Qatar's Al Tamimi advances into quarterfinals of Manchester Open 2021
Qatar's star squash player Abdullah Mohammed Al Tamimi advanced into the quarterfinals of the Manchester Open, PSA World Tour Silver event on Tuesday after dispatching World No.5 seed Miguel Rodriguez of Colombia 3-1 (11-9, 1-11, 11-8, 11-7) following a lengthy 48-minute battle.
In a thoroughly entertaining match of the $85,000 prize money event, Al Tamimi closed out the day's play with the win against top-seeded Colombian in the first PSA meeting between the two.
The first game was a close one, with both players looking sharp and accurate. Eventually, though, Al Tamimi was able to eke out a win, taking the first match 11-9 with a wonderfully crafted drop. In the second, however, the 35-year-old Colombian was rampant. Rallies were short, and Rodriguez dominated, sweeping Al Tamimi aside 11-1.
Al Tamimi recovered well from that chastening second game and had the better of the early stages of the third. Rodriguez, however, soon settled into his rhythm and brought the score to 6-6 after forcing a mistake from Al Tamimi. Though the Qatari was taking many points when dropping at the front, he also lost a number, with his frequent kill shots often tinning.
However, the strategy ultimately proved effective. Al Tamimi was able to keep the score moving and finished the third with a perfectly guided volley into the front, taking the game 11-8. That third-game win seemed to give Al Tamimi a major lift, and the World No.38 started the fourth at a furious pace, roaring into a 7-0 lead.
Former World No.4 Rodriguez refused to succumb easily, though, and impressively fought his way back into the game, reducing the deficit to 8-6. Al Tamimi, however, ultimately had enough to close out the match, and he sealed his place in the quarterfinals with an 11-7 win.
After the match, Al Tamimi was full of praise for his opponent. He said, "Miguel's a really experienced player, one of the fittest guys on tour. I like the way he plays, he likes to open the court and play the angles, which is how I like to play, too, but today I had a game plan to stick to basic squash and try to counter when he opens the court.
"The strategy worked for most of the match. I totally lost concentration in the second game… but I was really happy to get back in the third and fourth."
The Aspire Academy graduate Al Tamimi will play top seed Marwan ElShorbagy next after he defeated wildcard George Parker, while Peru's Diego Elias extinguished English hopes with a 3-1 win against Patrick Rooney. Elias will play Omar Mosaad following the former World Championship runner-up's 3-2 win against Malaysia's Eain Yow Ng, while Welshman Joel Makin and Egypt's Mazen Hesham will go head-to-head in the other men's semi-final.
Qatar's No. 1 player Al Tamimi had defeated Spain's Borja Golan 3-0 (14-12, 11-5, 11-4) in their first-round match on Monday before setting up the clash against Rodriguez - the highest-ranked South American of all-time.
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