. They defeated Karol Beck and Harel Levy, 2–6, 6–3, 0–5 in the final. Qureshi and Bopanna then made their second ATP final of the year at the 2010 Grand Prix Hassan II in
Casablanca Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...
, Morocco, but were defeated by Robert Lindstedt and Horia Tecău, 2–6, 6–3, –10 In May, Qureshi and Bopanna were runners-up in the 2010 Open de Nice Côte d'Azur in Nice, France, falling 6–1, 3–6, 5–10 to
Marcelo Melo Marcelo Pinheiro Davi de Melo (; born September 23, 1983) is a Brazilian professional tennis player who specializes in doubles. He is a former List of ATP number 1 ranked doubles tennis players, world No. 1, which he achieved in 2 November 2015. ...
and Bruno Soares in the final. Qureshi and Bopanna made the second round in the
French Open The French Open (), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a tennis tournament organized by the French Tennis Federation annually at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. It is chronologically the second of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam ...
but lost to Michaël Llodra and
Julien Benneteau Julien Henry Guy Benneteau-Desgrois (; born 20 December 1981) is a French retired professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high ATP singles ranking of No. 25 and doubles ranking of No. 5 in November 2014. Benneteau did not win a singles ti ...
. Qureshi and Bopanna reached their first-ever Grand Slam quarterfinals in the 2010 Wimbledon Championships. In the interim period between Wimbledon and the 2010 US Open, the South Asian duo made an appearance in the semifinals at the 2010 Legg Mason Tennis Classic, where they lost to eventual champions Mardy Fish and
Mark Knowles Mark Knowles (born 4 September 1971) is a Bahamians, Bahamian former professional tennis player and coach. He is a former List of ATP number 1 ranked doubles tennis players, world No. 1 in doubles tennis, doubles. He won three of the four Gran ...
after a dramatic straight-sets upset of second seeds Bob and Mike Bryan in the quarterfinal round. The duo had a disappointing second-round exit against Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski, the eighth seeds, at the 2010 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters shortly before their return to New York. In
New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is List ...
, at the last tournament before the US Open, Qureshi and Bopanna reached the final, where they again lost to Lindstedt and Tecău. In men's doubles at the US Open, a 16th-seeded Qureshi and Bopanna again upset the second-seeded team, taking out
Daniel Nestor Daniel Mark Nestor ( ; ; born Danijel Nestorović, September 4, 1972) is a Canadian former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's doubles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 108 weeks ( fifth-most ...
and Nenad Zimonjić to advance to the quarterfinals, their second straight quarterfinal showing at a major tournament. They advanced to the semifinals with a straight-sets upset of Wesley Moodie and Dick Norman, the tenth-seeded pairing. In the semifinal, they ousted Eduardo Schwank and Horacio Zeballos, Jr., to advance to a meeting with Bob and Mike Bryan of the United States in the final. Qureshi and Bopanna gave the Bryan twins quite a run for the title but eventually lost to them in straight sets, 7–6, 7–6. Qureshi also partnered with Květa Peschke in mixed doubles and beat the eighth-seeded team of Vania King and Horia Tecău in the first round, eventually advancing to the quarterfinals (with a win over Yaroslava Shvedova and Julian Knowle), the semifinals (beating Gisela Dulko and
Pablo Cuevas Pablo Gabriel Cuevas Urroz (; born January 1, 1986) is a Uruguayan tennis coach and a former professional player. Cuevas won the 2008 French Open – Men's doubles, 2008 French Open men's doubles title with Luis Horna, and was especially noted t ...
), and the final (beating Anna-Lena Grönefeld and
Mark Knowles Mark Knowles (born 4 September 1971) is a Bahamians, Bahamian former professional tennis player and coach. He is a former List of ATP number 1 ranked doubles tennis players, world No. 1 in doubles tennis, doubles. He won three of the four Gran ...
). In the final, Peschke and Qureshi put up a great fight but eventually lost to
Bob Bryan Robert "Bob" Charles Bryan (born April 29, 1978) is an American former professional tennis player. Widely regarded as one of the greatest doubles tennis players of all time, Bryan was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked doubles tennis pl ...
and
Liezel Huber Liezel Huber (née Horn; born 21 August 1976) is a South African- American retired tennis player who represented the United States internationally since August 2007. Huber has won four Grand Slam titles in women's doubles with partner Cara B ...
in a straight 6–4, 6–4. Both US Open showings are Qureshi's best yet at any major tournament in any draw, and his partnership with Peschke marks his first outing in the mixed doubles competition of a hard-court major.


2011: Year end No. 9 and first Masters 1000 title

Aisam started 2011 by taking part in India Open in doubles, where he reached the quarterfinals. He then went to the 2011 Medibank International Sydney. Partnered with
Rohan Bopanna Rohan Machanda Bopanna ( ; born 4 March 1980) is an Indian professional tennis player who specializes in doubles. He attained the List of ATP number 1 ranked doubles tennis players, world No. 1 ranking after winning his first Grand Slam (tenni ...
, he reached the semifinals, where they lost to eventual champions Lukáš Dlouhý and Paul Hanley 7 -5, 4–6, 10–8. Then Qureshi went to the Australian Open, where he and Bopanna reached the third round, before losing to Michaël Llodra and Nenad Zimonjić, 6–3, 6–7, 6–7. Bopanna and Qureshi's run at the Monte Carlo Masters ended on Saturday when they were beaten in the semifinals by unseeded South Americans Juan Ignacio Chela and Bruno Soares, 2–6, 7–6(4), 7–10, in 95 minutes. They advanced to the quarterfinals at Roland Garros, but lost to the Bryan Brothers, 6–7, 6–3, 6–7. They were top seeds at the Gerry Weber Open, which they won by defeating
Milos Raonic Milos Raonic ( sr-Cyrl, Милош Раонић, Miloš Raonić, ; born December 27, 1990) is a Canadian professional tennis player. He has been ATP rankings, ranked world No. 3 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP ...
and
Robin Haase Robin Haase (; born 6 April 1987) is a Dutch professional tennis player. He reached his career-high Association of Tennis Professionals, ATP singles ranking of world No. 33 in July 2012 and his highest doubles ranking of world No. 29 in May 2023 ...
, 7–6, 3–6, 11–9. He achieved the ranking of world no. 8 on 6 June 2011. He reached the semifinals of the US Open doubles with Bopanna. Next, he won the Thailand Open doubles with
Oliver Marach Oliver Marach (born 16 July 1980) is a former Austrian professional tennis player who primarily specialised in doubles. He achieved his highest singles ranking of world No. 82 in August 2005, but achieved most of his success in doubles where he ...
. This pair defeated Michael Kohlmann and Alexander Waske, 7–6(4), 7–6(5), in the final. Aisam and Bopanna won the Stockholm Open, defeating
Marcelo Melo Marcelo Pinheiro Davi de Melo (; born September 23, 1983) is a Brazilian professional tennis player who specializes in doubles. He is a former List of ATP number 1 ranked doubles tennis players, world No. 1, which he achieved in 2 November 2015. ...
and Bruno Soares of Brazil, 6–4, 6–3. Aisam was also nominated for the Stephen Edberg Sportsmanship Award along with stars like
Novak Djokovic Novak Djokovic ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Новак Ђоковић, Novak Đoković, separator=" / ", ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players#Weeks at N ...
,
Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal Parera (born 3 June 1986) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for ...
, and
Roger Federer Roger Federer ( , ; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 3 ...
. Bopanna and Qureshi compiled a consistent season, reaching the semifinals or better at seven tournaments in total, including at the US Open, where they were runners-up a year earlier. They also reached the quarterfinals at Roland Garros, losing to the Bryans. The greatest achievement of the Indo-Pak Express in 2011 was winning the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris. They defeated the pair of
Julien Benneteau Julien Henry Guy Benneteau-Desgrois (; born 20 December 1981) is a French retired professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high ATP singles ranking of No. 25 and doubles ranking of No. 5 in November 2014. Benneteau did not win a singles ti ...
and Nicolas Mahut in the final, 6–2, 6–4. They reached the finals by defeating the third seeds
Max Mirnyi Maksim Mikalaevich "Max" Mirnyi (born 6 July 1977) is a Belarusian former professional tennis player. Mirnyi became a doubles specialist following his singles career, in which he reached a career-high of World No. 18 (August 2003) and finished ...
and
Daniel Nestor Daniel Mark Nestor ( ; ; born Danijel Nestorović, September 4, 1972) is a Canadian former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's doubles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 108 weeks ( fifth-most ...
, 6–3, 7–6, in the semifinals, and the second seeds Michaël Llodra and Nenad Zimonjić, 3–6, 6–4, 10–6, in the quarterfinals. They became the seventh doubles team to qualify for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals on 6 November. In their first round-robin match, they lost to
Max Mirnyi Maksim Mikalaevich "Max" Mirnyi (born 6 July 1977) is a Belarusian former professional tennis player. Mirnyi became a doubles specialist following his singles career, in which he reached a career-high of World No. 18 (August 2003) and finished ...
and
Daniel Nestor Daniel Mark Nestor ( ; ; born Danijel Nestorović, September 4, 1972) is a Canadian former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's doubles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 108 weeks ( fifth-most ...
, 6–7, 6–4, 9–11. In their second round-robin match, they were defeated by Michaël Llodra and Nenad Zimonjić, 6–7, 3–6. In their third match, they were defeated by the Polish pair Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski, 2–6, 1–6. Since they lost all three of their round-robin matches, they did not qualify for the semifinal.


2012: Multiple major semifinals and Paris masters final

In 2012, Aisam played with Curaçaoan
Jean-Julien Rojer Jean-Julien Rojer ( "John Julian" , ; born 25 August 1981) is a Dutch professional tennis player from Curaçao, who specializes in doubles. He reached his career-high doubles ranking of world No. 3 in November 2015. He is a four-time Grand Sla ...
. They were seeded eighth at the 2012 Australian Open but only made it to the third round. In May 2012, Aisam and Jean-Julien Rojer won the Estoril Open Tennis Tournament Doubles title. After winning the Estoril Open, Aisam and Rojer went to Madrid unseeded. They caused an upset by defeating the Bryan Brothers to make it to the quarter-finals but then lost to Bopanna and Bhupathi who were seeded seventh. They went as tenth seeds to Roland Garros, breezed through to the quarter-finals, and then beat favorites third-seeded Llodra Zimonjic, but lost in the semi-finals to the Bryan brothers. Aisam-ul-Haq defended his Gerry Weber Open men's doubles title with Dutch partner Jean-Julien Rojer, defeating Conrad Huey (Philippines) and Scott Lipsky of the US, 6–4, 6–3. In the semi-finals, the top seeds defeated Poland's Łukasz Kubot and Russia's Mikhail Youzhny 6–2, 6–4. "Many people thought that my win was a fluke last year. It's all come together and I’m very excited because it has just reaffirmed our confidence. Switching from clay to grass was difficult and I was feeling the pressure but we did well", the ''Express Tribune'' quoted him as saying. "This win proves that I’m good enough. Both Rojer and I have continued the momentum we started in Estoril, then to the French Open, and now in Halle. I’m sure I’ll be able to improve my rankings by the time the US Open starts", he said. Qureshi and Rojer played the UNICEF Open and the second seeds lost in quarter-finals. Qureshi and Rojer were seeded eighth at Wimbledon. They won the first round against Wild Cards and passed over Qualifiers Bobby Reynolds and Izak van der Merwe but after having an easy draw they lost in the third round to eventual winners
Jonathan Marray Jonathan Marray (born 10 March 1981) is a former British tennis player and a 2012 Wimbledon Championships – Men's doubles, Wimbledon Men's Doubles champion. Marray is a former top 20 doubles (tennis), doubles player, reaching a career high of ...
and Frederik Nielsen, 6–7(5), 6–7(4), 7–6(4), 7–5, 5–7. On 4 November, Qureshi and his partner Rojer were defeated by Indian duo Mahesh Bhupathi and
Rohan Bopanna Rohan Machanda Bopanna ( ; born 4 March 1980) is an Indian professional tennis player who specializes in doubles. He attained the List of ATP number 1 ranked doubles tennis players, world No. 1 ranking after winning his first Grand Slam (tenni ...
at the Paris Masters.


2013: World No. 8 and Monte Carlo title

In 2013, Aisam ul Haq won the doubles titles with Netherlands partner Jean-Julien Rojer at the Sony Open in Miami, Florida, and the Stockholm Open in Stockholm, Sweden. Partnering with Rojer, Aisam also reached the Men's Doubles Quarterfinals at the U.S. Open. In singles, Aisam ul Haq won two total matches while playing for the Pakistani Davis Cup team. He defeated Daniel King-Turner of New Zealand 6–2, 3–6, 3–0 (RET) and Dineshkanthan Thangarajah of Sri Lanka 6–2, 3–6, 6–3, 6–3.


2014: Dubai Tennis Championship winner

In 2014, Qureshi won the doubles title with
Rohan Bopanna Rohan Machanda Bopanna ( ; born 4 March 1980) is an Indian professional tennis player who specializes in doubles. He attained the List of ATP number 1 ranked doubles tennis players, world No. 1 ranking after winning his first Grand Slam (tenni ...
at the Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Championships, beating
Daniel Nestor Daniel Mark Nestor ( ; ; born Danijel Nestorović, September 4, 1972) is a Canadian former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's doubles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 108 weeks ( fifth-most ...
and Nenad Zimonjić. In Indian Wells, they went down in the first round against
Roger Federer Roger Federer ( , ; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 3 ...
and
Stanislas Wawrinka Stanislas "Stan" Wawrinka (; born 28 March 1985) is a Swiss professional tennis player. He has been ranked world No. 3 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), first achieved on 27 January 2014. Wawrinka has won 16 ATP T ...
before a standing-room-only crowd, although they had been seeded sixth.


2015–2017: Mixed results

In July, Qureshi won the 2015 Hall of Fame Open in Newport, Rhode Island alongside British player Jonny Marray. Qureshi entered the 2016 US Open (tennis) doubles event, partnering with Sweden's Robert Lindstedt where they lost in the quarterfinals to the top-seeded French duo of
Pierre-Hugues Herbert Pierre-Hugues Herbert (; born 18 March 1991) is a French professional tennis player. In doubles, he has completed the Grand Slam (tennis)#Career Grand Slam, Career Grand Slam with titles at the 2015 US Open – Men's doubles, 2015 US Open, the 20 ...
and Nicolas Mahut. Qureshi also played mixed doubles with China's Xu Yifan but they lost to
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...
's Yaroslava Shvedova & Brazil's Bruno Soares in the first round. In 2017 he won six titles: In January the ATP 250 tournament in Auckland; on 30 April, the ATP 500 event in Barcelona, Spain alongside Romanian player Florin Mergea; on 11 June, the ATP Challenger in Surbiton, Great Britain alongside partner Marcus Daniell; on 30 June, the ATP 250 event in Antalya, Turkey alongside Lindstedt; on 17 July, the ATP 250 Hall of Fame in Newport, RI, alongside partner Rajeev Ram; on 1 October, the ATP 250 event in Chengdu, China alongside partner
Jonathan Erlich Jonathan Dario "Yoni" Erlich (; born 5 April 1977) is an Israeli former professional tennis player. During his career, he was mainly a doubles specialist, having won the men's doubles title at the 2008 Australian Open – Men's doubles, 2008 Aus ...
.


2018–2020: Final two ATP titles

In 2018, Qureshi did not win any major tournaments, but reached the quarterfinals of the 2018 Australian Open with Marcin Matkowski losing to the Bryan brothers and the final at the 2018 Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell with
Jean-Julien Rojer Jean-Julien Rojer ( "John Julian" , ; born 25 August 1981) is a Dutch professional tennis player from Curaçao, who specializes in doubles. He reached his career-high doubles ranking of world No. 3 in November 2015. He is a four-time Grand Sla ...
. In June 2019, Qureshi won two ATP Challenger Tours in Ilkey and Nottingham, Great Britain alongside partner Santiago Gonzalez. They also won the 2019 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships. On 16 February 2020, Qureshi won the ATP 250 event 2020 New York Open alongside partner Dominic Inglot.


2021: Two ATP finals

In 2021 he reached two more ATP 250 finals at the Emilia-Romagna Open with Austria's
Oliver Marach Oliver Marach (born 16 July 1980) is a former Austrian professional tennis player who primarily specialised in doubles. He achieved his highest singles ranking of world No. 82 in August 2005, but achieved most of his success in doubles where he ...
losing in the final, 6–3, 6–3 to Simone Bolelli and
Máximo González Máximo González Mereira (; born July 20, 1983) is an Argentine professional tennis player. His career-high singles ranking is World No. 58, achieved in July 2009 and his career-high doubles ranking is World No. 10 achieved on 11 September 2023 ...
, and at
Stockholm Open Stockholm Open (SO) is an annual tennis tournament in Sweden that is part of the ATP Tour's 250 Series. The tournament features both men's singles and doubles events and is organized by the Royal Lawn Tennis Club (KLTK), Stockholms Allmä ...
with Rojer losing to Santiago González and Andrés Molteni 6–2, 6–2 in the final.


2022: Last ATP tour Finals

In 2022, he reached the ATP final at the Melbourne Summer Set 1 partnering with a new partner Aleksandr Nedovyesov but lost to the pair of Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski 6–4, 6–4. At the 2022 Australian Open he again partnered with Nedoyesov where they defeated seventh-seeded pair of Nicolas Mahut and
Fabrice Martin Fabrice Martin (; born 11 September 1986) is a French tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each ...
. before losing to the pair of Marcos Giron and Kwon Soon-woo in the second round. At the Delray Beach Open he reached his second ATP final for the year with Nedovyesov, this time losing to the pair of Marcelo Arévalo and
Jean-Julien Rojer Jean-Julien Rojer ( "John Julian" , ; born 25 August 1981) is a Dutch professional tennis player from Curaçao, who specializes in doubles. He reached his career-high doubles ranking of world No. 3 in November 2015. He is a four-time Grand Sla ...
2–6, 7–6(7–5), –10


2023: Last Grand Slam appearance

In 2023, he partnered with Serbian player Nikola Ćaćić at the Australian Open where the pair reached the third round where they lost the match 4–6, 2–6 to the World No. 1 pair of
Wesley Koolhof Wesley Koolhof (; born 17 April 1989) is a Dutch former professional tennis player who was ranked World No. 1 in doubles. He is a two-time Grand Slam champion, having won the 2023 Wimbledon Championships in men's doubles with Neal Skupski an ...
and Neal Skupski. After several early tournament exits, in May 2023, after an impressive 722 consecutive weeks in the Top 100 of ATP doubles rankings, he finally dropped out of that elite group. This marked the first time he had fallen below the Top 100 since July 2009. As a result of this, he failed to qualify for the 2023 French Open resulting in the end of his streak of playing in fifty grand slams that stretch back to 2009 Wimbledon. As a consequence of these, he became absent from the main
ATP Tour The ATP Tour (known as ATP World Tour between January 2009 and December 2018) is the sole worldwide top-tier tennis tour for men organized by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) founded in 1990 that replaced the earlier dual Grand Prix ...
and was forced to play in
ATP Challenger Tour The ATP Challenger Tour (known until the end of 2008 as the ATP Challenger Series) is a series of international men's professional tennis tournaments. It was founded in 1976 as a replacement for the ILTF Satellite Circuit (founded in 1971) as ...
in march he reached the final of Play In Challenger alongside Dustin Brown, but lost to Max Purcell and Jason Taylor 6–7(3–7), 4–6. In July, he won a title in
Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...
partnering Colombian player Nicolás Barrientos where they defeated the romanian pair of Gabi Adrian Boitan and Bogdan Pavel 6–3, 6–3 in the final. In September, he playing with Dutch player Sander Arends lost in the final of the Istanbul Challenger 6–7(3–7), 3–6 to the pair of Luke Johnson and Skander Mansouri.


2024: Doubles downfall and retirement

The 2024 season of Qureshi started quite poorly. He paired up with the Indonesian player,
Christopher Rungkat Christopher Benjamin Rungkat (born 14 January 1990) is an Indonesian tennis player. In 2008, he won the final stage of French Open 2008 Boys' Doubles Juniors category with Finnish tennis player Henri Kontinen.(11 June 2008French Open glory for ...
for the Nonthaburi Challenger II but lost in the first round to the number #1 seeded pair of Luke Johnson and Skander Mansouri in straight sets 1–6, 4–6. The following week, the pair played at Nonthaburi Challenger III, this time they lost in the second round. Meanwhile, his ATP doubles ranking continued to plummet. As he was only ranked world no. 127 on the week starting 8 January he failed to qualify for the 2024 Australian Open (for the first time since 2009 edition). Not playing in the Melbourne Park prevented him from defending his 180 points earned from his third round advancement from the previous year. As a result, he fell out of the top 150 of the doubles rankings, dropping to #154 on the rankings ending 28 January. In February, he played a Davis Cup singles match against India during the 2024 Davis Cup World Group I play-offs where played the opening tie against Ramkumar Ramanathan but lost after winning the first set in a tiebreaker with the final scoreline being 7–6(7–3), 6–7(4–7), 0–6. During this time, he also made a return to the ATP main tour after a nearly six-month hiatus. His comeback occurred at the
Dubai Tennis Championships The Dubai Tennis Championships (also known as the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships for sponsorship reasons) (formerly known for sponsorship reasons as the ''Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships'' and the ''Dubai Duty Free Men's and Women's Champ ...
. During this tournament, he partnered with Skander Mansouri, the same player he had faced and lost to in Nonthaburi in January. The Tunisian-Pakistani duo received a wild card entry into the main draw. Their first-round opponents were none other than the world No. 1 pair, Matthew Ebden and Qureshi’s former partner, Rohan Bopanna. They narrowly lost the match to the Indo-Aussie pair, with a scoreline of 6–7(4–7), 6–7(5–7). During this month, Qureshi announced that 2024 season will be his last one. In March, Qureshi participated at the Murcia Open alongside Spaniard David Vega Hernández. The pair lost in the first round to the number one seeded pair of Théo Arribagé and Victor Vlad Cornea in straight sets, 6–1, 6–4. The following week, the pair took part in the 2024 Girona Challenger, where they won their first round match against Swedish/American pair of André Göransson and Reese Stalder, 7–5, 6–4. In the second round they lost in a very close match to the dutch 3rd seeded pair of Sander Arends and
Matwé Middelkoop Matwé Middelkoop (; born 3 September 1983) is a Dutch professional tennis player who specialises in doubles. He has won 14 doubles titles on the ATP Tour, most notably the 2022 Rotterdam Open alongside Robin Haase, and reached a career high dou ...
by the score of 4–6, 6–3, -10 In April, Qureshi alongside Hernández took part in 2024 Sánchez-Casal Cup, a Challenger 75 event. They were the 1st seeded pair at the event. They won their first round and quarterfinal matches in straight sets over the pairs of Ivan Gakhov / Ryan Nijboer and Karol Drzewiecki / Szymon Walkow, respectively. They eventually lost in the semifinals to the eventual champion spanish pair of Daniel Rincón and Oriol Roca Batalla, 7–6(7–4), 3–6, –10 Despite this performance his ranking continued its downfall. He dropped to 183rd rank on the week ending on 8 April after losing in the first round of the 2024 Open Comunidad de Madrid. This was his lowest rank since the week ending 30 July in 2007. The following week, the Pak-Spanish pair played at the 2024 Open Comunidad de Madrid, where they lost in the first round in straight sets to the unseeded pair of Marco Bortolotti and Sergio Martos Gornés, 2–6, 6–7(3–7). Qureshi did not played a professional match for the next two months. As a consequence of which, on the week ending 24 June, Aisam dropped out of the ATP doubles ranking Top 200, after 860 weeks. In July, Qureshi played at the 2024 Iași Open, where he was the defending champion alongside Nicolás Barrientos, but only Qureshi chose to defend his title, partnering Dmitry Popko. They lost in the first round to Alexandru Jecan and Szymon Walków in straight sets, 2–6, 6–7(3–7). Over the following two weeks, he again partnered Hernández to play at the 2024 Dutch Open and 2024 Internazionali di Tennis Città di Verona. They end up losing their opening round matches in both the tournament. After these tournaments, he took a hiatus of nearly two months. His doubles ranking took a hit of this, he not only dropped out of Top 300, but also out of Top 400. This was his first week out of the doubles Top 400 after 914 weeks or since 1 October 2006. In September, Qureshi returned to play a doubles match at 2024 Davis Cup World Group II. He played alongside Aqeel Khan. However, the pair lost the crucial and decisive doubles match against the pair of Darian King and Haydn Lewis in a three set match, 6–7(3–7), 7–6(7–1), 2–6. In end,
Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
lost their tie against
Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...
, 1–3.


Personal life

He married Faha Makhdum, a British woman of Pakistani origin, on 17 December 2011. In July 2012, it was rumored that Aisam and Faha had parted ways. Both families denied the news but later the couple announced their break-up. Makhdum said that they had not much time together during their marriage because of the busy schedule of tennis activities her husband had, which made her neglected as a wife for around thirty-eight weeks a year. In 2020, he married Sana Fayyaz, daughter of Mohammad Fayyaz, a businessman from Lahore. In 2022, the couple welcomed their first son.


Career statistics


Grand Slam tournament performance timelines


Doubles


Mixed doubles


Grand Slam tournament finals


Doubles: 1 (1 runner-up)


Mixed doubles: 1 (1 runner-up)


References


External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Qureshi, Aisam-Ul-Haq 1980 births Pakistani male tennis players Pakistani people of Kashmiri descent Living people Cricketers from Lahore Tennis players at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Recipients of the Pride of Performance University of the Punjab alumni Tennis players at the 1998 Asian Games Tennis players at the 2006 Asian Games Tennis players at the 2022 Asian Games Asian Games competitors for Pakistan South Asian Games silver medalists for Pakistan South Asian Games bronze medalists for Pakistan South Asian Games medalists in tennis Commonwealth Games competitors for Pakistan Islamic Solidarity Games medalists in tennis Sportspeople from Lahore Islamic Solidarity Games gold medalists for Pakistan 21st-century Pakistani sportsmen 20th-century Pakistani sportsmen