Favourite Asal, Al Tamimi Cruise As Elshorbagy And Gawad Fall In Doha

Doha, Qatar: World No.1 Mostafa Asal overcame Indian opponent Ramit Tandon to advance, while former champions Mohamed Elshorbagy and Karim Abdel Gawad were among eight seeded players who were knocked out on the opening day of the QTerminals Qatar Classic 2025 yesterday.

At the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex in Doha, top seed Asal, aiming to secure his maiden title at the Platinum level event, beat the Indian in straight games (11-4, 11-7, 11-4) in 35 minutes to advance to the second round. Asal booked a clash against Gregoire Marche, who beat (11-5, 11-8, 11-7) his French compatriot Baptiste Masoti.

The two former champions, Gawad and Mohamed ElShorbagy, saw their run come to an end early against India's Abhay Singh and Spain's Iker Pajares, respectively.
Abhey eliminated Gawad 3-1 (11-6, 11-4, 1-11, 11-9) in a fiercely contested 41-minute battle, while Egyptian-turned-English four-time Qatar Classic title winner Mohamed ElShorbagy lost to Pajares in straight games (11-8, 11-2, 11-8).

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In another upset, Youssef Ibrahim of Egypt defeated No. 4 seed Marwan Elshorbagy (ENG) in a thrilling match (16-14, 11-7, 12-10).

Egypt's World No.14 Mohamad Zakaria earned the biggest win of his career to date after taking out World No.4 Joel Makin. Zaharia's 11-5, 11-7, 11-7 win came in 67 minutes as he secured his first win over a player inside the world's top four.

“I'm over the moon, as soon as I lost the match against him in Giza, I started training with [former World No.1] Jonathon Power for this match,” the 18-year-old Zakaria told PSA after his memorable win.

“The plan we had worked so well, I was more attacking, more positive, and I brought the game to him. I was so happy with my short game and I did very well today,” Zakaria said.

Meanwhile, home favourite Abdulla Al Tamimi easily overcame his Qatari compatriot, wildcard Ali Al Darwish. Al Tamimi, ranked 21st in the world, won the opening round clash in just 24 minutes, with scores of 11-4, 11-7, 11-3.

Al Tamimi, who is making his 10th appearance at the home event, will next meet Frenchman Sebastien Bonmalais, who advanced after the No.8 seed Aly Abou Eleinen of Egypt retired after 12 minutes of play.

World No.3 Paul Coll of New Zealand, a two-time runner-up in Doha, also advanced after winning a lengthy battle against Eain Yow Ng of Malaysia (11-7, 11-8, 11-6 in 60m).

The women's draw saw the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, both former champions, advance with minimal fuss.

Top seed and the defending champion Nour El Sherbini of Egypt defeated countrywoman Sana Ibrahim 3-0 (11-8, 11-8, 11-4). Egyptian Hania El Hammamy also overcame Grace Gear of England in straight games (11-6, 11-3, 11-7).

Malaysia's Aira Azman got the better of No.5 seed Satomi Watanabe, while No.8 seed Georgina Kennedy saw her tournament come to an end against France's Melissa Alves.

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