Ali Farag wins Qatar Classic

Doha: Egyptian Ali Farag defeated Germany’s World No 5 Simon Rosner in straight games to win the 2018 Qatar Classic.

The 26-year-old from Cairo won 11-9, 11-7, 11-5 in front of predominantly Egyptian crowd at the Khalifa Tennis & Squash Complex for his second PSA World Tour Platinum title victory.

Farag had lost to Rosner at the US Open semifinals last month, but the World No 2 earned his revenge with a near faultless display.

“At the beginning I saw how crowded the venue was and the screams of the crowd were crazy which made me nervous – it took me a little while to calm my nerves down,” said Farag.

“The atmosphere was beyond my imagination. Nothing I’ve played before was like that but mid-way through the first game I managed to settle and get into my game plan.

“I tried to make sure that first game was long and that I wasn’t giving away any cheap points. I was behind and I didn’t think I would win that game, but coming through to win it made a huge psychological difference I think.