Qualifying complete, it was on to the main draw today in Doha with 16 matches in the top half, and an opening show on the glass court to start the evening session.

Mathieu Castagnet celebrated his birthday with a comfortable win, but top-seeded fellow-Frenchman Gregory Gaultier had to fight back from two games down to see off qualifier Andrew Wagih.

Scotland's Greg Lobban was the only qualifier to progress, with an impressive win over Henrik Mustonen, but Karim Ali Fathi upset the rankings with a tough five game win over fellow Egyptian Mohamed Abouelghar.

The shortest match of the day was Marwan Elshorbagy's 8-minute victory over an injured Olli Tuominen, the longest Cameron Pilley's five-game 75-minute win over Joe Lee.

Fourth seed and two time champion Ramy Ashour returned to action after a six-month layoff with a straight-games win over qualifier Ivan Yuen, and further Egyptian success came when Omar Mosaad ended home hopes with a three-one win over wildcard Abdulla Al Tamimi.

Nafiizwan Adnan (Mas) 3-1 Mazen Hesham (Egy)
               13/11, 11/7, 9/11, 11/5 (51m)
[16] Mathieu Castagnet (Fra) 3-0 [Q] Rex Hedrick (Aus)  
               11/3, 11/2, 11/8 (47m)
Karim Ali Fathi (Egy) 3-2 Mohamed Abouelghar (Egy)
               11/8, 1/11, 11/8, 5/11, 11/7 (55m)
Alister Walker (Bot) 3-1 [Q] Aamir Atlas Khan (Pak)  
             10/12, 11/7, 11/4, 11/6 (44m)
Cameron Pilley (Aus) 3-2 Joe Lee (Eng)
              11/6, 7/11, 11/7, 6/11, 11/9 (75m)
[Q] Greg Lobban (Sco) 3-0 Henrik Mustonen (Fin)
              11/4, 11/4, 11/4 (32m)
[7] Peter Barker (Eng) 3-1 Chris Simpson (Eng)
              11/8, 6/11, 11/7, 11/5 (67m)
Adrian Grant (Eng) 3-1 [Q] Piedro Schweertman (Ned)
               9/11, 11/4, 11/2, 11/7 (42m)

           opening show at 17.30 on the glass court - photo collage below

Fares Dessouki (Egy) 3-1 [Q] Farhan Zaman (Pak)
                11/8, 11/0, 6/11, 11/9 (46m)
[1] Gregory Gaultier (Fra) 3-2 [Q] Andrew Wagih (Egy)
                6/11, 9/11, 11/6, 11/7, 11/3 (57m)
[13] Marwan Elshorbagy (Egy) 3-0 Olli Tuominen (Fin)
               11/7 rtd (8m)
[9] Omar Mosaad (Egy) 3-1 [wc] Abdulla Al Tamimi (Qat)
               11/8, 11/8, 10/12, 11/5 (53m)
[12] Miguel Rodriguez (Col) 3-0 Shaun Le Roux (Rsa)
               11/4, 11/6, 11/6 (24m)
[4] Ramy Ashour (Egy) 3-0 [Q] Ivan Yuen (Mas)
               11/5, 14/12, 11/5 (32m)
Zahed Mohamed (Egy) 3-0 [Q] Ben Coleman (Eng)
                11/8, 11/8, 11/9 (49m)
[6] Borja Golan (Esp) 3-0 Leo Au (Hkg)
                 11/5, 11/8, 11/9 (51m)

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[16] Mathieu Castagnet (Fra) 3-0 [Q] Rex Hedrick (Aus)
         11/3, 11/2, 11/8 (47m)

“It’s always tough playing Rex, he’s such a fighter and always gives his best, even if you’re something like 10/2 up you have to make sure to win that last point.

“I played really well in the first two games [which still took 25 minutes] but in the third he starting picking up all my shots and I had to really fight to stop it going to another game.

“It’s great to get my first win here in Qatar and to move into the second round, especially on my birthday!

"Two of my friend, Romain Tenant and Julien Balbo, retired from the tour when they were 28, which I am today, so I’m pleased I’m still going and hoping to advance further.”

Nafiizwan Adnan (Mas) 3-1 Mazen Hesham (Egy)
      13/11, 11/7, 9/11, 11/5 (51m)

TYPICAL MAZEN

The boy (20) has got a magical racquet. It seems to have a life of its own, and when it’s working, it’s amazing truly. But as most of the high percentage game, sometimes it doesn’t work that well. And today, Mazen’s racquet was not in the mood….

I know that the Egyptian was not at the top of his form – bit of a cold – and as already he is not one for long rallies, I knew that Wan was going to have all his nicks’ radars in alert, as thy were going to be a few flying around…

The Malaysian played the good tactic out there today. He weathered the storm while still still applying a lot of pressure on his young opponent. He kept the rallies going – when he could – forcing the Egyptian to go for one more shot, getting dangerously closer and closer to the tin.

Result: 5 tins for the Egyptian in the 18m first game, 7 in the second, yes, 7, then better in the 3rd – he was still down 4/0, sort of gave up, went for shots that went it finally, the 4/7 to score 6 points in a row and take that game 11/9 – and back to normality 7 tins in the 4th….

It’s not a good result for the young Egyptian, as he is on paper better ranked by 3 places (31 to 34). And he’ll be disappointed, but Wan played an excellent match today, showing some good signs of maturity and experience. On the other hand, Mazen played like he was 20.

Oh wait ...

“Last year in Manchester, I played him, and I was 2/0 down, and 10/7 match ball down. So I told myself, you’ve got to be disciplined. And it’s exactly what I’ve done today….

Against a player like him, you just don’t know where the ball is going, so you have to be focused and alert at all times. Which I didn’t do in the 3rd, I was 7/4 up, and I lost the game! So in the 4th, I told myself to get back into the discipline game, to make every point count, I made sure I pushed him, and put pressure on him. Glad it worked.”

Alister Walker (Bot) 3-1 [Q] Aamir Atlas Khan (Pak) 
             10/12, 11/7, 11/4, 11/6 (44m)

“These Pakistani boys are so talented, you always feel on edge and you just can’t take anything for granted. He’s such a dangerous player and the pressure was all on me today.

“I could have won the first, but I could have been two-nil down too, so I’m just grateful to have got through that one.”

It’s very frustrating. I just didn’t find my length today.

I’m struggling right now to find any positive out of this, but I’m sure I’ll be able to in a little while…

Karim Ali Fathi (Egy)  3-2 Mohamed Abouelghar (Egy)
               11/8, 1/11, 11/8, 5/11, 11/7 (55m)

Karim just played better squash today

I’m going to be as blunt as I can be. On paper, Abou is the better player. And he probably has got the better racquet skills. But today, Karim just played better squash.

“How do you say BACKWALL in Arabic” I asked Abou at the end. “Cause you haven’t used it much during the match, have you??!!!”

Today, Karim Fathi, just back from a “hell of a year”, was hungry. And it showed. He truly weathered the Abou Storm to perfection.

First game, Abou didn’t really show up, tins and all, second, 8/0 before Karim was able to score a point! Third, about the same punishment, 8/4 up for Birdsbrain, and suddenly, a bit of relaxation from Abou, and a big push from Karim. Result? 11/8 for Karim, with 7 points in a row….

Fourth, brain seems to be connected for the young Abou, 3/0. But again, DogWithABone Karim just don’t let go, and imposes his length and power to take the game and match 11/7 on his first match ball, rightly and characteristically on a tin from his opponent.

That was tough. That was a tough, tough, tough match. He is the best ranked, heck, he is the better player! Have you seen the numbers of nicks he played today???

I did the only thing I could do, play at the back!

He played too many errors in the first, but in the second, he came back flying. The only thing I could think of was “don’t get a bagel, don’t get a bagel”!

And in the third, he came out flying as well, so I kept sending the ball to the back, sending the ball to the back, and I got rewarded. The 4th, I was behind the whole time, and played catch up.

Fifth, same than the 3rd, I found myself down 3/0, and just told myself, come on, fight, fight for every point. I fought, keeping the ball to the back, and again, got rewarded.

It’s so good to be back, I had a tough year last year, I was having acupuncture, and the man just punctured my lung! So I had to have surgery. I only came back last week, I did Nigeria. I am so happy just to be back, I’m hungry, and I want to do good.

Of course today I am happy I won, but I don’t have a better friend than Mohamed, so it’s difficult as well…

 [Q] Greg Lobban (Sco) 3-0 Henrik Mustonen (Fin)    11/4, 11/4, 11/4 (32m)

What made the difference today I think is that I managed not to make any unforced errors.

Also, I kept the ball tight to the wall, because I know he likes to play the ball in the middle. And when he was playing short, I managed to punish him with a counterdrop.

I’m very very happy with my performance, I think it’s the best match I ever played on the Tour.

Cameron Pilley (Aus) 3-2 Joe Lee (Eng)
              11/6, 7/11, 11/7, 6/11, 11/9 (75m)

To be honest, I am relieved to win that match!

We played here last year, and the first two games were very quick, the 3rd was a bit tighter, but this year, he has improved a lot, and I have a mixed results year, so I knew it was going to be a tough one.

There were some short rallies – both of us found some good shots – but also some longer ones, and some not that long ones. It’s a bit of a mixture really, not just one of the other. That traditional court, if you take the ball early can be actually very rewarding, although not as much as a traditional one. But still…

It was a dogfight as well, I’m happy I played a few nice shots at the end, he probably won’t be happy with the way he played the last points, maybe that’s a bit of experience, I played some shots I didn’t play for the whole match, it surprised him a bit as well.

The first round of the World Champs, you think I came all that way, so that gives you that extra motivation. And yes, only two points difference at the end, not much there, but it doesn’t matter at the end of the day, a win is a win….

I had a bit of a drop in motivation after the Commonwealth Games, after winning Bronze and Gold, and playing in front of 2.000 people.

The next two tournaments I did, Hong Kong and China, no offence to them of course, but it was a bit difficult for me to get motivated.

So I went to train for 10 days with David Palmer in Florida between San Francisco and the US Open, he told me a few things about his preparation for the game, and how he handles things.

And that made a big difference.

Adrian Grant (Eng) 3-1 [Q] Piedro Schweertman (Ned)
               9/11, 11/4, 11/2, 11/7 (42m)

I managed to lose only one game, so I guess it’s an improvement!!!

No, Piedro played really well, I didn’t start slowly, he was up for it, and I wasn’t. It took me a long time to adapt to the court conditions, it’s a dead court, I feel that the ball just sucks up all the energy, plus he was playing 100m/h and he was in front of me. I was always a couple of points behind…

Then in the second, I managed to slow down the pace, and I the time to assert myself, got in front where I was stuck at the back in the first game, and I was able to control and dominate the rallies from that point on.

What I realise I need to do, is to adapt quickly. Whether it’s the ball, the court, whatever, I need to do what the top three guys manage to do. When they are confronted to a variation, they just analyse it, and adapt quickly. That’s what I need to learn.

Now, a day of rest, cannot complain, I feel good, injury free after my little 3 weeks off after the US Open. You know, an injury is the worst that can happen to a squash player, but insight, it allows the body to recharge the batteries, and the mental side of things too.

There are a lot of positives you can take from there…

[6] Borja Golan (Esp) 3-0 Leo Au (Hkg)
                 11/5, 11/8, 11/9 (51m)

Borja very focused

At no point in time did the Spanish take Leo for granted. And he was right not to, as in if Leo made a few too many errors in the first game, he cut them out in the next two, and was able to lead in both second and third mid game.

Borja, as intense as ever, bless him, didn’t panic, but re-assert himself, making sure he wouldn’t let the Hong Kong player believe he had a chance to take one game.

It worked. Clinical performance tonight from Borja.

I have always been intense, I guess. You know the level is so close nowadays, between the players, you can never relax. Each point can be the difference between wining or losing.

The court is good, because the AC is on. The court can be bouncy, but because of the conditions here, it’s not as fast, it sticks to the wall, it’s a true court, so we can play good squash on this court.

I had a very good tournament in Hong Kong, I am playing well, but I need a few good victories. Last year was a strange year, I reached top 5, I changed racquet. It was all happening. And my aim has always been to be top ten. You know that before Karim retired, the top 8 people were actually former number 1! I don’t measure myself with those guys, I’m not in the same league.

So I think I was putting too much pressure on myself, when I was trying to beat the likes of Shabana, James. I have to compete with them, yes, but I cannot be upset when I lose. I can be happy when/if I beat one of them.

So now, I just enjoy the ride, I relax, I take each match as it comes, and I truly, truly enjoy my squash. That’s the most important.

Fares Dessouki (Egy) 3-1
 [Q] Farhan Zaman (Pak) 
 11/8, 11/0, 6/11, 11/9 (46m)

“At 5/2 in the third I thought the match was over, I didn’t think he would play any more, but that’s another lesson I learned today, uoi just can’t do that against anyone!

“In the third he just started playing every ball into the nick, and he carried on doing that in the fourth. At 9/7 down I was asking myself how this was happening, but then I just told myself it had to stop, so I pulled my concentration back together, played the ball tighter and it worked!”

Yes, just a bit energy left in the tank to talk, but not much.

I always give my best on a tournament, but this one is truly special, and I arrived here with no pressure, just trying to play my best, and play game by game, point by point.

I think his experience talked at the end, that he was able to come back like that and win the match.

I was not thinking and just playing, until I reached the 3rd, 3/0 up, and then I started thinking, “Is it really happening to me? Are you going to play another round tomorrow???”

I really need to thank the people that were in the crowd, cause they really helped. It’s such a treat for us when we play in the Arabic Countries, and today, after the first game, I was really tired, after the first point actually! But those guys really pushed me…

[1] Gregory Gaultier (Fra) 3-2 [Q] Andrew Wagih (Egy)
                6/11, 9/11, 11/6, 11/7, 11/3 (57m)

A Gooood scare for Greg

The French Camp didn’t worry too much after the loss of the first game, started to get truly thinking hard after the loss of the second, but was in a panic state as the former number 1 went down 3/0 in the 3rd!

I guess that Greg thought the same way, and he scored 7 points in a row at that point, and never let the Egyptian truly hope he’ll take another game.

Yes, Greg was not at his top tonight, to say the least. But 50% of it is due to Andrew’s stunning performance. I never saw the Egyptian play at that level, he was accurate, his length / Width was perfect, his drop shots, my Lord what a lethal weapon tonight!

It all went wrong for him when at 2/0 up, 3/0 he started thinking that he was about to play the next round of the World Champs. And I told the boys, DON’T THINK. Do they listen???

Greg will have had a good wake up call. As he said, better have it now in the first round than in the final…

At 2/0 down, I told myself to start from 0/0, and start all over again….

I didn’t feel good at all, I was off from the start, not one of my shots responded. Mind, it’s better to play like that on the first round than later!

I trained very hard for the past two weeks, but tonight, I felt very flat indeed, I didn’t expect to play that badly, doesn’t happen to me often, but all credit to him, he played very well, no pressure on him and he played really well.

I didn’t have any patience at all, shots were not working, I was trying to be more patient and get my length going. It’s only in the 3rd that I could get on top of him….

Days like this, you’ve just got to go through them, and as long as I win, I cannot complain, it’s not that of a big deal. I prefer to laugh at it.

I seem to have trouble with the court, I am used to play on the ASB court, and I trained at home on a ASB, this one is bouncing completely differently, and I only had a little light hit on it. At least, now, I’ve got a match on it, and I will have another one in two days… I trained to have my peak this week, hopefully, I’ll peak later this week!!!

[9] Omar Mosaad (Egy) 3-1 [wc] Abdulla Al Tamimi (Qat)
               11/8, 11/8, 10/12, 11/5 (53m)

Good prospect for Qatar with Abdulla

If Abdulla is still young (19), he is extremely skilled and found some lovely shots tonight against Hammer of Thor Mosaad. Of course, the power of the Egyptian was a bit too much at time, and the young man went for a bit too short too quickly. Like most of the young players do.

But he took a game, and well deserved too. Omar may have relaxed just a bit too soon, and Abdulla worked pretty hard on there and earned his game.

He needs now to find a bit more consistency, and lengthen his game a bit. But talent there is for sure.

I’m feeling happy with my performance, even if I rushed the point a bit in the 4th, I lost a bit of focus, and I don’t want to hammer the point of speak too much of the refs, but there were a couple of decisions that didn’t go my way, and could have helped me get back in the game. But happy overall, hopefully I can do better next time.

I am still based in Qatar, I train with Boswell, Kemp and of course, my head coach is still Geoff Hunt who comes with me on tour sometimes. And when I’m in NY, I train with Rodney Martin. I had a few good results, in the Asian Games, I reached the quarters only to lose against Max Lee, who I then beat in the Team event, and in Pakistan, the semis of the 25K. This is only my second PSA tournament of the season.

So far so good.

I haven’t played for so long, it’s the first time in 6 months, so there are a lot of things in your mind, but it’s seems that it’s fine…. But it’s not about one match, or one victory, it’s a sequence of matches, it’s a matter of consistency.

Today, I started well, then he pushed me a bit in the middle, the tie break went my way, and it was fine in the end.

We all work a lot, not just me, but we all work hard, we put ourselves under a lot of pressure, and we want to see the work we’ve done pay off on court…. I’ve been through a lot lately, but whenever I’m having some predicament, some hard times in my life, it has made me more relaxed mentally, and physically stronger. I used to put too much pressure on myself. I don’t anymore. Well, let’s see how long I can keep that going!!!

Of course, today, I had a lot in my head. So you try and stay in the zone, and block the thoughts out. I just try and keep it simple. And my team in New York is just doing that.

I never in my life tried to not do too much. And that’s what they are telling me to do. So I’ll see how things are going. If it works out this week, it will mean they were right. If it doesn’t go that well, I’ll try again another way….

It’s so different when you are in a competitive match. No matter the pressure you put on yourself in training, no matter the number of people watching, it’s completely different. A match develops its own character, feeling.

It’s like all the energy that has been locked in all those months. Just being released. But my main objective this tournament is to stay healthy, win or lose, I would like to finish it injury free. If I can achieve that, I’ll be happy.

I have a major tear in my hamstring, that was detected by a doctor in NY I was referred to by a physio there. Then I was recommended to have some treatment called PRP, which is a sort of they take your blood, they spin it, and they reinject it into your body. I did that in Delaware, NY. 90% of the doctors say it’s not working, that the physio only has got better results...

So we’ll see. And at the moment, I’m doing everything my team tells me. We’ll see at the end of the week who was right.

It’s been a long journey. Two and a half months treatment in NY. I went through a lot. So for now, I’m just trying to enjoy the moment…

[4] Ramy Ashour (Egy) 3-0 [Q] Ivan Yuen (Mas)
               11/5, 14/12, 11/5 (32m)

Ramy just wanted to have fun

Please, no offence to Ivan, who played his part beautifully tonight.

But Ramy really used the game to test his legs/shots. First game, we went for the forehand test.

Then the second game, we tried the backhand, and the running all over the court lesson, with Ivan getting some excellent shots, very accurate, and getting Ramy to visit the court a few times.

But what was really great was to see Ramy’s immense smile. I don’t think he minded the win or lose in that game. He was having fun. He was enjoying it. After all those months of heavy treatment, doubts, pain and despair, he was able to move free at last.

The third, Ramy was back. He started volleying everything, picked up all the shots he let pass by him in the first game, protecting his “bionic” leg, and truly showed us a “Ramy’s performance”.

Yvan played well, he’ll be happy of his performance, and hardly did anything wrong tonight. But the Artist was back on Stage, and the crowd loved it.

Ramy is back, for now. Each match, each game, each rally, each point, he’ll be hoping that the work he’s done was successful. Pourvu que ça dure. So far soo good he smiled at the end.
 

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