Qatar's Abdulla Mohamed Al Tamimi in action against England's George Parker during yesterday's match.
Doha: Home favourite Abdulla Mohamed Al Tamimi yesterday etched his name in the history books, becoming the first Qatari player to reach the last-eight stage of a Platinum level tournament after outclassing Englishman George Parker at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex.
Al Tamimi, who shocked World No.2 Paul Coll of New Zealand in the previous match, maintained his momentum to record an 11-8, 11-8, 11-9 win over the World No.34 in 39 minutes.
Yesterday’s match was Al Tamimi’s first appearance in the last-16 stage in the Qatar Classic since he made his debut in 2010, but the 27-year-old was in full of confidence following his heroics during the week.
The Qatar No.1 was tested by Parker in the first game which saw the scores level at 7-7 at one point. Al Tamimi then picked up the momentum with his speed and accuracy to take the 1-0 lead.
After Al Tamimi took the second game with a similar margin, Parker fought back early in the third game to go 8-3 up.
The home star then showed great fighting spirit to put on an entertaining blitz of points as he rallied to take the match completely away from the Englishman, earning a standing ovation from his supporters, who turned out in good numbers.
“I’m not really used to the off day. I enjoyed my day off yesterday, I spent some time with my kid at home and I was really happy with that,”said Al Tamimi, who had a day-off after his historic second round match against Coll.
“During the preparation with [coach] Rodney Martin on the court this morning, I couldn’t move and I was forced to do some fast movements which really sharpened me up and helped me for this match. I’d also like to thank everyone that came today.”
Al Tamimi plays fellow first-time Platinum quarter-finalist Victor Crouin of France for a place in the semi-finals after the 23-year-old overcame England’s World No.23 Patrick Rooney 3-1 (11-8, 7-11, 11-4, 11-6) yesterday.
Joining Al Tamimi and Crouin in the quarter-finals are defending champion Diego Elias and No.6 seed Tarek Momen after they recorded comprehensive victories over Dimitri Steinmann of Switzerland and Yahya Elnawasany of Egypt, respectively.
“I’ve played Tarek a lot and beaten him only once, it’s always a tough match. We haven’t played in a long time and I feel it’s going to be a different match,” the world No.4 Elias, who won 3-0 (11-5, 11-4, 11-6), said.
After defeating his compatriot Elnawasany, Momen said “I was trying to be economic and very sharp from the very beginning,”
“We know each other’s game pretty well because we train a lot, so I needed to stick to a game plan from the very beginning and not let go at any point during the match,” the former Qatar Classic finalist, who won 3-0 (11-5, 11-2, 11-6), said.
Results – Round Three
[4] Diego Elias (PER) bt Dimitri Steinmann (SUI) 3-0: 11-5, 11-4, 11-6 (35m)
[6] Tarek Momen (EGY) bt Yahya Elnawasany (EGY) 3-0: 11-5, 11-2, 11-6 (23m)
Victor Crouin (FRA) bt Patrick Rooney (ENG) 3-1: 11-8, 7-11, 11-4, 11-6 (47m)
Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi (QAT) bt George Parker (ENG) 3-0: 11-8, 11-8, 11-9 (39m)
Quarter-Finals (Today)
Miguel Rodriguez (COL) v [5] Mohamed ElShorbagy (ENG)
[8] Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY) v [3] Mostafa Asal (EGY)
[4] Diego Elias (PER) v [6] Tarek Momen (EGY)
Victor Crouin (FRA) v Abdulla Mohamed Al Tamimi (QAT)
