Dubai: The top two seeds kept up to their billing and led two players from Pakistan into the semi-finals of the inaugural Dubai Squash Cup 2014 being held at the Nad Al Sheba Sports Complex.
Top seed Abdul Karim Jawad of Egypt was at his best ousting fellow countryman and seventh seed Zahed Mohammad 3-1, while second seed Chris Simpson of England eased his way past Paul Coll of New Zealand 3-1.
In the other two quarter-finals, Nasir Iqbal upset third seed Mohammad Abouelghar of Egypt 3-1, while Aamir Atlas Khan cemented his place in the last four stages with a swift 3-0 win over a higher-ranked Mohammad Ashraf Azan of Malaysia.
It seemed Jawad was in for yet another five-setter in the all-Egyptian quarter-final against Zahed Mohammad as the seventh seed took the first game off a lovely cross kill that Jawad fell just short of returning.
But the top seed from Egypt – winner of the 2013 PSA Young Player of the Year Award – was simply too good for his countryman as he took the next three games 11-7, 12-10 and 11-8 to move into the semi-finals.
“I had to prepare myself very well before and keep myself calm and concentrated on the match,” Jawad said.
“He [Mohammad] is very talented and very strong mentally, also physically. I had to do my best, and today my best was enough to see me through,” he added.
The semi-finals are billed to be a showdown of speed and precision between the four best players from three different countries. This is the first time that a fully-professional squash tournament is being organised in the UAE after a long gap.
“We are very pleased with the way the tournament is going and the squash fraternity has been more than pleased to witness such high-level matches here,” event promoter Aroop Mishra noted.
The inaugural version of the Dubai Squash Cup 2014 has attracted 32 players from eleven countries in the main draw. The competition is powered by A2Squash with support from the UAE Squash Association. Matches are free and open to the public at the NAS Sports Complex.
