Defending men’s champion from Egypt Ali Farag on Tuesday rallied in fine fashion to beat Youssef Soliman on day two of the QTerminals Qatar Classic on Tuesday. World No 1 Farag had a strong record against Soliman, with only one previous defeat in eight matches. However, Soliman on Tuesday played exceptionally well and won the first game but Farag rallied quickly.
Farag won 6-11, 11-4, 11-8, 11-4. “It takes so many things (to beat Soliman),” said Farag after his win on Tuesday. “It was a really tactical battle.
He’s really smart and when I watched him yesterday in the fifth game he was out of breath but still found a way to win. I watched him against Diego (Elias) in Paris and I think this is the best he is playing in his career so far. “He’s been challenging the top guys for a very long time, but I feel he is getting closer in every match and it was getting a bit nerve-racking.
Thankfully, I had (Karim) Darwish in my corner and he told me to tweak a few things, but it’s credit to Youssef because he didn’t give me the opportunity to play my own game plan.” Reigning women’s champion Hania El Hammamy also advanced in the tournament with a decisive 11-7, 11-5, 11-9 victory over wildcard Salma Eltayeb. The World No 3 dominated the match, consistently applying pressure on her opponent.
Eltayeb struggled to keep up with El Hammamy’s relentless pace, and the second game quickly followed the same pattern. “I’m not that familiar with her game, we’ve played.