QTerminals Qatar Classic Day Three: Afternoon Roundup

Welsh World No.10 Joel Makin shocked New Zealand’s World No.5 Paul Coll in a pulsating 93-minute encounter to reach the third round of the QTerminals Classic on the afternoon session of day three.

Signs of Makin’s intent were in evidence early on as he took the game to Coll, who went into the match with an 11-3 head-to-head record.

The 28-year-old, while still exchanging plenty of brutal rallies with the former World No.1, looked to attack when the opportunity presented itself.

For the most part, this strategy delivered, with Makin taking a 2-1 lead after 11-6 and 11-8 wins, either side of an 11-7 Paul Coll win in game two.

In a nerve-shredding fourth game, Makin had three match balls at 10-7.

A combination of errors from the Welshman and dogged defending from Coll saw the Kiwi force a tie-break, however.

Despite the errors, Makin continued to balance brutal rallying with attacking initiative and, eventually, was able to break down Coll’s defences as he claimed a 14-12 victory to reach the third round.

Afterwards, the Welshman said “I’m still trying to be attacking. I clipped the top of the tin twice with what I felt was the right shot. I’ve done hours and hours and hours of hitting and you’ve got to commit to it and believe you’re going to hit winners from those positions.

“If it’s on my racket then I’ve got to take it on at this point in my career.”

Earlier on the glass court, defending champion Mohamed ElShorbagy avoided a similar fate to Coll as he came from behind to beat England teammate Charlie Lee.

The former World No.1 struggled in the opening game as Lee, who sensationally dispatched Gregoire Marche yesterday to reach a maiden Platinum second round, powered ahead with an 11-9 win in game one.

ElShorbagy, who lacked his usual explosiveness in the opener, began to feel his way into the match in game two, punishing errors from the World No.43 as he levelled with an 11-9 win of his own.

‘The Beast’ continued to press in the second, edging into the lead with another 11-9 win, before dominating Lee in the fourth with an 11-3 win to clinch the match.

Afterwards, ElShorbagy said: “The first match is always very tricky, especially on this court. Last year I had a tricky first match as well and it always gets better the more you play on this court.

“He’s one of my teammates now and went to Europeans together and had some really good moments together… we get along very well but on court it’s a war!”

Joining Makin and ElShorbagy in the third round will be last year’s finalist Victor Crouin, who came from behind to beat Patrick Rooney; World No.1 Ali Farag, who overcame Egyptian compatriot Mohamed Abouelghar; Mohamed ElSherbini, who dominated against Rory Stewart; and Fares Dessouky, who won an all-Egyptian affair against Karim El Hammamy.

Round three of the women’s event also began with an all-England encounter as England No.1 Georgina Kennedy beat Sarah-Jane Perry in straight games.

In a one-sided affair, Kennedy never looked like letting the lead slip with Perry, who appeared to be struggling with injury, unable to counter Kennedy’s relentless pace as the 26-year-old booked her spot in the quarter-final in 21 minutes.

In the second women’s round three match, Egyptian No.3 seed Hania El Hammamy was given a testing time by Malaysia’s World No.43 Sivasangari Subramaniam.

Subramaniam, who yesterday shocked World No.14 Olivia Clyne 3-0, was second best early on as El Hammamy quickly built a 6-1 lead.

The Malaysian, however, fought back well and, after saving a game ball, earned a game ball opportunity of her own at 11-10.

The Egyptian, though, clung on, clinching the game 13-11 before completing the victory with a pair of 11-6 wins.

El Hammamy will take on Kennedy in the quarter-final on September 13th.

Results: QTerminals Qatar Classic Women’s RD3 – Afternoon Session

[8] Georgina Kennedy (ENG) bt Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) 3-0: 11-7, 11-2, 11-5 (21m)
[3] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) bt Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS) 3-0: 13-11, 11-6, 11-6 (39m)

Results: QTerminals Qatar Classic Men’s RD2 – Afternoon Session

[1] Ali Farag (EGY) bt Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY) 3-0: 11-1, 11-5, 13-11 (36m)
[3] Mohamed ElShorbagy (ENG) bt Charlie Lee (ENG) 3-1: 9-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-3 (50m)
Mohamed ElSherbini (EGY) bt Rory Stewart (SCO) 3-0: 11-2, 11-6, 11-3 (26m)
[7] Victor Crouin (FRA) bt Patrick Rooney (ENG) 3-1: 6-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-9 (61m)
Fares Dessouky (EGY) bt Karim El Hammamy (EGY) 3-2: 7-11, 11-1, 11-7, 8-11, 11-4 (64m)
[1] Ali Farag (EGY) bt Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY) 3-0: 11-1, 11-5, 13-11 (36m)
Joel Makin (WAL) bt [4] Paul Coll (NZL) 3-1: 11-6, 7-11, 11-8, 14-12 (93m)

The evening session of the Qatar Classic is underway now. Watch live on SQUASHTV or follow the live scores here.

For more information on the QTerminals Qatar Classic, visit the PSA website or follow the PSA on X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube to go behind the scenes in Doha.