World No.5 Victor Crouin ended World No.2 Paul Coll\u2019s title defence at the Qatar Classic with a stunning four-game victory at the Platinum-level event in Doha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Frenchman, who was comprehensively beaten by Coll in the London Classic final less than a fortnight ago, avenged that defeat with an inspired performance, coming from a game behind to defeat the No.2 seed by a 4-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-9 scoreline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 2022 Qatar Classic runner-up appeared to be on the receiving end of another imposing Coll performance in the opening game, but raised his intensity and accuracy as the contest progressed, putting the defending champion under increasing pressure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After assuming a 2-1 lead, the 27-year-old maintained his composure in a tight fourth game, clinching two points from 9-9 to close out a memorable victory after 84 minutes of play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After the match, Crouin said: \u201cI\u2019m very proud. Paul has been setting the bar so high at the beginning of the season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI thought I was playing well in the first game, but I knew I had to play better. I\u2019m super proud of myself for sticking at it and going until the very end. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy former Harvard coach always told me you always have to pop the confidence bubble before you have a chance to win, and I think I did that when I won the second \u2013 that gave me a chance to get through and take the win.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Crouin will face 2016 Qatar Classic champion Karim Gawad in tomorrow\u2019s semi-finals, after the World No.4 overcame Egyptian compatriot Youssef Soliman in a brutal three-game duel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first game-and-a-half of Gawad\u2019s victory was vintage, with the 35-year-old dominating the contest with his silky skills and courtcraft. However, Soliman grew into the contest and the pair engaged in a mammoth 46-minute third game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was Gawad, though, who managed to hold his nerve, converting his fourth match ball to seal a hard-fought victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the women\u2019s draw, England\u2019s Jasmine Hutton advanced to her maiden Platinum semi-final on the PSA Squash Tour following a four-game victory over tournament surprise package Rachel Arnold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Arnold entered today\u2019s quarter-final contest on the back of a huge upset win over eight-time World Champion Nour ElSherbini, but the World No.25 couldn\u2019t replicate those heroics in a hit-and-miss display on the all-glass court at the Khalifa International Squash Complex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
World No.12 Hutton delivered a power-packed performance full of accurate attacking play, and aside a third-game drop-off, was thoroughly deserving of the 11-9, 11-6, 7-11, 11-4 victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cRachel\u2019s a great friend, but she\u2019s such a threat to so many players,\u201d Hutton said after the match. \u201cAs you could see there, she\u2019s such a threat to so many players from anywhere on the court. That makes players spot edgy because there\u2019s just no rhythm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a privilege to get this high in the world rankings. It\u2019s a privilege to be playing in an era of squash that\u2019s so incredible, and there are so many amazing athletes right now. One step at a time. If I keep playing like this, then everything will take care of itself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hutton\u2019s opponent in the semi-finals will be World No.2 Amina Orfi, who battled past former junior rival Fayrouz Aboelkheir in a hard-fought three-game duel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite the straight-games scoreline, the match was fiercely contested, with Orfi having to show impressive mental resilience to battle back from significant deficits in all three games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Orfi now stands just two matches away from potentially becoming the youngest Women\u2019s World No.1 in history, with the 18-year-old needing to better the result of current World No.1 Hania El Hammamy, who will also feature in tomorrow\u2019s semi-finals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
[4] Karim Gawad (EGY) bt Youssef Soliman (EGY) 3-0: 11-4, 12-10, 15-13 (83m)
[5] Victor Crouin (FRA) bt [2] Paul Coll (NZL) 3-1: 4-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-9 (84m)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jasmine Hutton (ENG) bt Rachel Arnold (MAS) 3-1: 11-9, 11-6, 7-11, 11-4 (36m)
[2] Amina Orfi (EGY) bt [6] Fayrouz Aboelkheir (EGY) 3-0: 13-11, 11-8, 12-10 (45m)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
World No.5 Victor Crouin ended World No.2 Paul Coll\u2019s title defence at the Qatar Classic with a stunning<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15803,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[37],"class_list":["post-15802","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsbeat","tag-squash"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t