Forty minutes was just all it took World No. 6 Marwan ElShorbagy to dispatch former World No.1 Gregory Gaultier in straight games (11-7,11-4,11-6) and move into the pre-quarters of the Qatar Classic 2020 on Monday.

There had been eight previous encounters between the pair ahead of the match with the Frenchman leading 6-2. The last time the duo met at the Hong Kong Open three years ago, the victory also went the way of the 27-year-old Egyptian, who is the younger of the ElShorbagy brothers.

ElShorbagy took control of the first game after some lengthy early rallies, and he quickly established his dominance against the Frenchman, who returned to the Tour in Doha after about a 40-month injury layoff, as he secured an early lead.

The 38-year-old Gaultier had a resurgence early in the second game, winning four of the first five points, but ElShorbagy grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck, winning ten straight points to double his advantage in the match.

The third game was no different from the second as the Egyptian wasted no time in wrapping up proceedings to secure the last-16 ticket where Germany’s Raphael Kandra is waiting in the wings. 

New Zealand’s Paul Coll, the World No.5, set up a last-16 clash with World No.17 Gregoire Marche after his superb 38-minute straight games (11-7, 11-5, 11-8) win over Frenchman Baptiste Masotti.

The World No. 26 Borja Golan of Spain posted an emphatic 3-1 (11-7, 6-11, 11-6, 13-11) win against Egypt’s Omar Mosaad, ranked 16, in 68 minutes to advance into the third round.

Mexico’s Cesar Salazar was forced to withdraw from his Round 2 clash with Egypt’s Youssef Ibrahim, the World No.41, due to injury in what was turning out to be one of the most entertaining matches of the day.

Germany’s World No.33 Raphael Kandra rallied from a game down to create an upset on Day 2 of the Qatar Classic 2020 as he accounted for the 3-1 (10-12, 11-9, 11-4, 11-7) defeat of pre-match favorite and World No.13 Saurav Ghosal.

France’s Gregoire Marche booked his place in the Round of 16 with a straight-games (11-8, 11-7, 11-5) defeat of Egypt’s Mohamed ElSherbini.