Sports Host Andy Taylor | The Voice of the Qatar Classic | Photo: Steve Cubbins
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Declan James -20- (ENG) def Omar Abdel Meguid -47- (EGY)
Match recap from Sports Host Andy Taylor, Voice of the Qatar Classic.
[vector_icon icon=”fas fa-check-circle”] Round-1 Final: 11-1, 11-5, 11-8 (38m)
Earlier this month at the US Open, Nottingham’s Declan James reached the 3rd-Round of a PSA Platinum event for the second time. His Round-2 victory over Adrian Waller was epic. Down 2-0, he fought back to win the remaining 3-games 11-8, 19-17, 16-14 (101m)!
Had Declan not endured against Waller in Philadelphia – or had he not defeated James Willstrop to win the title in Nantes – today’s Round-1 match versus Omar Abdel Meguid might have felt like a daunting draw. They’d met twice before in 2015. Meguid won both of those matches.
[vector_icon icon=”fas fa-check”] May 2015 British Open [Q] – Omar Abdel Meguid | Score: 11-9, 11-4, 11-2 (34m)
[vector_icon icon=”fas fa-check”] Mar 2015 Seattle Open (SF) – Omar Abdel Meguid | Score: 10-12, 11-6, 11-9, 12-14, 11-5
This time, behind belief in his endurance and skill-set, the World #20 dispatched Meguid in under 40-minutes.
Here’s a look at each player’s introduction for today’s Round-1 match…
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Declan James -20- (ENG)
At 25-years-old, he comes into this year’s Qatar Classic playing the best squash of his career. He started the new season by winning his 13th career title in Nantes – defeating former World #1 James Willstrop in the championship match. With the victory, he cracked the PSA World Tour’s top-20 for the first time, then earned a pair of wins in Philadelphia to make his 3rd-Round debut at the US Open. Last season, he earned his career-best Platinum-series run in Hong Kong – defeating World #8 Fares Dessouky to reach the Quarterfinals. He then won six consecutive matches, capturing the London Open title, and reaching the 3rd Round of the PSA World Championship for the first time. Competing in his 3rd Qatar Classic Squash Championship – From England, please welcome the #20 Player in the World, Declan James.
Omar Abdel Meguid -47- (EGY)
At 30-years-old, he owns 13 PSA titles and has been ranked as high as #25 in the World. A semifinalist at the 2017 Egyptian National Championship, last season he reached his 26th career PSA Final at the Abu Dhabi Open. Competing in his 35th Platinum-level event on the PSA World Tour, in 2016 he earned his first Platinum main-draw victory in El Gouna – defeating Max Lee to reach the 2nd-Round. Making his 7th appearance at the Qatar Classic Squash Championship – From Egypt, please welcome Omar Abdel Meguid.
