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Bopanna-Qureshi in Nottingham final

July 28, 2007 00:58 IST

Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-ul Haq Qureshi fought off a tough challenge from top seeds Germany's Lars Burgsmuller and Israel Harel Levy to enter the doubles final at the US $25,000 ATP grass court Challenger in Nottingham on Friday.

The third seeded Indian-Pakistani duo won 6-3, 5-7, 11-9 in an hour and 15 minutes to advance to the title-decider, where they will take on India's Mustafa Ghouse and Briton Joshua Goodall in the final.

Second seeds Ghouse and Goodall beat Andrew Coelho and Adam Feeney 6-4, 6-4 in the first semi-final.

Earlier, Bopanna conceded his singles semi-final to Pakistan's Aisam Qureshi after taking ill during the match.

Top seed Qureshi was leading 4-3 in the first set when the sixth seeded Indian decided to withdraw.

Bopanna said he had earlier suffered from a bad stomach, but he took tablets which had helped him take part in the doubles.

"I was feeling much better when I took the field for the doubles. It was good that we won," he told rediff.com.

The final would be played on Saturday and Bopanna, a keen cricket enthusiast, hopes to catch some action at  the third cricket Test match between England and India also going on in Nottingham.

Harish Kotian in Nottingham