Noor Zaman pulled off one of the biggest shocks of the day as the World No.65 downed World No.24 Abdulla Al-Tamimi.
Zaman, who qualified by winning the Under-23 world championships in March, marked his first appearance at the World Championships by earning a place in the second round as he toppled the Qatari in five games.
“I’m so glad I won my match. He’s a very good opponent [Abdulla Al-Tamimi] – he is a top 20 player. I was mentally prepared for this,” he said.
“Last month I won the Under-23s World Championships and that gave me a good boost. I was ready for this match.
“I’m very excited that this is my first World Championships and I won my match. I’m thankful for that.
“Karim [Gawad] is a former world champion and a top 10 player and I will look to prepare for tomorrow.”
Zaman’s second round opponent will be 2016 world champion Karim Gawad, who avoided an upset to progress to the second round as he held off Simon Herbert.
Gawad, who was also a runner-up when the event was held in Chicago back in 2023, was 2-1 up before Herbert levelled to force a decider.
The Egyptian’s experience came to the fore in the fifth, winning 3-2: 7-11, 11-4, 11-9, 6-11, 11-7 in just under an hour.
“That was a very tough first round,” he said.
“Simon [Herbert] played very well today and it was tricky for me to play an opponent for the first time.
“It was hard for me to read him and to read the match, there were a lot of stoppages but I’m glad I’ve made it to the next round.
“Hopefully in the next round of the tournament I play better and improve my squash. These kind of matches get the confidence for the rest of the matches.”
Masotti Wins Monumental Five-Game Battle
Frenchman Baptiste Masotti earned his second round spot after triumphing in a monumental five-game battle with Alex Lau.
Having been 2-1 to the good, Lau comprehensively won the fourth 11-1 to send the match into a fifth game, and Masotti looked to be down and out when he was two match balls down.
However he managed to prevail in a tense tiebreak 17-15 to round of an entertaining opening round clash.
“It was a very tough match today against Alex Lau,” he said. “He’s a very good player, especially on these courts and I was a bit stressed at the beginning of the match.
“With it being the World Championships you can see that everyone is up for it. I’m very happy for the win and the fighting spirit and keeping my nerves during the fifth when I was two match balls down. I’m very happy.”
“On the tiebreak in the fifth I played some stupid shots! I was going for the nick and I love doing these types of things when I’ve got the momentum and I do some risky shots at the end of the match. It paid off today and all credit to Alex, he pushed me to my last breath today.”
Azman Dispatches Malik
Aira Azman booked her spot in the second round at the expense of Torrie Malik, overcoming the Englishwoman 3-1.
“I’m very happy to get through that match. I haven’t got through the first round at the last few World Championships, so I’m glad to get through to the second round. Torrie [Malik] is a good player, she pushed me hard and our match was quite delayed so we were pretty tired.
“I was 10-8 up in the second and she was really strong and positive. I lost my focus, but I’m happy that I regained my focus in the third and fourth.”
Results – Men’s First Round (bottom) :
Melvil Scianimanico (FRA) bt Iker Pajares (ESP) 3-1: 12-10, 9-11, 11-6, 11-7 (70m)
Baptiste Masotti (FRA) bt Alex Lau (HKG) 3-2: 5-11, 11-4, 14-12, 1-11, 17-15 (62m)
Dimitri Steinmann (SUI) bt George Parker (ENG) 3-1: 9-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-4 (53m)
[6] Karim Gawad (EGY) bt Simon Herbert (ENG) 3-2: 7-11, 11-4, 11-9, 6-11, 11-7 (53m)
[WC] Noor Zaman (PAK) bt Abdulla Al-Tamimi (QAT) 3-2: 12-10, 4-11, 8-11, 11-4, 11-7 (59m)
Shahjahan Khan (USA) bt [29] Timothy Brownell (USA) 3-2: 5-11, 11-9, 11-5, 8-11, 11-5 (65m)
Raphael Kandra (GER) bt Nicholas Spizzirri (USA) 3-0: 11-9, 11-6, 11-3 (29m)
[2] Mostafa Asal (EGY) bt Nick Wall (ENG) 3-0: 11-4, 11-3, 11-7 (26m)
Results – Women’s First Round (bottom)
[4] Olivia Weaver (USA) bt Aifa Azman (MAS) 3-0: 11-3, 11-2, 11-1 (21m)Rachel Arnold (MAS) bt Nour Heikal (EGY) 3-1: 11-9, 11-9, 4-11, 11-3 (30m)
Aira Azman (MAS) bt Torrie Malik (ENG) 3-1: 11-8, 10-12, 11-7, 11-8 (35m)
Sana Ibrahim (EGY) bt Emilia Soini (FIN) 3-0: 11-8, 11-5, 11-5 (25m)
Rowan Elaraby (EGY) bt Joelle King (NZL) 3-1: 11-5, 11-6, 7-11, 11-3 (37m)
Nardine Garas (EGY) bt Hollie Naughton (CAN) 3-2: 11-7, 9-11, 8-11, 11-9, 12-10 (44m)
To watch full match replays from day two – head to SQUASHTV.
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