Qatar’s Abdulla Al Tamimi created a major upset by defeating the world No.2 and last year’s finalist, Paul Coll of New Zealand, 3-2 (9-11, 11-9, 16-14, 9-11, 11-7) in 93 minutes as he booked his place in the third round of the QTerminals Qatar Classic 2022 on Monday.
The Qatari was firing on all cylinders, covering all grounds, as he produced one of his best performances in the last match of the day inside the glass court of the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex.
In the other matches, Mohamed ElShorbagy, the world No. 5, began his 2022-23 PSA World Tour campaign with a 3-1 (11-7, 11-8, 4-11, 11-8) victory over Eain Yow Ng. The second-round win makes it five out of five for the three-time champion in Doha against his Malaysian opponent.
“Everything that happened in the match was very positive, I had intensity and I was playing with hunger. The accuracy and my short game weren’t where I wanted them to be, but those things will come when you play more matches. I’m really glad to be through, it’s a great match for me,” ElShorbagy said.
In the other matches, defending champion Diego Elias saw off a strong challenge from Saurav Ghosal in an entertaining affair. The Peruvian No.4 seed booked his spot in the next round courtesy of a 3-1 win.
Meanwhile, the world No.1 and two-time winner, Al Farag, had a walkover against Mexico’s Cesar Salazar, who had to withdraw from the event after suffering an injury.
Colombia’s Miguel Rodriguez enjoyed a straight sets (13-11, 12-10, 11-8) victory over Switzerland’s Nicolas Mueller, while Marwan ElShorbagy went all of five games before he could defeat Declan James in their exciting encounter.
