Inglot/Qureshi Take First Team Title In New York

Dominic Inglot/Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi 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.

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.

”Reilly let me down. My back is still hurting from trying to carry you,” joked Johnson. “This was a fun week and I always enjoy coming back here.”

Inglot/Qureshi started out strongly, breaking Opelka in the second game of the match and taking 12 of the first 13 points. The American pair found their footing and earned the break back after Inglot let slip a 40/0 lead on his serve at 3/1.

A double fault from Opelka at 1/1 in the first-set tie-break gave Inglot/Qureshi a mini-break advantage and they quickly built a 6/2 lead. The American pair saved the first three set points, but Johnson missed a routine backhand volley at 6/5 to wrap up the opening set.

Inglot/Qureshi grabbed the momentum at 3-3 in the second set by breaking Johnson after Qureshi knocked off a volley winner. Qureshi couldn’t convert his opportunity to serve out the match at 5-4 and Johnson/Opelka broke back to the delight of the home crowd.

The British-Pakistani team earned their first championship point at 6/5 in the second-set tie-break, but Johnson erased it with a forehand volley winner. With the score tied at 6/6, Johnson sent a forehand passing shot just wide and a big serve from Inglot wrapped up play after one hour and 34 minutes.

Inglot/Qureshi picked up 250 FedEx ATP Doubles Rankings points and split $40,690. Johnson/Opelka walked away with 150 FedEx ATP Doubles Rankings points and split $20,860.