World No.1 Ali Farag and reigning world champion Tarek Momen set up a mouthwatering semi-final clash at the Qatar Classic Squash Championship after earning hard fought victories on a thrilling day of quarter-finals yesterday. Both the top-ranked Egyptians were involved in marathon battles at the Khalifa International and Tennis and Squash Complex with defending champion Farag edging fifth-seeded Peruvian Diego Elias 3-2 in a nail-biter. Momen, who became the world champion in Doha last year, rallied against eighth seeded Welshman Joel Makin to win another five-game cliffhanger.
Also squaring off in today’s semi-finals of the $175,000 PSA Platinum event will be New Zealand’s Paul Coll and Egypt’s Fares Dessouky, who also recorded tough victories to book their maiden spots in the Qatar Classic semi-finals yesterday.
Fourth seeded Coll overcame sixth seeded Marwan ElShorbagy in a high class tussle, while World No.12 Dessouky dispatched compatriot Youssef Ibrahim, who stunned World No.2 and top seed Mohamed ElShorbagy in the third round. Farag, Momen show nerves of steel to advance Yesterday, second seeded Farag emerged as eventual winner – 11-6, 6-11, 11-6, 9-11, 11-7 – in a seesaw battle against Elias that lasted for 69 minutes. It was Farag’s 12th and probably the toughest win against the Peruvian out of their 14 head-to-head meetings. Farag took the first game in quick time with Elias coming back strongly in the second game. World No. 1 then regained the lead before the ‘Peruvian Puma’ took the match to the fifth game. In the decisive game, the 28-year-old Egyptian took lead but Elias fought back, however, a controversial decision saw Farag taking a 9-6 lead and eventually sealing the win to set up semi-final against Momen. “What a match that was today.
Diego was very subtle and smart with his tactics,” said Farag after his victory. Momen, meanwhile, was also involved in a fully-stretched contest with Makin, which he won 9-11, 11-7, 11-5, 8-11, 11-7 after 79 minutes of gruelling action. Having lost his last two matches against the Welshman, Momen dropped the first game due to errors. The World No.3 came back strongly to win the next two games before Makin levelled the match after denying the world champion’s tricky angles.
The decider was levelled 7-7 but the 32-year-old Egyptian held his nerves to come out as the winner. “I really felt I didn’t play my best in the last couple of times, but today I was a lot sharper,” said Momen. Coll dispatches Marwan as Ibrahim’s dream run ends In another thrilling quarterfinal yesterday, World No.5 Coll rallied to beat World No.6 Marwan 8-11, 11-4, 5-11, 11-9, 11-5 in 75 minutes. With the match tied at 2-2, Coll built a lead of 5-1 after winning impressive points and held his nerves to overcame a fightback from Marwan.
Yesterday’s last quarterfinal also turned out to be a tight affair with Dessouky bringing World No.41 Ibrahim’s campaign to an end with 11-4, 12-14, 11-2, 10-12, 11-5 victory in 66 minutes. Ibrahim, who defeated three time champion ElShorbagy in the last 16 stages, didn’t look at his best in the first game making seven errors. However, the 21-year-old twice made comebacks to force the decisive game. But, Dessouky ensures his win with a clinical show in the fifth game to book today’s semi-final clash with Coll.
