Abdulla Al Tamimi (QAT) 3-1 [15] Gregoire Marche (FRA) 11-6, 11-9, 7-11, 11-9 (50m)
“I’m really relieved, I’ve played a lot of matches here, I’ve had a lot of big battles and I still remember the Nick Matthew match.
“I had my chances, but I couldn’t make it. I couldn’t play that well for a couple of years, and I had to wait for the World Championships in 2019 to finally have my first major win here in Qatar.
“It felt really good, I saw the happiness in my dad’s eyes and all of my family and friends are here, so I’m glad I made everyone proud. I don’t want to stop here, I’m really looking forward to the next round.
“I lost a bit of concentration and my length in the third game. I was thinking that I had to have a good length at the start of the fourth game because the winners would come after. Even though he was coming back at me, I tried to always keep the lead over him.
“My goal now is to really focus on the next round and make sure I play well again, if I do then I have a chance to win.”
