Chennai Open: Indo-Pak Express ready to rock again

CHENNAI: Little Srivalsan was beaming when he stood between Rohan Bopanna and Aisam ul-Haq Qureshi, posing for a photograph. The sixth standard student had been watching them practise for quite a while, waiting for that moment. "Rohan is among my favourites, but I like them playing as a pair," said the aspiring tennis player who trains at YMCA Nandanam.
Bopanna and Qureshi scripted one of the feel-good stories of 2010 and it's impossible not to like them, not to like the idea of them playing and winning and smiling together, if you are an Indian or a Pakistani.And they have been winning and smiling together last year. 2010 was the pair's best year so far. After their triumph in Johannesburg in February, they reached the quarter finals of Wimbledon and later in the year sailed to the final of the US Open.
And the world started to take notice. The Indo-Pak Express won the 'Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year' award for their message 'Stop War, Start Tennis'. "It's nice to get an award in the name of Arthur Ashe," Bopanna says. "We'll continue to play and spread the message across like we have been doing." For Qureshi, the Indian presence is a warm welcome. "I am the only Pakistani on the circuit, so it can get a little depressing. But I'm glad there are guys like Rohan (Bopanna), Mahesh (Bhupathi) and Leander (Paes) around," he says.