Doha, Qatar: British Open winner Paul Coll kept himself on course of lifting his first trophy from Qatar as overcame a dangerous Frenchman Baptiste Masotti to book his spot in the quarter finals of the Qatar QTerminals Classic on Wednesday.
Also making it to the quarters were three Egyptians Mohamed Abouelghar, Tarek Momen and Mostafa Asal.
On the day of straight games win, the British Open champion finishing the proceedings of the day by overcoming the challenge of the Frenchman 11-9, 11-4, 11-9 to move into the last eight.
The Kiwi – who reached the final of both the 2019-20 PSA World Championship and last year’s Qatar Classic in Doha – didn’t quite find his short game on Wednesday and there were a few moments in the first and third games where it looked like Masotti could cause him some damage.
“It’s been a long gap between my last one and this one,” said Coll, who is aiming to become the first non-Egyptian to win the PSA World Tour Platinum event in Qatar.
Coll admitted that he took late an area where he will working before going into the next round match.
“So it was a bit of a slow start from me. He played very well and he was quite controlled, I think he’s been working on his game and he’s a bit more mature now. All credit to him, but I started a bit slowly, I didn’t quite find my attacks like I wanted to and it’s something I’ll work on for the next round,” he said.
The New Zealander will take on World No.15 Mohamed Abouelghar in the quarter-finals.
“He (Abouelghar) has quick attacks and he’s got really good racket head speed. I’m going to have to stay in front of of him and not give him any loose balls at the front. It will be a tough one, but I’m feeling confident for it,” Coll said.
Earlier, Abouelghar reached his first PSA World Tour Platinum quarter-final in over two years after he toppled World No.29 Adrian Waller in a comfortable 3-0 victory racing off to an 11-4, 11-3, 11-6 in 27 minutes. Another Egyptian, Tarek Momen also reached the quarter finals after winning a quick-fire clash with England’s Tom Richards in straight games.
Momen – who won the 2019-20 PSA World Championships in Doha – took just 29 minutes to win the tie 13-11, 13-11, 11-5 and set up the quarter-final clash with Mostafa Asal, where he will look to avenge his defeat to his compatriot in the US Open final two weeks ago.
“I’m expecting a tough one (against Asal). Two weeks ago, I had the right tactics and I was just a bit unlucky not being able to close it out in the end. I’m hoping to repeat my performance again and I’ll try to get through this time and get the win,” Momen said.
US Open champion Asal advanced to the quarter finals after his third round opponent – Youssef Soliman – retired during the third game due to a hamstring injury at 13-11, 11-8, 2-1.
The match was shaping up to be a captivating affair, with Asal prevailing in a 33-minute first game on the tie-break. However, Soliman wasn’t at his best physically and struggled the longer the match went on, eventually shaking hands in the third game.
Today’s results
Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY) bt Adrian Waller (ENG) 3-0: 11-4, 11-3, 11-6
[7] Mostafa Asal (EGY) bt Youssef Soliman (EGY) 3-0: 13-11, 11-8, 2-1 retired
[3] Tarek Momen (EGY) bt Tom Richards (ENG) 3-0: 13-11, 13-11, 11-5 [2] Paul Coll (NZL) bt Baptiste Masotti (FRA) 3-0: 11-9, 11-4, 11-9
