Dubai:
Top seed Karim Adel Jawad from Egypt and UAE-based Khawaja Adil Maqbool pulled off exciting wins on the opening day of the main draw for the inaugural Dubai Squash Cup 2014 on Sunday.
Jawad came through a tough five-set match against Farhan Zaman of Pakistan, while Maqbool got the better of New Zealand qualifier Lance Beddoes 3-1.
The top seed and world number 17 from Egypt was in early trouble after losing the first two games. But the 23-year-old from Cairo fought back to take the third and fourth games 11-7 and 11-0 to push for a deciding fifth game. Zaman matched the tournament’s top seed till Jawad broke free at 9-8 and two lovely shots gave him victory 11-8.
“I knew how good he [Zaman] is. I was expecting a very tough match,” Jawad said.
“I’m a bit lucky. I was down 2-0 and managed to win in five. I’m just looking forward for my next matches,” he added.
In the other top match, Maqbool struggled against the qualifier from New Zealand as he went down 9-11 in the first. But he came back in an evenly-paced second game while winning in extra points 14-12 with a lovely drop.
Maqbool was then his steady self while taking the third 11-8 and then wrapped things up in the fourth 12-10 in 43 minutes.
There were at least three upsets on the day with Egyptian qualifier Ahmad Effat Ashoush, Paul Coll of New Zealand and South African Christo Potgieter all advancing at the cost of higher-ranked opponents.
Ashoush upset England’s Alex Ingham in a five-setter, Coll secured a hard-fought win over Qatar’s Abdullah Mohammad Al Tamimi and Potgieter sent Englishman Robert Downer packing to secure their places in the next rounds.
The Dubai Squash Cup is the UAE’s first professional squash tournament in a long time and has attracted 32 players from eleven countries in the main draw. The event is powered by A2 Squash with support from the UAE Squash Association, Nad Al Sheba Sports Complex and Dubai Police Officers Club.
