Will Weissman
Nour El Sherbini raises her trophy after defeating Nouran Gohar in the Qatar Classic Final on October 5, 2024.
On October 5, Nour El Sherbini and Diego Elías became platinum champions at the Qatar Classic. For Egypt’s El Sherbini, the tournament reinforced her position at World No. 1 after defeating World No. 2 Nouran Gohar. For Peru’s Elías, it meant his first tournament win of the year after defeating World No. 2 Mostafa Asal.
El Sherbini began her championship campaign with first-round and second-round decisive victories over England’s Sarah-Jane Perry and Egypt’s Sana Ibrahim. El Sherbini had her first true challenge in the quarterfinals, dropping the third game against England’s Georgina Kennedy before closing the fourth game 11-5. In the semifinals, she found herself in a threatening 2-1 deficit against Egypt’s Hania El Hammamy but closed out the fourth and fifth games to reach the finals.
Joining her in the championship match, World No. 2 and fellow Egyptian Gohar boasted El Sherbini’s most difficult opponent of the tournament. With both players coming off a five-game battle against each other in the Paris Squash finals, there was high anticipation for another grueling and competitive match. As expected, their first game began with intense back-and-forth powerful hitting. At 9-9, El Sherbini capitalized on a loose shot from Gohar, playing a cross drop into the bottom right corner and earning a game point. However, her opponent immediately bounced back, winning the following three points and stealing the first game. Gohar’s momentum carried into the second game, starting with a promising 6-2 lead, ultimately winning 11-5.
With her back against the wall, El Sherbini began hitting more aggressive shots, utilizing her hidden cross-drop to stretch her opponent across the court. At 6-6 in the third game, her movement picked up as she pounced on each of Gohar’s shots, forcing Gohar to each corner and letting out a massive scream and fistbump after taking the lead. The rally proved fundamental and potentially the turning point in the match, as El Sherbini won the following four points to close the game. El Sherbini’s continued accurate hitting and Gohar’s passiveness in volleying the ball and reliance on high-pace hitting led El Sherbini to an 11-9 victory in the fourth game. As expected, Gohar fought back in the fifth game, drawing the game to 5-5, but El Sherbini’s more patient squash ultimately paid off. She closed out the fifth game 11-6 to claim her first title in Qatar.
“I’m really happy I’ve finally won this title, and I’ve won everything now, so I can relax a bit. I’m definitely happy I’ve won the first three titles of the season,” Nour El Sherbini said after the match.
In the men’s draw, Diego Elías got off to a fantastic start in his journey to the finals, winning his first and second-round matches in three games against Mexico’s Leonel Cárdenas and Germany’s Raphael Kandra. Like El Sherbini, he faced his first true challenge in the quarter-finals, losing the second game to Egypt’s Tarek Momen, before closing the match 11-4, 11-4. Up against the World No. 1 in Egypt’s Ali Farag in the semifinals, the Peruvian pulled off a massive upset in three games to send himself to the finals.
Coming from the opposite side of the draw, Egypt’s Mostafa Asal faced multiple top-ten players to secure a spot with Elías in the championship match. In their first game, Asal came out with an early 7-5 lead, but Elías stuck with him. He varied his shot selection and played aggressive attacking shots in the form of two-wall boasts and counter drops, preventing Asal from gaining any rhythm or momentum. The Peruvian won the crucial first game 12-10 after striking a massive rail down the forehand line. In the second game, Asal shot out to a 9-7 and later a gameball point at 10-9. However, on the next rally, Elías moved rapidly on each of the Egyptian’s shots, warranting multiple dives from Asal and tying the game at 10-10. Elías carried this momentum into the following two rallies to take an unexpected 2-0 lead in the match. Again, the Egyptian fought back in the third game, but the Peruvian displayed his more accurate hitting and fast movement of the ball. After battling back and forth, Elías powered himself to a 14-12 victory, winning a stunning 3-0 match against the World No. 2.
Diego Elías spoke after the match: “I knew it was going to be a really tough match. Mostafa has been playing amazing squash. He’s got to the last six or seven finals, so I had that in my mind.”
Both players will now focus their attention on their next tournament in Philadelphia. Coming off Platinum tournament victories in Qatar, Nour El Sherbini and Diego Elías hope to find the same success at the U.S. Open Championships.
Comments