Top four seeds all from Egypt in men’s showpiece event
By SEAN REUTHE – Squash Mad Correspondent
The world’s greatest players, led by World No.1 and defending champion Ali Farag, will battle for the most prestigious title on the men’s tour when they compete in the 2019-20 PSA Men’s World Championship in Doha, Qatar, between November 8-15, 2019.
The Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex will feature 64 of the world’s leading male players as they compete for a share of the $335,000 prize fund, with 24 nations represented across the draw. In addition to capturing the trophy and the lion’s share of the prize money, the winner will also qualify for the season-ending PSA World Tour Finals.
Three former World Champions feature in the entry list, including top seed, reigning champion and 2018 Qatar Classic champion Farag, 2017 champion Mohamed ElShorbagy and 2016 winner Karim Abdel Gawad.
They, along with 2018-19 runner-up Tarek Momen, take the first four seeded positions as Egypt continue to dominate on the world stage, but they will be joined by the likes of New Zealand’s Paul Coll, Germany’s Simon Rösner, Peru’s Diego Elias and Colombia’s Miguel Angel Rodriguez, all of whom will be aiming to become the first non-Egyptian winner since Frenchman Gregory Gaultier in 2015.
That year’s runner-up Omar Mosaad, 2010 runner-up James Willstrop and the talented Mohamed Abouelghar, who reached the final of the 2018-19 CIB PSA World Tour Finals on his last PSA appearance, will also take to the court in Doha.
Some 56 of the world’s top 58 players have entered the draw, with the final eight spots comprising four winners of World Championship qualifying events, two World Squash Federation invitees and two wildcards picked by the Qatar Squash Federation.
Three Qatari men will appear in front of their home crowd, including the country’s No.1 player, Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi, and wildcards Syed Azlan Amjad and Hamad Al-Amri.
All matches will be held at the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex, with play split between the glass court and the ‘traditional’ plaster side courts. Fixtures from the glass court will be streamed live on SQUASHTV (rest of world), Eurosport Player (Europe only) and the official Facebook page of the PSA World Tour.
2019-20 PSA Men’s World Championship, Khalifa Tennis and Squash Complex, Doha, Qatar, November 8-15.
Entry List:
1) Ali Farag (EGY)
2) Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY)
3) Tarek Momen (EGY)
4) Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY)
5) Paul Coll (NZL)
6) Simon Rösner (GER)
7) Diego Elias (PER)
8) Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY)
9) Miguel Rodriguez (COL)
10) Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY)
11) Saurav Ghosal (IND)
12) Joel Makin (WAL)
13) Omar Mosaad (EGY)
14) Fares Dessouky (EGY)
15) Zahed Salem (EGY)
16) Gregoire Marche (FRA)
17) Daryl Selby (ENG)
18) James Willstrop (ENG)
19) Ryan Cuskelly (AUS)
20) Declan James (ENG)
21) Mazen Hesham (EGY)
22) Cesar Salazar (MEX)
23) Tom Richards (ENG)
24) Adrian Waller (ENG)
25) Mostafa Asal (EGY)
26) Leo Au (HKG)
27) Mathieu Castagnet (FRA)
28) Nicolas Mueller (SUI)
29) Greg Lobban (SCO)
30) Raphael Kandra (GER)
31) Tsz Fung Yip (HKG)
32) Eain Yow Ng (MAS)
33) Max Lee (HKG)
34) Borja Golan (ESP)
35) Campbell Grayson (NZL)
36) Lucas Serme (FRA)
37) Youssef Soliman (EGY)
38) Iker Pajares Bernabeu (ESP)
39) George Parker (ENG)
40) Arturo Salazar (MEX)
41) Chris Simpson (ENG)
42) Alan Clyne (SCO)
43) Youssef Ibrahim (EGY)
44) Karim Ali Fathi (EGY)
45) Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi (QAT)
46) Ivan Yuen (MAS)
47) Todd Harrity (USA)
48) Ramit Tandon (IND)
49) Richie Fallows (ENG)
50) Mohamed El Sherbini (EGY)
51) Karim El Hammamy (EGY)
52) Mahesh Mangaonkar (IND)
53) Tayyab Aslam (PAK)
54) Ben Coleman (ENG)
55) Nathan Lake (ENG)
56) Edmon Lopez (ESP)
57) Aqeel Rehman (AUT)
58) Ryosei Kobayashi (JPN)
59) Benjamin Aubert (FRA)
60) Auguste Dussourd (FRA)
61) Shawn Delierre (CAN)
62) Kristian Frost (DEN)
Wildcard) Syed Azlan Amjad (QAT)
Wildcard) Hamad Al-Amri (QAT)
Report by SEAN REUTHE (PSA). Edited by ALAN THATCHER.
PSA website: www.psaworldtour.com
Pictures courtesy of PSA