Doha: Home hero Abdulla Al Tamimi delighted the fans with a thrilling win over Englishman Adrian Waller as four-time champion Mohamed ElShorbagy suffered a shock exit on the opening day of the Q-Terminals Qatar Classic, yesterday.

At the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex, Al Tamimi, currently ranked 20th in the world, overcame Waller 3-1: 11-9, 11-13, 11-2, 12-10 in a tough 54-minute battle to book a high-profile second-round clash against Egyptian superstar Karim Abdel Gawad.

“Adrian is a really good player and he’s very tall. I was very happy with the way I played some of the matches, there is still a lot more to come for the next round though. In both previous tournaments, I lost 3-2, so it’s good to get my first win of the season,” a delighted Al Tamimi said after his win.

Among the fans who watched the Qatari No.1 in action were high jump superstar Mutaz Barshim and a host of officials from Qatar Tennis, Badminton and Squash Federation, and several other sports federations. 

“I’m really happy everyone came to watch me today,” said Al Tamimi.   

“I’m always confident against anybody, to be honest, especially with the crowd and my family here. My father is my biggest supporter and he is always here watching,” the 29-year-old added.

His next opponent Gawad, a former world champion and the winner of the 2016 Qatar Classic, secured an easy 3-0 (12-10, 11-9, 11-7) win over Frenchman Baptiste Masotti to advance following a 26-minute affair.

However, ElShorbagy, who has the honour of winning the most Qatar Classic titles (2013, 2015, 2017, and 2022), didn’t have that luxury.

The World No.8, who now plays for England, was beaten by Fares Dessouky 3-2: 11-7, 11-3, 7-11, 10-12, 12-10 after the Egyptian managed to win a tense tie-break to book his spot in the last 16. Dessouky will take on Switzerland’s Dimitri Steinmann, who beat Englishman Patrick Rooney 3-0 (11-9, 11-4, 11-8) next.

ElShorbagy’s brother, Marwan, also didn’t make it past the opening round when the World No.10 lost to former world champion Tarek Momen.

Momen, who lifted the Doha crown in 2019, won 3-2 (12-10, 6-11, 5-11, 11-5, 11-9) in just under an hour to book a Round of 16 meeting with Frenchman Sebastien Bonmalais who beat Qatari wildcard Salem Al Malki 3-0 (11-5, 11-3, 11-4).

Meanwhile, Welshman Joel Makin also caused an upset yesterday when he shocked No.2 seed Paul Coll, defeating the New Zealander in straight sets (11-8, 11-4, 11-4).

Men’s defending champion Ali Farag also advanced following a straight-set win (11-7, 11-5, 11-7) over fellow Egyptian Youssef Ibrahim. 

On the women’s side, England’s Lucy Turmel caused a huge upset after a thrilling 3:2 (8-11, 2-11, 14-12, 11-7, 12-10) triumph over No.8 seed Rowan Elaraby.

Turmel will play Egypt’s Amina Orfi – who yesterday made history by becoming the second youngest female player to reach the top 10 – in the next round. Orfi defeated Farida Mohamed 3-2 (13-15, 10-12, 11-5, 11-6, 11-9).

World No.2 Nouran Gohar also secured a 3-0 win, overcoming England’s Lucy Beecroft to book a meeting with Egyptian Nada Abbas for the third tournament in a row after beating her in both the CIB Egyptian Open and Paris Squash.