This is Qureshi's third clay-court tournament of the season —File Photo

KARACHI Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi and Daniele Bracciali on Tuesday, entered the quarter-finals of the Rai Open Championship in Rome.

Pakistan's Qureshi and his Italian partner Bracciali eased to a 6-3, 6-4 win over the Columbian pair of Cristian Rodriguez and Oscar Rodriguez at the Circolo Sportivo Rai Complex.

The Columbians broke Bracciali's serve in the third game to take a 2-1 lead but were broken back in the sixth game to level the set at 3-3. Qureshi and Bracciali went into the ascendancy in the eighth game by breaking their opponents' serve again. At 5-3, Qureshi bagged the set with an impressive service game.

Qureshi and Bracciali led the second set 3-2 after converting their break points. Their lead, however, was short-lived as the Columbians threatened to get level at 5-4. The Pak-Italian pair were able to survive the scare and completed the win at 6-4.

Of the 107 points played during the match, Qureshi and Bracciali won 61. They will now play Diego Alvarez (Argentina) and Alessio Di Mauro (Italy) in the quarter-finals.

This is Qureshi's third clay-court tournament of the season as he prepares to better his performance at this year's French Open.