Announcer. Andy Taylor. Qatar Classic 2017
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Tough day of Qualifying for local favorites in Doha
It was a tough day of qualifying for local hopefuls at the Qatar Classic Squash Championship 2017. Out of the 16 qualifying matches on Friday, eight featured Doha’s brightest prospects. As a group, they went 0-24. None were able to capture even a single game. The good news? World #37 Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi of Doha is a Wild Card in this year’s Main Draw. He’ll face top-10 player Fares Dessouky of Egypt in 1st-Round play on Sunday at 6:30pm.
The Qatar Classic is the second of seven World Series events on the PSA World Tour. Based on how well the athletes perform at these seven events determines whether they’ll be one of the top-8 players to compete in June at the PSA World Series Finals in Dubai. Like at the World Championship, the stakes are high. Even during qualifying, talent runs deep.
Case in point:
- World #25 Alan Clyne is the top-seed in qualifying. He’ll battle Eain Yow Ng for a spot in the main draw tomorrow at 2:00p.
- World #30 Tsz Fung Yip is the 5-seed. He earned a spot in the final round of qualifying and will face England’s Charles Sharpes, who upset world #35 Tom Richards.
- Egypt’s Karim Ali Fathi is World #33 and he’s in qualifying. He’ll try for a spot in the main draw tomorrow versus World #34 Campbell Grayson of New Zealand
You get the idea. The field is strong.
The day’s big upset
Kuwait’s Ammar Altamimi, World #119, defeated World #45 Farhan Mehboob of Pakistan in three tight games. He will face the #26 player in the world and the #2 qualifying seed Saurav Ghosal of India in Saturday’s final qualifying match. You can check Friday’s full qualifying results and see Saturday’s schedule below.
If you’ve never seen professional squash live, this is your chance to see the most talented players in the world go head-to-head inside the famous glass court. It’s an intimate setting at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex and entry is complimentary through the Quaterfinals. No tickets necessary. Just show-up and prepare to be blown away.
Tickets for the Semifinals and Finals on sale now
Semifinal tickets for Thursday, 2-November are 15-20 QAR, while tickets for the Final on Friday 3-November are 20-30 QAR. These can be purchased in advance at the ticketing booth by the entrance to the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex.
Main Draw play starts at Noon on Sunday with World #15 Diego Elias of Peru and former World #1 James Willstrop of England, who won the Qatar Classic in 2005.
Sunday and Monday will each feature eight Round-1 matches. All 10 of the PSA World Tour’s top-10 players are in Doha, including living legend Nick Matthew, reigning World Champion and defending Qatar Classic Champion Karim Abdel Gawad, US Open Champion Ali Farag, 2-time Doha Champion Mohamed ElShorbagy, and World #1 Gregory Gaultier – who won the title here in 2011.
The line-up is insanely competitive from first serve.
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Qualifying. Day 1. Results and Saturday’s Schedule
- [1] Alan Clyne (SCO) def Abdulrahman Al-Malki (QAT) 11-5 11-5 11-1 (21-min)
- Eain Yow Ng (MAS) def Ivan Yuen (MAS) 12-14 11-7 5-11 11-3 11-9 (79-min)
28-Oct | R2 Qualifying | 2:00p — Eain Yow Ng (MAS) vs [1] Alan Clyne (SCO)
- Charles Sharpes (ENG) def [12] Tom Richards (ENG) 12-10 15-13 11-8 (54-min)
- [5] Tsz Fung Yip (HKG) def Ahmad Mohammed Al-Tamimi (QAT) 11-3 11-7 11-4 (16-min)
28-Oct | R2 Qualifying | 2:00p — Charles Sharpes (ENG) vs [5] Tsz Fung Yip (HKG)
- [6] Karim Ali Fathi (EGY) def Syed Azlan Amjad (QAT) 11-8 11-5 11-4 (26-min)
- [10] Campbell Grayson (NZL) def Hamad Al-Amri (QAT) 11-2 11-1 11-1 (17-min)
28-Oct | R2 Qualifying | 3:00p — [10] Campbell Grayson (NZL) vs [6] Karim Ali Fathi (EGY)
- [11] Adrian Waller (ENG) def Nathan Lake (ENG) 11-6, 12-10, 11-4 (39-min)
- [3] Omar Abdel Meguid (EGY) def Mohammed Salim Saadi Al Yaafei (QAT) 11-0 11-2 11-1 (13-min)
28-Oct | R2 Qualifying | 3:00p — [11] Adrian Waller (ENG) vs [3] Omar Abdel Meguid (EGY)
- [4] Nicolas Mueller (SUI) def Ben Coleman (ENG) 11-9 8-11 8-11 11-1 11-8 (58-min)
- [15] Raphael Kandra (GER) def Umair Zaman (QAT) 11-6 11-3 11-4 (24-min)
28-Oct | R2 Qualifying | 4:00p — [15] Raphael Kandra (GER) vs [4] Nicolas Mueller (SUI)
- Richie Fallows (ENG) def [14] Mohamed Reda (EGY) 7-11 11-5 11-5 11-6 (51-min)
- [7] Leo Au (HKG) def Farhan Zaman (PAK) 11-8 11-4 11-2 (29-min)
28-Oct | R2 Qualifying | 4:00p — Richie Fallows (ENG) vs [7] Leo Au (HKG)
- [8] Chris Simpson (ENG) def Rashid Al Harib (QAT) 11-7 11-4 11-6 (16-min)
- [9] Declan James (ENG) def Abdulwahab Al-Ishaq (QAT) 11-4 11-5 11-6 (22-min)
28-Oct | R2 Qualifying | 5:00p — [9] Declan James (ENG) vs [8] Chris Simpson (ENG)
- Ammar Altamimi (KUW) def [16] Farhan Mehboob (PAK) 11-8 11-7 11-9 (24-min)
- [2] Saurav Ghosal (IND) def Mazen Gamal (EGY) 11-3 11-8 14-12 (42-min)
