By Cynthia Lum
I had wanted to have an early evening last Thursday because I knew that I had to be at the site early for the men’s doubles final on Friday. Good luck! Somehow an early evening turned into an early morning. I was out for drinks with a group of friends, including Darren, the Roger Federer look-alike that USTA consultant Steve Pratt discovered last year. The time definitely got away from us and before we knew it, my watch was reading 4:30 AM! It was pretty funny while we were having drinks at the W bar, people kept walking past and staring at Darren. One guy and his wife walked past us six times! We knew they were all wondering they were really seeing the No. 2 seed, out in a bar at 3 AM. We closed the W bar and moved around the corner to Snafu where Stan Wawrinka’s whole contingent were helping him drown his sorrows over his earlier loss to Mihail Youzhny, so once again, people did a double take when we walked in with “Roger.”
The men’s doubles final was so great, I woke right up! The Bryans and Rohan Bopana Aisam Qureshi. The same teams we had in the final at Farmer’s Classic in Los Angeles. The Bryans are at a place in their careers where they are setting new records. This win made them 9-for-9 in finals this year, and this is their ninth major title, their 65th career ATP doubles title. They broke the Woodies record in Los Angeles this year. I’ve known these guys for 20 years, and you will not find two nicer people so I’m always happy for them. They are also the only Americans to take home a US Open trophy this year.
For me having the team of Bopanna and Qureshi in the final made it even better. These guys have become the Peace Ambassadors of the tour. Bopanna, from India and Qureshi of Pakistan are an inspiration to promoting peace between warring countries. The” Indo-Pak Express,” as they call themselves started wearing sweatshirts at Wimbledon with slogans reading “Stop War, Start Tennis” as part of a campaign backed by a group based in Monaco called Peace and Sport.
Along with the unique paring of an Indian Hindu and a Pakistani Muslim, there is also great tennis. The match was a barn burner going to tie-breakers in both sets. Bob Bryan was quoted in the press conference as saying, “This has been the best match we ever played.” “These guys played incredible. We had to step up and match their energy,” said Bob.
With United Nations ambassadors Hardeep Singh Puri of India and Abdullah Hussain Haroon of Pakistan sitting together, fans cheered and gave Rohan and Aisam a standing ovation at the presentation ceremony. In their acceptance speech Qureshi took the opportunity to talk about Islam in his country stating that he wanted to tell the American public that ” Pakistan is a peace-loving country. Everybody loves sports. I think everybody wants peace, as well.” It was an emotional moment, especially in view of the fact that it was the day before the anniversary of Sept. 11.
Aisam went on to say that he was dedicating his efforts to 21 million flood victims in Pakistan, and thanked the Bryans for donating a portion of their winnings to Pakistan Flood Victims.
After the match, the United Nations ambassadors from Pakistan and India presented the Bryans with ceremonial Pakistani garmets called ajraks to thanking them for their generosity.
“A lot of people in Pakistan don’t have homes and are out on the street,” Mike Bryan was quoted as saying, “Sport can bring people together.”
So, on this upbeat note I’ll close for now.
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