Fourth-time lucky Gael Monfils storms to Qatar title

DOHA, January 7, 2018 - France's Gael Monfils won the Qatar Open final in straight sets on Saturday, brushing aside Russia's Andrey Rublev in a one-sided final, 6-2, 6-3.It was the Frenchman's first Qatar title despite having played in three previous finals, stretching back more than a decade, and he is the first wildcard to win in Doha since compatriot Nicolas Escude triumphed back in 2004.Saturday's victory was his seventh victory overall on the ATP tour.The 31-year-old, who arrived in Qatar after a four-month break due to a knee injury, dominated throughout.He broke Rublev's serve in the fourth game of each set and barely look troubled by the Russian, who has been so impressive all week but could not cope with the power of Monfils.The world number 46 took the first set in just 23 minutes, and in the second was able to save two break points in the fifth game after establishing a 3-1 lead -- the only time the Frenchman's serve was put under pressure.Monfils needed only one championship point to secure the match after exactly an hour on court. Rublev looked crestfallen afterwards but has the consolation that he will be seeded at the forthcoming Australian Open.He went in to Saturday's final as the world ranked number 39 but that will rise to at least 33 after Doha and will be seeded at the Australian Open in only his second appearance in Melbourne because of injuries to other players.The victory -- and those injuries to top players -- may even give Monfils, a former world number six, an outside of being seeded in Melbourne. Monfils had previously lost in Doha in 2006, 2012 and 2014.

HH the Emir attends Qatar ExxonMobil Open Final

DOHA, January 7, 2018 - His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani attended the final of Qatar ExxonMobil Open for men which was held at Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex Saturday evening.France's Gael Monfils won the final in straight sets, brushing aside Russia's Andrey Rublev in a one-sided final, 6-2, 6-3. The match was attended by a number of sheikhs and ministers as well as guests of tournament.

Steady Progress for Qatar International Handball Championship

DOHA, January 07, 2018- The 2018 Qatar International Friendly Handball Championship continued in style on Saturday. Algeria defeated Cuba 32-20. One match will be played on Sunday, as Oman will take on Iran. The event brings together five teams including Cuba, Oman, Iran, Algeria and hosts Qatar. The Qatari handball team will participate in the Asian Men's Handball Championship to held in Korea Republic later this month. The 2018 Asian Men's Handball Championship acts as a qualifying tournament for the 2019 IHF World Men's Handball Championship scheduled in Germany and Denmark.

Younousse, Tijan crash out of Netherlands International Beach Volleyball Open

The Hague, January 7, 2018- Qatar's Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan crashed out of the Netherlands International Beach Handball Open ( World Tour –four stars) after losing to Poland 0-2 (21-14 21-18) in The Hague on Saturday. The semifinals, finals and the placement rounds will be staged on Sunday. The event is bringing together 32 teams, including Netherlands, France Latvia, Germany, Poland, Switzerland, Italy, Finland, USA, Russia, Brazil, Australia, Slovenia, Belgium, Canada, Austria, Argentina, Czech Republic and Norway.

Handball team begins Friendly Tournament with victory

DOHA, January 5, 2018 – Qatar's national handball team started its campaign in the Qatar International Handball Friendly Tournament on high note, defeating Cuban counterparts 48-16 in the opening match held at Duhail Arena on Thursday.Qatar International Handball Friendly Tournament comes in the frame of national team preparation for the Asian Men's Handball Championship 2018 scheduled from 18-28 January in South Korea.The Asian Men's Handball Championship acts as a qualifying tournament for the prestigious 2019 IHF Handball World Championship will take place in Germany and Denmark.

Qatar ExxonMobil Open enters Semifinals stage

DOHA, January 05, 2018 - Top seed Dominic Thiem of Austria along with emerging Russian star Andrey Rublev advanced into the semi-finals of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open registering hard fought wins in Doha Thursday. World No.5 Thiem took one hour forty minutes to overcame the challenge of Greek qualifier Stefanos Tsitsipas. Thiem, the only seed left in the competition, experienced a few hiccups before overcoming the Greek teenager 7-5, 6-4.Tsitsipas, 19, the youngest quarter-finalist in Doha for more than a decade was highly impressive in beating number five seed Richard Gasquet in the second round but Thiem put all his experience to good use to end the impressive run of his opponent.“It was my best game today for sure so far. And I will try to play the same tomorrow. I know the opponents. I know Gojowczyk, I know Monfils. I know both of them. So it's going to be nothing new. Both of them are really good players. Going to be fun. Doesn't matter against who," Thiem said. The other quarter-final between Rublev and Borna Coric, a clash between two generation next players, saw Rublev come on top. The 20-year-old eased past the 21-year-old Croatian Coric in straight sets to set up a clash with World No. 64 Guido Pella of Argentina for a place in the final. The World No.39 from Moscow won 6-3, 7-5 in a match which lasted 90 minutes on the centre court of the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex. Coric, who defeated second seed Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain in the earlier rounds could not produce the same brand of tennis which came handy for him in earlier matches. Rublev dominated play with some attacking tennis hitting 35 winners on the way. The match, a rematch of the Next Generation ATP Finals 2017 in Rome, saw the Russian extend his winning his streak over Coric. Rublev, who defeated Coric in the semi-finals of the year-ending Italian event, broke Coric's serve in the eleventh game of the final set, which turned out to be a turning point of the encounter. “It was a great match for me. I was playing really well today and I hope I can play even better tomorrow. But we'll see."Rublev said he went into the match with an attacking game plan which worked for him. “I knew since the beginning of the match that I have to try to dictate the point. I had to try to attack. I had to try to lead. That was the key. I was trying to do this since the beginning and I think it was working quite well. And in the end, I won," said the Russian right hander.“Both of us was really, really close. He had some breakpoints. He had break up. But then I come back. So it was a really tough match and it was really close," he added. “In the end I was little bit more lucky.“Maybe a little bit better in crucial stages of the match and then I win the match," he said. Meanwhile, World No. 64, Pella ended the dream run of Bosnian qualifier Mirza Basic, dropping just five games to advance to the last four stage. Basic, who made it the main round of 32 through the qualifying and who continued his impressive with wins over players ranked much higher to him finally found his match in Pella.The World No. 128, who upset tournament's eighth seed Feliciano Lopez to reach the quarter finals, found the Argentinean too tough for his asking. The Argentinian easily saw off, 26-year-old Basic 6-2, 6-3.