Makin, Asal post wins to reach quarters in Doha

Welshman Joel Makin continued his impressive run at the QTerminals Qatar Classic, defeating Frenchman Auguste Dussourd in the second round.
Makin, who reached the semi-finals here last season, had earlier stunned No. 2 seed Paul Coll in the opening round. He carried that momentum into his match against Dussourd on Wednesday, winning 11-5, 11-6, 11-4 to book his place in the quarter-finals.
“It’s so important to pin someone behind you because the court opens up massively,” Makin said on Wednesday after the match.
“Credit to him, it’s easy to come out against a higher-ranked player and do the same you did in the first game, but he stepped up, put the ball in short and made it more difficult for me. I’m happy with how I dealt with it.
“The best players can adapt, it’s all mental. You have to be the best on the day, I’m happy to win it 3-0, but I’ve won 3-2 plenty of times and you just have to get on with it.
“I’ve got a good record against Fares, but he is explosive and can beat plenty of good people. His racket work is as good as anyone. It’s all upstairs for him, if he can pull his mentality together then he’s a hard man to beat, but my job is to not let him get to that place.”
Also on Wednesday, World No 2 Mostafa Asal made it 12 wins in a row on the PSA Squash Tour after he defeated World Junior Champion Mohamad Zakaria in the penultimate men’s match of the day. Asal won 11-6, 11-7, 11-3 (49m).
Asal has been in red-hot form in the opening stages of the 2024-25 season, winning both the CIB Egyptian Open and Paris Squash. Zakaria has also enjoyed a good start to the campaign, winning his biggest title at the NASH Cup last month.
Zakaria, the third youngest man to reach the top 50 of the PSA World Rankings, continued to make life difficult for Asal in the third, who had to work hard to get the ball past the 17-year-old as traffic issues began to creep in.
“I’m very impressed with him and I’m so happy that Egypt are going to dominate again,” Asal said on Wednesday.
“Seeing a talent like Zakaria is great. He is pushing himself and taking the juniors with him as well. My brother is competing against him and he’s having a tough challenge. I’m surprised by how mature he is, he’s still 17 years old and he reminds me of myself.

Weaver of the US shines in women’s draw
United States’ No 1 Olivia Weaver scored a 3-0 win over World No 15 Fayrouz Aboelkheir to reach the quarter-finals of the Qatar Classic for the first time. Weaver won 11-5, 11-0, 14-12 (31m).
“You never know what’s going to happen on a squash court,” said Weaver. “You have to prepare for everything, but I knew the game plan I wanted to execute. She’s coming off an amazing week in Paris and she is extremely talented. I felt confident that I could take away some of her weapons and I’m pleased to get through that in three.”
Belgium’s World No 5 Nele Coll earned her spot in the quarter-finals after a routine win over Wales’ Emily Whitlock. Coll won 11-4, 11-3, 11-6. In other matches on Wednesday, 17-year-old Amina Orfi reached the quarter-finals for the first time after beating England’s World No.20 Lucy Turmel 11-4, 11-4, 14-12 while World No.2 Nouran Gohar made it five wins in a row against fellow Egyptian Nada Abbas to earn her place in the last eight. Gohar won 11-6, 11-6, 11-7 win after 35 minutes.