Bryant Downs Zakaria in Titanic Battle To Reach Qatar Classic Quarters

England's world No.20 Jonah Bryant came out on top in a gripping five-game battle with world No.14 Mohamad Zakaria at the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex in Doha to book his spot in the quarter-finals of the QTerminals Qatar Classic for the first time.

Bryant, 20, and 18-year-old Egyptian Zakaria have been touted as future world No.1s by fans and SQUASHTV pundits alike and this match gave a tantalising glimpse into what could be yet to come, with Bryant prevailing after a 109-minute thriller.

The pair had one win each against each other on the PSA Squash Tour, while Zakaria got the better of Bryant in the final of the 2024 British Junior Open last year. However, things went the way of the Englishman in Doha as he completed an 6-11, 16-14, 10-12, 11-9, 11-7 victory to reach his first Platinum-level quarter-final.

"I put a lot of work in, in the background, to be able to perform like this physically," said Bryant afterwards.

"It all seems worthwhile when you then go out and do it on the court for 109 minutes. I started off fairly well, I was controlling a lot of the rallies, there were a few too many errors early on, but then I settled. I saw he was dropping off physically, so I stepped up and started attacking more. He's as tough as they come, so I was pleased with the result.

"He shot himself in the foot, they [referees] are hot on players taking their space, they can slow it down and review it. A lot of the shots he hit would have been winners, if he let me go through it would have been harder for me to win rallies. He gave me free points, it's up to him if he wants to keep doing it, it might work for him, but today it worked against him."

Bryant's quarter-final opponent will be local favourite and Qatari No.1 Abdulla Mohd Al-Tamimi after he came back from a game down to defeat France's world No.26 Sebastien Bonmalais. Al-Tamimi will compete in the last eight at this tournament for the first time since 2022, while a win for either player will see them secure maiden spots in the semi-finals of a Platinum event.

"I'm feeling amazing, it's been a good season and I always enjoy playing here at home," said Al-Tamimi.

"Nobody gives up and everyone is fighting to win the match, there are a lot of opportunities with a lot of the seeds being out and you can see the fight in people's eyes. I knew I had the edge, but he surprised me with his movement today.

"It's been a long time since I've reached the quarter-finals here. I'm looking forward to playing Jonah again after losing 3/0 to him in Egypt [earlier this month]. I wasn't happy about that, but hopefully we give a good show for the crowd."

World No.3 Paul Coll and Egypt's world No.23 Mohamed Abouelghar will face off in the other quarter-final match on the bottom half of the men's draw following respective wins over Switzerland's Dimitri Steinmann and Spain's Iker Pajares.

France's Melissa Alves has reached her first Platinum quarter-final since the 2021 US Open after going through at the expense of Malaysia's Aira Azman, who was forced to retire due to a concussion.

Azman was looking to join compatriots Sivasangari Subramaniam and sister Aira in the next round but fell and hit her head on the floor while chasing a ball into the back of the court when 2/1 ahead. Azman was unable to continue the match after failing the Sport Concussion Assessment Test, meaning Alves goes on to face defending champion Nour ElSherbini next.

ElSherbini overcame a one-game deficit to beat top seed Nour Heikal 8-11, 11-3, 11-3, 11-7 to reach the quarter-finals for the fifth successive time.

"I've known her since she first picked up a racket," said ElSherbini.

"It's hard to see that these young players are now competing against me at a Platinum event, it's scary and makes me feel a bit old. I'm happy to see these players coming up from Egypt. I'm happy to win today, playing her for the first time is difficult and she was shooting in everything in the first game. After that, I played well, I was moving well and I hit my targets. We're getting to the serious part now."

Belgium's Tinne Gilis and Egypt's Farida Mohamed will also compete for a place in the last four. Gilis beat Fayrouz Aboelkheir 3/2, while Mohamed dispatched Mariam Metwally in four games.

"It was all mental, I had to trust my game plan," said Gilis.

"I had Nele [Gilis's sister] to remind me of it in between games, especially when I went 2/1 down. It's hard to come back, but we've gone through this so many times, so it's nothing new. I'm very relieved."