NEW YORK: Pakistan’s Qureshi and UK’s Dominic Inglot took their partnership to new heights at the New York Open, clinching the doubles title on Sunday with a tight 7-6(5), 7-6(6) win over Steve Johnson/Reilly Opelka of the US, foreign media reported.
Inglot/Qureshi picked up their first ATP Tour doubles title as a team. The British-Pakistani duo began playing at the start of this year and finished runner-up last week in Montpellier (l. to Cacic/Pavic). This is the 14th tour-level doubles title for Inglot and the 18th for Qureshi.
“They put up an absolute fight and it’s never over until it’s over. We were panicking when they kept breaking us, so pulling this out means a lot,” Inglot said. “Aisam and I had a tough week losing in the final last week, so I’m glad we were able to make it one step further here.”
Johnson dropped to 1-2 in tour-level doubles finals and Opelka still seeks his first doubles crown. The American pair were competing as a team for just the second time, having lost in the opening round last year at this event.