Doha: Qatar’s number one player Abdulla Mohammed Al Tamimi will be keen to maintain the same form which helped him win the Life Time Atlanta Open when he opens his campaign in the Qatar Circuit 3 tournament which begins at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex here today.
The World No.61 broke his title duck last time out at the Life Time Atlanta Open with a dramatic 3-2 victory over Chris Hanson and the Qatar will be eyeing silverware for the first time on home soil.
Carlos Cornes Ribadas lies between Al Tamimi and a place in the quarter-final where he will meet either Karim El Hammamy or Tayyab Aslam.
Egypt’s Karim Ali Fathi takes the favourite tag as he renews his attempts to lift a 10th career PSA World Tour title.
The World No.43 reached the semi-final stage of the Qualico Manitoba Open a week ago, adding to the runner-up finish he achieved at the Oregon Open in his first tournament of 2016.
Despite his tendency to reach the latter stages of the events he participated in, Fathi is currently enduring a barren spell as far as silverware is concerned, with his last success coming in August 2014.
However, the 22-year-old benefits from being the top seed in Qatar and, with plenty of experience under his belt despite his tender years, will certainly be a contender to capture the title. Fathi is set to face a qualifier in the first round.
Mohamed Reda, the PSA Men’s Player of the Month for November, represents Fathi’s biggest competitor for the crown and the duo are seeded to meet in the final. Reda won the pair’s only professional encounter thus far back in 2014 but has a number of tough potential fixtures in his side of the draw, with a possible quarter-final meeting against fellow Egyptian and seven-time PSA World Tour title winner Mazen Gamal on the horizon.
He will need to progress beyond compatriot Shehab Essam though in the opening round if he is to harbour any ambitions of adding to the trio of PSA World Tour titles he has picked up this season.
Germany’s Jens Schoor has reached the final in three of his last four events on the PSA World Tour, winning one of those at the PSA Valencia Open three months ago. The 28-year-old has 10 years of professional experience and has an outside of chance of taking the crown if he plays up to his potential. Schoor will begin his tournament against a qualifier in round one.
Meanwhile four players made it to the main draw from the qualifying round matches held yesterday.
Sixteen players will fight it out in the main draw matches starting today.
For the hosts, the trio of Syed Azlan Amjad, Umair Zaman and Abdulwahab Al Ishaq failed to make it past the qualifying rounds.
Lance Beddoes defeated Amjad 11-3, 12-10, 11-7. In another match, Iker Pajares Bernabeu got the better of Zaman 11-8, 11-9, 11-6.
The third Qatari player in the qualifiers, Abdulwahab Al Ishaq went down fighting to Carlos Cornes Ribadas 11-6, 11-9, 11-6.
The Peninsula
