Fri
11-Nov, Day One:
Locals bow out as Qualifying begins
Day One of the Qatar Classic 2016 kicked off at the Khalifa
International Tennis and Squash Complex with 16 first round
qualifying matches as 32 players set out on the quest to claim a
place in the main draw of the third PSA World Series event of
the year.
 There
was no joy for the locals as all four Qatario players lost in
straight games, but Kuwait's Abdullah Al Mezayen who was
granted a local entry after not playing for almost a year,
produced an upset in one of the early matches as he came through
a see-saw five game encounter with 12th seed Ben Coleman.
" I hadn’t been playing at that pace for a very long time so
it was very hard," said Abdullah. "It gives me great confidence
for my match tomorrow against Wan [top seed Adnan], and I hope I
can raise my game."
 The
other seeding upset came when India's Vikram Malhotra
beat Olli Tuominen in straight games, although the Finnish
veteran threatened a comeback as he saved four match balls
before subsiding 11/9 in the third game.
"I stuck to my game plan and that was a key," said Malhotra.
"Last night I had a long chat with my coach Thierry Lincou, who
knows Olli’s game pretty well, and who devised for me a game
plan that worked to perfection today."
There were three Egyptian and four English winners as most of
the seeded players lined themselves up for tomorrow's qualifying
finals, which will all be played on the glass court starting at
noon.
Quotes, Reports and Photos from
Qualifying R1
Photo Gallery - scene setters and Day One |
Draw & Results
Reports & Quotes
Photo Galleries
 |
