E.M. Noll Classic QF: Top Two Seeds Survive Five-Gamers

The second day of the E.M. Noll Classic almost threw up some big surprises, but the top two seeds were able to come through in deciding games to make it into the last four.

Top seed Andrew Douglas, took on Egypt’s Ibrahim Elkabbani in the quarter finals on Friday. It was the No.7 seed who was the better in the early exchanges, battling through to win the opening game 11-8 before the home favourite fought back to level the match. The same pattern emerged over the next two games as well, with the decider going all the way. 

Both men had their chances to take the fifth game, but in the end it was Douglas who got over the line. He won the decider 12-10 to book his spot in the semis, where he will now take on England’s Charlie Lee. The No.3 seed came up against former World No.14 Zahed Salem in the last eight, and after a first game tie-break went his way, he was in complete control, taking the win inside 25 minutes.

In the bottom half of the draw, No.2 seed Bernat Jaume also had his struggles on quarter finals day. He came up against the other American in the draw, Christopher Gordon. The Spaniard took the lead twice in the contest, but saw the American fight back to level on both occasions. In the end, Jaume got the job done, winning the fifth 11-8 after just under an hour of play, to move through to the last four.

The No.2 seed will now face Egypt’s Seif Shenawy in the last four. The tournament’s No.8 seed came up against surprise package Hong Kong’s Tang Ming Hong in the quarters. The Hongkonger had gotten the better of defending champion Sam Todd in the opening round, but Shenawy proved too much for him, with the Egyptian winning in four games to set up a clash with Jaume.

The semi-finals of the E.M. Noll Classic will take place in Philadelphia on Saturday, February 4. You can keep up to date with daily updates from the tournament on the PSA Challenger Tour’s Twitter and Facebook. 

Quarter Final Results: E.M. Noll Classic
[1] Andrew Douglas (EGY) bt [7] Ibrahim Elkabbani (EGY) 3-2: 8-11, 11-5, 8-11, 11-4, 12-10 (58m)
[3] Charlie Lee (ENG) bt [5] Zahed Salem (EGY) 3-0: 12-10, 11-5, 11-2 (24m)
[8] Seif Shenawy (EGY) bt Tang Ming Hong (HKG) 3-1: 11-9, 8-11, 11-8, 11-7 (36m)
[2] Bernat Jaume (ESP) bt [6] Christopher Gordon (USA) 3-2: 11-6, 9-11, 11-6, 5-11, 11-8 (56m)

Semi-Final Draw: To Be Played Saturday, February 4
[1] Andrew Douglas (EGY) v [3] Charlie Lee (ENG)
[8] Seif Shenawy (EGY) v [2] Bernat Jaume (ESP)