The 2016 squash season has begun on a good note for Qatar’s Abdulla Mohamed al-Tamimi.
The World No 61 broke his title duck at the Life Time Atlanta Open in the US earlier this month with a dramatic 3-2 victory over American Chris Hanson.
Yesterday, he won his second title of the month when he beat Egypt’s Karim Ali Fathi in a close five-setter in the final of the Qatar Circuit III, a PSA M15 tournament, at the Khalifa Tennis and Squash Complex here.
It was a creditable victory for Qatar’s number one player, for Fathi is ranked 18 places above al-Tamimi in world rankings and came here fresh from reaching the semi-final stage of the Qualico Manitoba Open a week ago, adding to the runner-up finish he achieved at the Oregon Open in his first tournament of 2016.
But despite his tendency to reach the latter stages of the events he participated in, the 22-year-old Egyptian has been enduring a barren spell as far as silverware is concerned, with his last title success coming in August 2014.
The trend continued yesterday on the glass court of the Khalifa complex. The top seed took the first game 11-5 in no time, with the al-Tamimi finding his frantic pace and accurate rallies tough to handle. The Qatari fought back in the next, taking the next game 11-4 to draw level. It was advantage Fathi again as he took the third 11-7 to go up 2-1.
It was al-Tamimi all the way thereafter, as he took the next two games 11-6, 11-9, in both games fighting his way back admirably after trailing in the early stages.
It was the Qatari’s first tournament win on home soil, who turned professional in 2011. He climbed into the world’s top 70 in November 2014 thanks to some consistent performances before reaching his first PSA World Tour final three months later at the Guilfoyle Financial PSA Classic where he lost out to Declan James.
The Qatari reached two further finals throughout the year at both the Nash Cup and the Any Presence Open but narrowly missed out on both titles.
Result (Final)
3-Abdulla Mohamed al-Tamimi (Qatar) beat 1-Karim Ali Fathi (Egypt) 3-2 (5-11, 11-4, 7-11, 11-6, 11-9)