Qureshi, the only player playing in this league consistently, is used to people highlighting the differences between him and his partners. In 2002, he created a sensation and faced a possible ban from his federation for teaming up with an Israeli, Amir Hadad. The Muslim-Jew pair got noticed not only in London, but bagged the Arthur Ashe humanitarian award for their act and were given a US Open doubles wildcard.

"We are not trying to send any message here," insists Qureshi. "I kept saying that even when I played with Hadad. We are only here to play tennis, hopefully win, but if anyone takes any positives out of it, then good."

They see each other more than their family. Traveling places, playing week in and out, somewhere in between uplifting wins and disappointing losses, conflicting national identities are least of their worries.

"The first time we played together was in 2003, but after that I was out with injury for a year and he also had some problems, our rankings weren't matching. Nowadays we are playing the same tournaments; both of us travel alone, so at least we have some company," adds Bopanna.

This pair, who will also feature in the Mumbai Open, to be played from September 24 to 30, has attracted attention after winning four straight Challenger titles, in Nottingham, Manchester, Segovia and Bronx.

"Both of us are attacking on court," says Qureshi. "We both have big serves and like taking risks. Even with Rohan I know that whatever the situation he will not play safe. We understand each other's game well, communicate well and there's no jealousy at all.

"Luckily we've both had a very good year in singles as well and take that confidence in our doubles matches. I think we are more relaxed on the court. Earlier, as a group we used to under-estimate ourselves but now I think we believe in our games and that we can play at this level."