DOHA (Qatar): Defending champion Ali Farag of Egypt will sidestep compatriot Mohamed ElShorbagy as the world’s leading male player on the opening day of 2020 Qatar Classic on November 1.
Farag will achieve this honour courtesy his run to the final at the Egyptian Open last week, where he beat world champion Tarek Momen to win the first Platinum title of 2020-21 season.
But a failure to reach the semifinals in Doha, coupled with title success for ElShorbagy, will see the latter gain the World No.1 spot once again in December.
To get his hands on the coveted trophy for a fourth time, ElShorbagy is seeded to play world junior champion Mostafa Asal in round two, with Asal coming off the back of a first ever Platinum semi at the Egyptian Open.
He is predicted to face 2018 runner-up Simon Rösner in the last eight before a potential semi-final with Karim Abdel Gawad, who beat ElShorbagy to win the 2016 edition.
Meanwhile, Farag must negotiate a draw that could see him line up against 2005 winner James Willstrop in round two, followed by the likes of Englishman Declan James, Peru’s Diego Elias and Momen.
Momen returns to the scene of his World Championship triumph last November. That triumph saw the 32-year-old capture the iconic trophy almost two years after his wife, Raneem El Welily, won the women’s World Championship title – leading them to be recognised by the Guinness World Records as the first married couple to become squash World Champions.
No.4 seed Momen is in line to face the man he beat in that World Championship final – New Zealand’s World No.5 Paul Coll – in a blockbuster quarter-final clash. To get that far though, Momen may have to get the better of World No.9 Joel Makin in round three, while Coll takes on World No.12 Mohamed Abouelghar in the second round.
French veteran and former World No.1 Gregory Gaultier has taken one of the two wildcard spots for the the event. The 37-year-old – who reached the quarter-finals at the Pyramids – will play Spain’s Iker Pajares Bernabeu in round one, where a win would pit him against CIB PSA World Tour Finals winner Marwan ElShorbagy. (With inputs from PSA)
