Matthew advances as Shabana is stunned

England’s world number one Nick Matthew and defending champion Karim Darwish from Egypt strolled into the second round of the 11th Qatar Classic Squash Championship but former champion Amr Shabana became the first big name casualty on day one yesterday. Having reached the finals of all five PSA World Series events this year, Matthew maintained his good run of form at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex with a straight forward win over Pakistan’s Aamir Atlas Khan.Khan showed a lot of early aggression to make a close affair in the opening game, but Matthew remained calm and took a firm grip over the match as he progressed through with a score of 11-9, 11-4, 11-4. In the second round, the Englishman will meet Egypt’s Tarek Momen, who defeated compatriot Omar Adelaziz 15-13, 11-8, 11-5.Darwish, aiming for a record third title here, appeared sharp as ever as he breezed past Malaysian qualifier Kamran Khan 11-2, 11-2, 11-2 in a match that barely lasted 20 minutes.The world number three will now meet Finland’s Henrik Mustonen for a place in the last eight. Mustonen did not have to sweat much as his opposition, fellow Finn Olli Tuominen pulled out  due to injury.But it was Switzerland’s Nicolas Mueller, who caused a major stir yesterday knocking out the fifth seed Shabana. The Egyptian, one of the favourites here after his triumph at the US Open just a few days ago, was expected to win the match comfortably.Mueller, beaten by Shabana 14-12, 11-9, 11-7 at the same stage last year, was well prepared this time around as the 22-year-old turned the tables dismissing the challenge of the 2007 champion 11-6, 11-7, 11-4.“It’s was probably the best match I played in my life,” said an elated Mueller. He felt Shabana was not at his best on the day, but insisted he had also improved his game.“I’ve worked on my fitness since that loss last year. I did a lot of strength training and I am hitting the ball harder now.”Qatar’s only hope in the tournament came to an early end yesterday as Abdulla al-Tamimi lost in straight games to Malaysian opponent Azlan Iskander. Al-Tamimi, who entered the court to a loud cheer from the home crowd, showed a lot of promise in the opening game before Iskander closed it at 11-9. But the Qatari ran out of steam going into the second while the Malaysian picked up his game to take the following games with identical scores of 11-4 to set up a meeting with Mueller in the second round.Women’s world number one Nicol David will start her defence of the title today with a match against Line Hansen of Denmark.Results:Men’s main draw first round: Nicolas Mueller (SUI) bt Amr Shabana (EGY) 11-6, 11-7, 11-4; Tarek Momen (EGY) bt Omar Abdel Aziz (EGY) 15-13, 11-8, 11-5; Henrik Mustonen (FIN) bt Olli Tuominen (FIN)  4-0 ret;  Karim Darwish (EGY) bt Kamran Khan (MAS) 11-2, 11-2, 11-2; Nick Matthew (ENG) bt Aamir Atlas Khan (PAK) 11-9, 11-4, 11-4; Azlan Iskandar (MAS) bt Abdulla al-Tamimi (QAT) 11-9, 11-4, 11-4Women’s qualifying finals: Emily Whitlock (ENG) bt Salma Hany (EGY) 11-7, 7-11, 11-4, 11-5; Farah Abdel Meguid (EGY) bt Siyoli Waters (RSA) 8-11, 11-5, 11-6, 11-2; Tania Bailey (ENG) bt Milou Van Der Heijden (NED) 11-6, 11-3, 9-11, 11-8; Tenille Van Der Merwe (RSA) bt Kylie Lindsay (NZL) 11-5, 11-5, 11-6; Olga Ertlova (CZE) v Siti Munirah Juson (MAS); Sina Wall (GER) v Lauren Selby (ENG); Yathreb Adel (EGY) v Misaki Kobayashi (JPN); Orla Noom (NED) v Merhan Amr Mahmoud (EGY)