RESULTS: Qatar Classic, Doha, Qatar
1st qualifying round:
Tom Richards (ENG) bye
Alan Clyne (SCO) bt Amr Khaled Khalifa (EGY) 11-6, 11-8, 11-7 (44m)
Nicolas Mueller (SUI) bt Ammar Al-Tamimi (KUW) 11-4, 11-4, 11-5 (29m)
Yann Perrin (FRA) bt Bradley Hindle (MLT) 7-11, 9-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-9 (78m)
Simon Rosner (GER) bye
Max Lee (HKG) bt Bader Al Hussaini (KUW) 12-10, 11-8, 11-2 (39m)
Stephen Coppinger (RSA) bt Abdulla Mohammed Al-Tamimi (QAT) 11-6, 11-8, 11-6 (29m)
Campbell Grayson (NZL) bt Mansoor Zaman (PAK) 4-11, 11-13, 11-2, 11-8, 11-5 (51m)
Borja Golan (ESP) bt Scott Arnold (AUS) 11-6, 11-3, 11-7 (36m)
Aaron Frankcomb (AUS) bt Saoud Al Sulaiti (QAT) 11-8, 11-5, 11-3 (20m)
Henrik Mustonen (FIN) bt Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) 11-7, 11-8, 9-11, 11-3 (60m)
Andrew Wagih Shoukry (EGY) bt Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) 9-11, 15-13, 8-11, 11-7, 12-10 (98m)
Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) bt Abdul Rahman Al-Malki (QAT) 11-9, 11-8, 11-6 (29m)
Martin Knight (NZL) bt Basem Makram (EGY) 11-3, 11-7, 11-6 (37m)
Julien Balbo (FRA) bt Siddharth Suchde (IND) 6-11, 11-3, 11-4, 11-2 (52m)
Omar Abdel Aziz (EGY) bye
Egypt's Andrew Wagih Shoukry survived a gruelling 98-minute battle in the $147,500 Qatar Classic today (Friday) to claim an unexpected place in the qualifying finals of the ninth PSA Super Series squash event of the year at the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex in Doha.
The 20-year-old from Cairo, ranked 89 in the world, reached almost 50 places above him in the rankings to overcome 23-year-old Australian Ryan Cuskelly 9-11, 15-13, 8-11, 11-7, 12-10 in the day's biggest upset.
Shoukry now lines up against the other surprise name in the qualifying finals line-up: Henrik Mustonen, a 19-year-old from Finland who is ranked a single position above the Egyptian, despatched higher-ranked Frenchman Mathieu Castagnet 11-7, 11-8, 9-11, 11-3 in exactly an hour.
Scotland's Alan Clyne earned a clash with the top-ranked player in the qualifying competition after beating Egypt's new world junior champion Amr Khaled Khalifa 11-6, 11-8, 11-7.
The 24-year-old world No52 from Edinburgh will now face fellow Briton Tom Richards, the world No32 from England who had a first round bye.
The eight qualifying finals matches have a broad international flavour - reflecting representation not only from England, Scotland, Egypt and Finland, but also Switzerland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, South Africa, New Zealand, Spain and Australia.
News reached the organisers on the eve of qualifying that top seed Ramy Ashour has been forced to withdraw from the event. The world number one from Egypt - who won last week's Kuwait Open to open up a 200-point lead at the top of the 2010 PSA Super Series Rankings - has sustained an injury to his right ankle in training.
England's world number two Nick Matthew now assumes the title of top seed, while Kuwait Open runner-up Amr Shabana is elevated to No2 seed.
Qualifying finals line-up:
Tom Richards (ENG) v Alan Clyne (SCO)
Nicolas Mueller (SUI) v Yann Perrin (FRA)
Simon Rosner (GER) v Max Lee (HKG)
Stephen Coppinger (RSA) v Campbell Grayson (NZL)
Aaron Frankcomb (AUS) v Borja Golan (ESP)
Andrew Wagih Shoukry (EGY) v Henrik Mustonen (FIN)
Martin Knight (NZL) v Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY)
Omar Abdel Aziz (EGY) v Julien Balbo (FRA)