Ibrahim Cruises to Semi-Final with Ferocious Victory Over Khan

Egypt’s Youssef Ibrahim earned a place in Saturday’s semi-finals with a dominant display over Pakistan’s Mohammad Asim Khan.

The rallies were short and explosive. Ibrahim seemed to be looking for winners from the off, and was getting the majority of them as shown in a particularly high-quality backhand drop to make it 3-3 as well as a backhand straight drive that clung impossibly close to the right wall.

Despite this, and perhaps due to the fact that the Egyptian seemingly hadn’t gotten out of first gear, Khan remained near on the scoreboard to 8-9. The No.2 seed did enough to convert his lead into a 1-0 win from there after two tin hits from the Pakistani.

Ibrahim came into the second game with more intent, winning three successive points with the third coming by way of an unstoppable cross-court nick.

The World No.53 did recover from the early onslaught, but a combination of errors and Ibrahim’s brutal attacking playing style saw the Egyptian take a 2-0 advantage in the match. The final point encapsulated the game, with an awkward cross-court from the World No.18 forcing an error from Khan.

Ibrahim was far less accurate in the early stages of the third game, making several unforced errors to allow the Pakistani a 3-1 lead, but soon the Egyptian rediscovered his earlier brutal high-pace form and his opponent began to look more fatigued as Ibrahim took the lead 5-3.

Similarly to the first game, Ibrahim looked comfortable despite allowing Khan to take points, and cruised to a 3-0 victory, capped off with an outrageous counter-drop battle on match ball.

“Most of the time I play instinctively,” said Ibrahim after the match.

“The first outing on the glass is always tricky and I’m playing someone who has the shots and can make you run. I didn’t see the ball very well in the first, I didn’t start very well, but then I managed to win it and it helped me a lot in the second and third. I managed to get a lead in the beginning and I started to feel my shots, which is good for the next round.

“I trained two to three months in the last season and I haven’t trained like that before because I was at college for the past five years and then I got injured and I was out for six or seven months. This is my first proper off season training and I think it’s helping me to trust my body to play eight or nine tournaments. I’m grateful for the opportunity to get to play again, I’m feeling good on court again and hopefully I can make it a step further this time.”

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Squash in the Land Presented by Greater Cleveland Squash 2024 Men’s Quarter-Final
[2] Youssef Ibrahim (EGY) bt Muhammad Asim Khan (PAK) 3-0: 11-8, 11-5, 11-6 (31m)