Day One : Brownell stuns two-time champion Elias
U.S. #1 Timmy Brownell claimed the biggest win of his career after beating two-time Qatar Classic champion Diego Elias with a stunning comeback from two games down on the opening day of the Platinum-level event in Doha with all 64 players in Round One action.
“I wasn’t doing that much wrong in the first couple of games,” Brownell said. “Just because I was 8-1 down in the second, it doesn’t mean I was playing terribly. I knew the gap wasn’t that big between us. In between games, I knew it was just a few small things. My mum told me I was in there. Some people think the gap between the top and the bottom players is bigger than it is. Maybe at the very top it is, but the margins are thin. I’m so happy to show that with today’s win.”
That was the only seeding upset of the day, although there were five-game wins for Yannick Wilhelmi, Baptiste Masotti and Kareem El Torkey, and disappointment for the home crowd as Abdulla Al-Tamimi fell in four games to former champion Karim Abdel Gawad.
In the women’s draw former World #1 Nouran Gohar marked her competitive return following the birth of her first child with a commanding three-game win over Kenzy Ayman.
“As much as I was excited and happy and smiling, I could feel the nerves from 0-0, said Gohar. “After the first game I started to settle down a bit and feel more confident. In order for me to get to where I want to be to reach my goals, I need to get through these matches. The main goal is always to get back to World #1.”
Top seeds Hania ElHammamy and Amina Orfi – who could both finish the event as World #1 – eased through, while Lucy Turmel, Malak Khagafy and Nardine Garas all advanced in five games.
Action is now exclusively on the Glass Court, with Round Two beginning on Sunday.
Preview : The first Platinum event of the new season kicks off in Doha …
Defending champions Paul Coll and Hania El Hammamy are among the favourites to capture the titles in Doha, with El Hammamy top seed and Coll second seed. Men’s top seed Mostafa Asal is slated to meet Diego Elias in the semi-finals, while in the women’s draw second seed Amina Orfi has a chance to become the youngest ever World #1 if results go her way and Nouran Gohar returns to action.
You can watch live on SquashTV, follow on Live Scoring, and we’ll have results and daily roundups right here.
