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QSF No.3

LATEST

$20,000 Men's QSF No.3 2022, Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex, Doha, Qatar, PSA Challenger Tour 20

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QSF No.3
Men's Draw
20 - 24 May
Doha, Qatar, $20k

ROUND TWO
20 MAY
QUARTERS
21 MAY
SEMIS
 22 MAY
FINAL
24 MAY

[1] Karim El Hammamy (EGY)
11-8, 11-9, 6-11, 11-2 (53m)
[9/16] Addeen Idrakie (MAS)

Karim El Hammamy
6-11, 11-3, 12-10, 11-3 (58m)
Leandro Romiglio
Leandro Romiglio
11-8, 14-12, 11-6 (39m)
Abdulla Al-Tamimi

Abdulla Al-Tamimi
11-2, 11-6, 11-9 (28m)
 Leonel Cardenas
 
Leandro Romiglio (ARG)
11-4, 11-3, 9-11, 11-5 (49m)
[5] Muhammad Asim Khan (PAK)
[9/16] Emyr Evans (WAL)
11-8, 11-8, 11-8 (38m)
[8] Mohd Syafiq Kamal (MAS)
Emyr Evans
11-8, 11-8, 7-11, 11-9 (44m)
Abdulla Al-Tamimi
[3] Abdulla Al-Tamimi (QAT)
6-11, 12-10, 9-11, 11-5, 11-5 (64m)
[9/16] Charlie Lee (ENG)
[4] Yahya Elnawasany (EGY)
8-11, 11-5, 13-11, 12-10 (38m)
Noor Zaman (PAK)
Yahya Elnawasany
14-12, 12-10, 11-4 (42m)
Mazen Gamal
Yahya Elnawasany
11-5, 14-12, 11-6 (38m)
 Leonel Cardenas
[6] Mazen Gamal (EGY)
11-6, 11-9, 11-6 (42m)
Miles Jenkins (ENG)
[7] Rui Soares (POR)
11-8, 7-11, 11-6, 11-3 (39m)
Ammar Altamimi (KUW)
Rui Soares
11-8, 11-7, 11-7 (36m)
 Leonel Cardenas
[9/16] Balázs Farkas (HUN)
13-11, 9-11, 11-6, 11-7 (70m)
[2] Leonel Cardenas (MEX)

ROUND ONE

[1] Karim El Hammamy (EGY) bye
[9/16] Addeen Idrakie (MAS) bt [WC] Ahmad Mohammad Altamimi (QAT) 11-8, 11-7, 11-6 (21m)
Leandro Romiglio (ARG) bt [9/16] Darren Pragasam (MAS) 6-11, 10-12, 11-3, 11-8, 11-5 (57m)
[5] Muhammad Asim Khan (PAK) bye
[8] Mohd Syafiq Kamal (MAS) bye
[9/16] Emyr Evans (WAL) bt [WC] Waleed Zaman (QAT) 11-3, 11-4, 11-2 (18m)
[9/16] Charlie Lee (ENG) bt Khaled Labib (EGY) 11-3, 12-10, 11-4 (28m)
[3] Abdulla Al-Tamimi (QAT) bye
[4] Yahya Elnawasany (EGY) bye
Noor Zaman (PAK) bt [9/16] Syed Azlan Amjad (QAT) 12-10, 11-4, 11-5 (25m)
Miles Jenkins (ENG) bt [9/16] Robert Downer (ENG) 11-8, 11-2, 11-2 (24m)
[6] Mazen Gamal (EGY) bye
[7] Rui Soares (POR) bye
Ammar Altamimi (KUW) bt [9/16] Juan Camilo Vargas (COL) 13-11, 5-11, 11-7, 6-11, 11-6 (32m)
[9/16] Balázs Farkas (HUN) bt Alireza Shameli (IRI) 11-7, 11-5, 11-8 (55m)
[2] Leonel Cardenas (MEX) bye

REPORTS

Al Tamimi Takes Victory On Home Soil



World No.48 Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi secured his second title of the 2021-2022 season with a win on home soil at the QSF 3, as he beat Mexico’s Leonel Cardenas in the final at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha, Qatar.

The Qatari No.1 has struggled with injuries this season, seeing his ranking drop out of the world’s top 50 at one point, but following a win at the Life Time Atlanta Open, and making it to the second round of the CIB PSA World Championships Cairo, he came back to his home nation in some good form.

Al Tamimi came into the tournament as the No.3 seed, and after receiving a bye through to the second round, he came up against England’s Charlie Lee. The Qatari found himself 2-1 down, but fought back to win in five, winning both of the last two games 11-5, to advance through to the quarter finals of the competition.

In the last eight, the World No.48 overcame Emyr Evans in four games, winning the first two games, before having to regroup after the Welshman took the third. He then got the better of Argentina’s Leandro Romiglio, who had downed three seeded players en route to the last four, in straight games.

Al Tamimi then took on Leonel Cardenas, the World No.37, in the final, and the Qatari was in complete control throughout the match. Playing in front of his home crowd, he won the first two games comfortably. Although the Mexican tried to fight back, it was Al Tamimi that took the victory, to claim his second title this season, and first in from of his adoring home crowd since 2017.
 
Romiglio And Evans Cause Second Round Upsets

Argentina’s Leandro Romiglio continued his impressive run going at the QSF 3 in Doha, Qatar, as he downed a higher-seeded player for the second day in succession, with Welshman Emyr Evans also taking out a seed to reach the last eight of the competition.

The Challenger 20 level tournament, which is being held at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in the Qatari capital, saw the seeded players come into the draw on Saturday, but two of those fell by the wayside in their opening match of the event.

Argentina’s Leandro Romiglio put pay to one of those, just 24 hours after having already exceeding his seeding expectation. He got the better of No.5 sed Muhammad Asim Khan in the second round, winning in four games. The Argentinian, who featured at the PSA World Championships after winning the Val de Reuil Normandie earlier this year, won the first two games comfortably, and after losing the third, he regrouped to win the fourth and claim the match. He will now face top seed Karim El Hammamy in the quarter finals.

The other man to cause a seeding upset on the second day of the competition was Welshman Emyr Evans, who overcame No.8 seed Mohammad Syafiq Kamal in straight games. It was not easy for the World No.97, who took each game by a score line of 11-8, to book his spot in the last eight, where he will play home favourite, and No.3 seed, Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi.

Al Tamimi had to fight to make his way into the quarter finals on home soil at the Khalifa International Complex, coming from behind twice in his match-up with England’s Charlie Lee. The Qatari No.1 lost both the first and third games of the match, but fought back to level on both occasions, before going on to win the fifth game 11-5 to advance to the last eight.

In the bottom half of the draw, all the seeded players were victorious, with Egypt’s Mazen Gamal and Yahya Elnawasany setting up a quarter final contest. No.2 seed Leonel Cardenas took down Hungary’s Balazs Farkas in the longest match of the day, winning 3-1 in 70 minutes. He will now face Portuguese No.1, and the No.7 seed, Rui Soares in the last eight.

The quarter finals of the QSF 3 will take place on Sunday, May 22 at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex, with the last eight aiming to reach the semis of the Challenger 20 level tournament.
Cardenas Focussing On Maintaining Ranking

The final event of the week on the Challenger Tour this week will be the QSF 3, which will take place from Friday, May 20 to Tuesday, May 24 at the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex in Doha.

The Challenger 20 level tournament will feature a 24-strong field, the majority of which will be inside the top 100 of the World Rankings. Egypt’s Karim El Hammamy will be the top seed for the competition, with Mexico’s Leonel Cardenas and home favourite Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi as the nearest contenders for the crown.

Egypt’s Yahya Elnawasany and Mazen Gamal, along with Pakistani Muhammad Asim Khan, Portuguese No.1 Rui Soares and Malaysia’s Mohammad Syafiq Kamal, make up the rest of the top eight seeds for the tournament.

There will be four Qataris in action in total, with Syed Azlan Amjad and the wildcard duo of Ahmad Mohammad Altamimi and Waleed Zaman will all feature at the Challenger 20 level tournament.

We spoke to Cardenas prior to the tournament getting underway, with the Mexican having just come off the back of a first match-up with World No.2 Ali Farag, along with beating former World No.1 James Willstrop at the Manchester Open last month.

“[It was a] great experience for me, it’s the highest ranked player I have ever played and I think this match will help me learn a lot,” the Mexican explained.

“I take as much experience as possible from this match [against Farag]. The glass court was a bit different for me since it is outdoors and it was very windy but in the end I enjoyed playing there.

“It felt good to give that performance [in Manchester] against a player like James Willstrop. I was training hard and it helped me a lot to arrive well prepared for that match.”

Cardenas currently occupies the World No.37 spot in the rankings, his highest ever position, and although he is happy with where he has got to, he knows that he still has to work hard to maintain that spot in the rankings.

“I am happy with my ranking and I hope to be able to improve it in these last tournaments that I will play this season,” he said.

“It has been difficult for me to arrive at this World Rankings and I know that in order to maintain it and improve it, I must continue to focus and work even more.”
For more information on the event, visit the tournament website or follow the PSA World Tour on Twitter or Facebook, InstagramYouTube, TikTok and SQUASHTV.