Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi. -File photo by Reuters

KARACHI: Pakistan's Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi believes that he can win a Grand Slam and achieve the world number one doubles ranking with his Dutch partner Jean-Julier Rojer.

“Winning a Grand Slam is definitely right there at the top of the ladder. I feel I am capable of doing it. I felt I could have done it with Rohan Bopanna and now, with Jean-Julien Rojer [new partner], it is the same feeling,” Qureshi said while talking to Gulf News.

The Qureshi-Bopanna pair, dubbed as the “Indo-Pak Express”, went their separate ways in December 2011 after Bopanna decided to team up with his current partner Mahesh Bhupathi of India in order to prepare for the London Olympics.

The 2010 US Open finalist said that he feels he has become better over time and his experience will help him eventually achieve his goal of winning a Grand Slam.

“I am convinced that sub-continental players tend to mature after they touch their 30s. In cricket, we’ve had Wasim Akram, Imran Khan, Waqar Younis and Sachin Tendulkar. I think all these guys have generated a lot more power in their games after passing their 30th birthday,” he said.

“I still feel very young and I still feel that there are a few more years in me and hopefully I will be able to achieve my goals. But obviously, watching Leander, Nestor, Mirnyi and Mahesh gives us more motivation as well to work harder and we know that we can have a longer career. We just need to keep enjoying it and keep working hard and taking care of the body."

Qureshi also said he was confident of achieving his other goal and get to the number one ranking.

“The bigger goal obviously is to get to world number one in the doubles. I am not happy being No 9, 8 or 7. It’s a long step as I am still very new in the doubles — this is only my third year. I feel like I belong to the top and hopefully I can prove that.”

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