At the end of 67 minutes, an in-form Karim Abdel Gawad had swept all three games to claim his maiden World Series crown, beating defending champion and top-ranked Mohamed ElShorbagy 12-10, 15-13, 11-7 in the Qatar Classic final at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex yesterday.
World champion Gawad has only become stronger as the 2016-17 season has progressed, winning the PSA Men’s World Championship two weeks ago in Cairo to lift the sport’s biggest prize. The 25-year-old had beaten ElShorbagy in the semi-final, before registering a win over 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 seal the title.
Gawad’s victory also ensures that he will overtake ElShorbagy at the top 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.
“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 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.”