Qatar’s No 1 squash star Abdulla al-Tamimi won his third consecutive title on home soil, beating Colombia’s Juan Camilo Vargas to claim the QSF 5 crown yesterday.
Al-Tamimi had won the 30k QSF 3 and the Bronze-level QSF 4 events already this season, and went into this final looking to add another 30k prize to his collection, with No 4 seed Vargas standing in his way.
The pair had never met before on the PSA Tour, but it was the No 1 seed who made the stronger start, racing into an 8-1 lead inside five minutes of game one. He closed out the game 11-5 soon thereafter, but game two was a different affair.
The players went toe-to-toe for the entire game, never separated by more than two points, but once again it was al-Tamimi who came out on top, saving two games balls at 10-8 down before winning the tie break 12-10.
At 8-7 up in the third and silverware within reach, al-Tamimi would have been sensing a straight-games victory to get his hands on the trophy, but Vargas had other ideas. He won the next four points to take game three and keep his title hopes alive, but the home crowd would not have to wait too much longer to see their al-Tamimi secure glory.
He was once again 11-8 up in game four, but this time found a way to get over the line, winning four of the next five points to clinch victory. Not only has al-Tamimi now won three consecutive events at the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex, but he’s also now tallied 10 PSA Tour titles in his career.