Qatar’s Abdulla Mohamed Al Tamimi in action against New Zealand's Paul Coll.
Doha: Qatar’s Abdulla Mohamed Al Tamimi yesterday clinched one of the biggest wins of his career, shocking World No.2 Paul Coll in a marathon five-game thriller to enter the pre-quarter-finals of the QTerminals Qatar Classic.
Backed by home spectators at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash, the World No.43 showed great stamina and fighting spirit to overpower the New Zealander 9-11, 11-9, 16-14, 9-11, 11-7 after an exciting 94-minute contest - the longest match of the tournament so far.
Coll, making first appearance of the PSA Tour season, got off to winning start before Al Tamimi made a strong comeback to take a 2-1 advantage.
The 30-year-old New Zealander Coll then pushed Al Tamimi to the limits to level at 2-2 by winning the fourth game.
However, the 27-year-old Qatari wrapped up the fifth game to eliminate the last year’s finalist and set up clash with England’s George Parker, who outsmarted USA’s Todd Harrity 11-6, 11-6, 11-4.
Al Tamimi, later revealed he had to fight cramps to pull off a victory.
“I was cramping from game three to the fifth in my fingers, I tried not to show it to Paul,” Al Tamimi said after his victory.
“I was waiting for opportunities to go for the shots. That’s the way to beat Paul. I had to play my game at the right time and I’m happy with the win,” he added.
Earlier, defending champion Diego Elias saw off a tough challenge from India’s Saurav Ghosal, a former Asian champion and a three-time Commonwealth Games medallist. The Peruvian No.4 seed advanced with a 3-1 win (11-9, 15-17, 11-9, 12-10) and will meet Dimitri Steinmann, who defeated Leonel Cardenas (3-2: 6-11, 11-3, 12-10, 2-11, 11-8), for a place in the quarter-finals today.
Today's Order of Play
ROUND 3: GLASS COURT
15:00 - Marwan Elshorbagy [8] Vs Shahjahan Khan
15:45 - Youssef Soliman Vs Mohamed Elshorbagy [5]
16:30 - Ali Farag [1] Vs Miguel Rodriguez
17:15 - Fares Dessouky Vs Mostafa Asal [3]
“It’s always tough playing the first match of the season. Saurav was playing amazing. His length was very good and his drops were so short while mine were not very good. I had to run a lot and fight and I’m just happy to get the win,” said Elias, a current World No.4.
“I won my biggest title here last year and played one of my best matches of my career [in the final against Paul Coll]. I think I’ve always played great here,” the defending champion said.
Meanwhile, Colombia’s Miguel Rodriguez began his 2022-23 PSA World Tour campaign with a 3-0 (13-11, 12-10, 11-8) victory over Nicolas Mueller. Rodriguez will take on two-time champion Ali Farag in the next round. “It’s a challenging match for me again. It’s always a joy to play Ali, he’s a legend of squash. I’m going to enjoy the match with him and I hope to get a great result,” Rodriguez said ahead of his match against the Egyptian World No.1, who received a walkover due to the late withdrawal of Cesar Salazar.
Also yesterday, World No.5 Mohamed ElShorbagy clinched his fifth win in a row against Malaysia’s Eain Yow Ng.
ElShorbagy, the most successful player in the history of the Doha tournament, having won it on three previous occasions, overcame Eain Yow by an 11-7, 11-8, 4-11, 11-8 scoreline.
Egypt’s No.6 seed Tarek Momen breezed past France’s Gregoire Marche 3-0 (11-8, 11-6, 11-6) to advance while World No. 9 Marwan ElShorbagy required five games to overcome Declan James 3-2 (11-9, 11-13, 7-11, 13-11, 11-6) in the second round.
Victor Crouin, Youssef Soliman, Shahjahan Khan, Yahya Elnawasany, Dimitri Steinmann, World no. 23 Patrick Rooney and Mostafa Asal also advanced after winning their respective matches.
QTerminals Qatar Classic RESULTS
Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi (QAT) bt. [2] Paul Coll (NZL)3-2: 9-11, 11-9, 16-14, 9-11, 11-7 (94m)
[3] Mostafa Asal (EGY) bt. Raphael Kandra (GER)3-0: 11-9, 11-3, 11-4 (35m)
[6] Tarek Momen (EGY) bt. Gregoire Marche (FRA)3-0: 11-8, 11-6, 11-6 (30m)
[4] Diego Elias (PER) bt. Saurav Ghosal (IND)3-1: 11-9, 15-17, 11-9, 12-10 (70m)
Patrick Rooney (ENG) bt. Nathan Lake (ENG)3-0: 11-2, 11-5, 11-6 (30m)
Victor Crouin (FRA) bt. [7] Joel Makin (WAL)3-1: 11-9, 6-11, 11-9, 11-8 (64m)
Dimitri Steinmann (SUI) bt. Leonel Cardenas (MEX)3-2: 6-11, 11-3, 12-10, 2-11, 11-8 (75m)
George Parker (ENG) bt. Todd Harrity (USA)3-0: 11-6, 11-6, 11-4 (35m)
Fares Dessouky (EGY) bt. Omar Mosaad (EGY)3-0: 11-9, 11-7, 11-6 (41m)
[5] Mohamed ElShorbagy (ENG) bt. Eain Yow Ng (MAS)3-1: 11-7, 11-8, 4-11, 11-8 (51m)
Shahjahan Khan (USA) bt. Borja Golan (ESP)3-1: 11-4, 6-11, 11-7, 11-6 (57m)
Yahya Elnawasany (EGY) bt. Karim El Hammamy (EGY)3-1: 3-11, 13-11, 11-6, 11-9 (66m)
Miguel Rodriguez (COL) bt. Nicolas Mueller (SUI)3-0: 13-11, 12-10, 11-8 (48m)
Youssef Soliman (EGY) bt. Mathieu Castagnet (FRA)3-1: 8-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-5 (73m)
[8] Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY) bt. Declan James (ENG)3-2: 11-9, 11-13, 7-11, 13-11, 11-6 (61m)
