Odd couple win first trophy for 'message of tolerance'

When they decided to try to qualify for Wimbledon as a scratch doubles team last June, Amir Hadad, of Israel, and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi, of Pakistan, set aside the fact that they are Jewish and Islamic and viewed each other as tennis professionals.

Reporters and spectators quickly latched on to the odd couple as they advanced to the third round of the Championships, defeating the No 11 seeds, Ellis Ferreira, of South Africa, and Rick Leach, of the United States. Having enjoyed their partnership at Wimbledon, Hadad and Qureshi, teamed up again three months later at the US Open in New York.

Yesterday they gained their first trophy. The ATP declared them winners of the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award, named in tribute to the first African-American to win men's singles titles at the US Open, the Australian Open, and Wimbledon.

Announcing the award, Mark Miles, the ATP's chief executive, said: "During a summer, when fear and hatred garnered much of the headlines, Amir and Aisam-ul-Haq provided much needed relief with their simple message about tolerance through tennis. It's fitting that we present the Arthur Ashe Award to these two players on the anniversary of Arthur's death, as Arthur remains the model for all of us on how athletes and sport can make a big difference in the lives of others."

Hadad said he never intended to make a political statement with the choice of his doubles partner, but was pleased that they had delivered a positive message. "I have had quite a lot people come up to me at the airport or on the airplane and ask me when I was going to play with the Pakistani player again," he said. "I never heard anybody say: 'Don't play with him', or something like that. In Israel everybody is pretty supportive about it."

Qureshi said: "I was lucky to have my parents with me at Wimbledon and at the US Open when I played with Amir. They also helped me and gave me confidence that I was doing the right thing. It's good for the game. They were telling me to keep it up. All my family and everybody back home were proud of me."

ATP Waterford Crystal Awards also go to Lleyton Hewitt, of Australia, the world No 1, and Mark Knowles, of the Bahamas, and Daniel Nestor, of Canada, the world's No 1 doubles team. Paradorn Srichaphan, of Thailand, won the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award and the Most Improved Player Award. Paul-Henri Mathieu, of France, is the Newcomer of the Year, and Marat Safin, of Russia, is the ATPtennis.com Fans' Favorite.