Top stars battle it out at QTerminals Qatar Classic title
Doha- The QTerminals Qatar Classic returns to the PSA World Tour on Sunday as 48 players look to capture the first Platinum event title of the season at the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex in Doha.
World No 4 Diego Elias returns to defend the title, which was one of three titles that the Peruvian picked up last season, the Qatar Classic being his first and only Platinum event win so far. Elias receives a bye in round one and then has a tricky encounter in round two as he faces India’s Saurav Ghosal for a spot in the third round.
World No 1 Ali Farag has won the event twice previously, but missed last year’s event which ultimately led to him losing his World No 1 spot to New Zealand’s Paul Coll. Farag opens his account against either wildcard Syed Azlan Amjad or Mexico’s Cesar Salazar in round two and will be looking to keep hold of his No 1 spot with another strong performance.
Second ranked Paul Coll has been the runner-up the last three times an event has been held in Qatar, including the 2019 World Championships, where he lost to Tarek Momen. Coll has a chance to claim back the World No 1 spot back if he wins the event and Farag does not reach the final. Coll will play the winner of an entertaining first round clash between local favourite Abdulla al-Tamimi and India’s Ramit Tandon.
Mostafa Asal ended last season in terrific form, picking up the El Gouna International title as well as successfully defending his PSA World Tour Finals title, beating both Ali Farag and Paul Coll in both events. He has not been shy in his ambitions for this season and has expressed his desire to become the No 1 and will be looking to take a big step towards that goal this week in Doha. He will play German Raphael Kandra in his opening match.
Play begins today at 12pm with 16 matches taking place on day one across three courts. There are several matches to look forward to on day one including an all-European battle between France’s Baptiste Masotti and Declan James.
The pair have met twice on the PSA World Tour so far with the tall Englishman winning both encounters 3-0 and more recently 3-1. That match will be on the glass court at 2:15pm with the winner facing eighth seed Marwan ElShorbagy in the next round.
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