Gawad Lifts Qatar Classic Title to Claim Maiden World Series Crown by Sean Reuthe
photos squashpics.com
November 18, 2016
- World Champion Karim Abdel Gawad’s stunning 2016/17 season continues
to go from strength-to-strength after the he put in a superb
performance to defeat World No.1 Mohamed ElShorbagy in the final of the
2016 Qatar Classic held at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash
Complex in Doha - lifting his first World Series title in the process.
The 25-year-old from Egypt has been the man in form over the past few
months and triumphed at the PSA Men’s World Championship just a
fortnight ago in Cairo to lift the sport’s biggest prize - beating
ElShorbagy in the semi-final, before moving on to overcome Ramy Ashour
in the showpiece finale.
ElShorbagy went into the match having won this tournament the last two
times it was held in 2013 and 2015, but it was Gawad who played with
composure and accuracy to come out on top in tie-breaks in the opening
two games to go 2-0 up.
ElShorbagy tried to halt his compatriot’s momentum in the third, but
Gawad - playing with the skill and effortless brilliance that has
become par for the course from the World No.3 this season - held firm
to take it 12-10, 15-13, 11-7 to seal the title.
Gawad’s victory also ensures that he will overtake ElShorbagy at the
summit of the 2016/17 PSA Road to Dubai Standings - where only the top
eight players will qualify for a place at the season-ending Dubai PSA
World Series Finals - after taking the maximum points on offer in Qatar.
"I’m very happy with the way I performed today," said Gawad.
"For the first time, I was under pressure. When you are a World
Champion, people expect you to win and expect that you have a big
chance to win. That is a new element I had to integrate into my
preparation.
"Being World Champion and Qatar Champion sounds good, really good. I’m
living the dream. But next season, I’m aware that I’ll have to make
sure I’m very consistent if I want to stay in competition with the top
boys."
ElShorbagy was effusive in his praise of his opponent, saying: "Karim
deserves to be the champion, he’s played so well in this first part of
the season. It was a great match, and the best player on the day won.
"I need to thank my team for the support they are giving me day in, day out. I couldn’t do it without them."
