Fourth seed Farag takes out favourite to win Alexandria final
By Squash Mad Reporter
Fourth seed Ali Farag became the surprise winner of the inaugural BRQTHRU Pharco Alexandria Open after overcoming top seed Zahed Mohamed in the final of the PSA Challenger 10 squash event at Alexandria Sporting Club in Alexandria, Egypt.
Mohamed, the World No.41 from Alexandria, reached the final – his 11th on the PSA World Tour – without dropping a game while Farag, the former World No.66 making rapid strides back up the world rankings since graduating from Harvard University last year, was taken to five games in the opening round against Karim El Hammamy – but reached his eighth Tour final without conceding a further game.
The final represented the Egyptian pair’s second meeting on the PSA World Tour – and, despite dropping the opening game and later allowing Mohamed to force a fifth game, Farag regained the upper hand in the decider to earn his second successive win over his higher-ranked compatriot in 57 minutes while the 8-11, 11-2, 11-8, 3-11, 11-6 triumph marked the fifth PSA World Tour title of his career.
PSA Challenger 10 BRQTHRU Pharco Alexandria Open, Alexandria, Egypt
1st round:
[1] Zahed Mohamed (EGY) bt [Q] Ahmed Hussein (EGY) 3-0: 11-4, 11-5, 11-6
[5] Khawaja Adil Maqbool (PAK) bt Ahmed Effat Ashoush (EGY) 3-1: 8-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-6 (32m)
[Q] Adel El Zarka (EGY) bt [7] Matias Tuomi (FIN) 3-1: 11-4, 8-11, 11-2, 11-5 (35m)
[3] Tsz Fung Yip (HKG) bt [WC] Basem Makram (EGY) 3-0: 11-6, 11-8, 11-6
[4] Ali Farag (EGY) bt Karim El Hammamy (EGY) 3-2: 11-7, 9-11, 9-11, 11-4, 11-6
[6] Shehab Essam (EGY) bt [Q] Adham Maher (EGY) 3-0: 11-8, 11-6, 11-2
[8] Mohamed Elgawarhy (EGY) bt Hossam Nasser (EGY) 2-0: 11-8, 11-2 ret.
[Q] Ahmed Shohayeb (EGY) bt [2] Andrew Wagih Shoukry (EGY) 3-1: 6-11, 12-10, 12-10, 3-2 ret.
Quarter-finals:
[1] Zahed Mohamed (EGY) bt [5] Khawaja Adil Maqbool (PAK) 3-0: 11-5, 11-8, 11-6 (26m)
[Q] Adel El Zarka (EGY) bt [3] Tsz Fung Yip (HKG) 3-2: 11-9, 11-9, 11-13, 7-11, 11-9
[4] Ali Farag (EGY) bt [6] Shehab Essam (EGY) 3-0: 11-6, 11-5, 11-8 (35m)
[8] Mohamed Elgawarhy (EGY) bt [Q] Ahmed Shohayeb (EGY) 3-1: 11-4, 7-11, 11-3, 11-7 (40m)
Semi-finals:
[1] Zahed Mohamed (EGY) bt [Q] Adel El Zarka (EGY) 3-0: 11-5, 11-8, 11-3 (32m)
[4] Ali Farag (EGY) bt [8] Mohamed Elgawarhy (EGY) 3-0: 12-10, 11-7, 11-9 (31m)
Final:
[4] Ali Farag (EGY) bt [1] Zahed Mohamed (EGY) 3-2: 11-8, 2-11, 8-11, 11-3, 11-6 (57m)