Gaultier Withdraws from Qatar Classic by Sean Reuthe
photo PSA
November 8, 2016 -
World No.2 Gregory Gaultier has withdrawn from the 2016 Qatar Classic
after he was unable to recover from the ankle injury he sustained
during last week’s PSA Men’s World Championship.
The Frenchman, a 2011 Qatar Classic winner and a runner-up last year in
Doha, picked up the injury during his quarter-final clash with Egypt’s
Tarek Momen in Cairo last week and was forced to withdraw from his
semi-final fixture with World No.10 Ramy Ashour as a result.
His ankle problem is the latest in an injury-hit year for the
33-year-old, who has already spent two months on the sidelines after
damaging ligaments on the same ankle during January’s J.P. Morgan
Tournament of Champions.
World No.4 Omar Mosaad replaces Gaultier as the number two seed and
will play England’s Daryl Selby in round one, while 2009 winner Nick
Matthew moves up to the number four seeded position and will play
tournament wildcard Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi.
Elsewhere, Momen moves up to become the new number eight seed and will
face a qualifier, with Hong Kong’s Leo Au moving into the main draw
where he too will lock horns with a qualifier in the opening round.
Revised Main Draw – 2016 Qatar Classic
[1] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) v Cameron Pilley (AUS)
Leo Au (HKG) v [Qualifier]
James Willstrop (ENG) v Chris Simpson (ENG)
[Qualifier] v [7] Ramy Ashour (EGY)
[8] Tarek Momen (EGY) v [Qualifier]
Gregoire Marche (FRA) v Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY)
Saurav Ghosal (IND) v [Qualifier]
[WC] Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi (QAT) v [4] Nick Matthew (EGY)
[3] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) v [Qualifier]
Tom Richards (ENG) v Zahed Mohamed (EGY)
Max Lee (HKG) v Ryan Cuskelly (AUS)
[Qualifier] v [6] Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY)
[5] Ali Farag (EGY) v [Qualifier]
Cesar Salazar (MEX) v Omar Abdel Meguid (EGY)
Simon Rösner (GER) v [Qualifier]
Daryl Selby (ENG) v [2] Omar Mosaad (EGY)
The qualifying stages of the 2016 Qatar Classic will take place on
November 11-12, while the main draw begins a day later, with the final
taking place on Friday November 18 – entry to the tournament is free of
charge.
