Alkass Digital
Peru's Diego Elias emerged as the champion of the 2021 Qatar QTerminals Classic after overcoming long-time friend New Zealand's Paul Coll 3-1 in the final at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex in Doha.
The World No.8 displayed high-quality squash throughout, despite his obvious fatigue. He held off the Kiwi to win 13-11, 5-11, 13-11, 11-9 and become the first Peruvian to ever claim a major title on the PSA World Tour.
“I can’t believe it still. I am very happy with this, very happy with my game! I want to thank everyone for coming today, and thanks to all the Peruvian people who came, that is a massive help for me!” Elias said.
“Just very happy to be a Platinum champion for the first time. I have been trying for a long time now, so I am very happy and I want to thank all the organiser. This tournament is always the best, they treat us so well, it is incredible to be the champion here.
HE President of Qatar Tennis, Squash and Badminton Federation (QTSBF) Nasser bin Ghanim Al Khelaifi crowned Diego Elias with the championship cup, in the presence of director of the tournament Tariq Zainal, CEO of the Professional Squash Association (PSA) Alex Gough and Neville Bissett, CEO of QTerminals, the tournament sponsor."
Despite the loss, Coll expressed happiness to be playing in the finals and praised the organisational efforts of the tournament: “It is hard to see those [positives] now, but I am happy to be back here in Doha, competing in another final on such a great stage. It’s a really well-run tournament, a massive thank you to the sponsors, to QTerminals for being the main sponsor here, and to the Qatar Squash Federation for putting on such a great event and making the players feel special. They look after us the best on Tour, so it is a pleasure to be here.”