Wale’s Joel Makin avenged his 2018 Allam British Open first-round loss to World No. 11 Mohamed Abouelghar on Tuesday with a straight-games (11-7, 11-3, 11-6) rout of the Egyptian in just 33 minutes to secure his seat in the last-16 of the Qatar Classic 2020.
“We all know what he can do; he can take it into the front wall. Everyone keeps going on about short balls on this court, but the line across was crucial there, and it didn’t make any difference. You can attack well into the front, but you can’t do it if they are stuck behind you, so I did that well,” Makin said after his victory. “I want to win big events. I have made the semis a few times, and I have beaten a few of the top guys, but I want to do that regularly, so yeah, I am happy with that,” he added.
The British No.1, who is the 10th-ranked player on the PSA Tour, took the first game despite his opponent securing four of the first five points of the game. He after that took the second 11-3 after holding a 10-1 lead, as Abouelghar failed to keep the ball above the tin. Abouelghar errors remained unabated in the third game, and although he saved two match balls, the 27-year-old Cairo resident eventually submitted to the superior form of the Welshman.
Makin will now face Frenchman Lucas Serme in the last 16.
