El Gouna International SF: Defending Champ Farag Downs Momen

Defending El Gouna International Squash Open champion Ali Farag won his 14th consecutive match against Egyptian compatriot Tarek Momen.

In an 17-minute opener that clearly sapped the energy of both men, it was Farag who moved into the lead, with the World No.1 answering the questions Momen asked at the front well to take the opener 11-6.

In a stop-start second game, which lacked the quality of the first, Farag was able to keep his nose in front and doubled his advantage with an 11-8 win.

Momen, who shocked World No.3 Diego Elias in the quarter-final, threw caution to the wind in the third game. Despite wowing the crowd with some spectacular winners, the high risk approach yielded too many errors, with Farag closing out 11-4.

Afterwards, Farag said: “He didn’t give an inch, except maybe a little at the mid stage of the third. The first game was the best we’ve played against each other for a long time.

“The tussle for the T was really tough. He was using different heights, paces and angles to get me off the T and I tried to match him. Both of us were really tuned into it until at 5-4 I got a stroke and a tin and that made the difference a bit.

“The ball softened in the second and I took advantage all the way to 6-3 until we had a stoppage for review. I hit three tins, the first was silly and the other two were the right shots but I had to reset. 

“In the third, at 2-0 after two tough games I had momentum and took advantage of it.”

On whether his dominant record against Momen affected his preparation, Farag said: “It kept me very much on my guard. Maybe I’ve beaten Tarek more than he beat me but every match with him is this hard, or harder. If you switch off for a second he gains advantage and you’re on the back foot. I had to be focused from the beginning and had a good gameplan with Karim [Darwish] and he fired me up again after the emotions of the quarter-final.

“I’m sure [Mostafa Asal and Karim Abdel Gawad will challenge each other in the other men’s semi-final]. They’re both brilliant, as we saw in Black Ball and last night.”

On reaching the final of every event he’s played this season, Farag said: “I rate it very highly. I’m very grateful and as we say, it takes a village. It starts with Karim [Darwish], my family, parents and Nour [El Tayeb], Hossam Shaddad my fitness trainer. But one guy sitting right here is Dr. Ahmed Seif. This time last year I wasn’t even sure if my knee was going to hold up. I’d play a match and it would get sore the next day. It’s one thing to get through an injury and another to get stronger after and not have to think about it anymore. Thanks to him and Dr. Heiss in Egypt, they’ve done an incredible job and now I play pain free and am free in my headspace and hopefully I can keep on going!”

Result: El Gouna International Squash Open Men’s Semi-Final

[1] Ali Farag (EGY) bt [8] Tarek Momen (EGY) 3-0: 11-6, 11-8, 11-4 (47m)

The finals of the El Gouna International Squash Open take place tomorrow from 19:30 (GMT+3) live on SQUASHTV and on the partner channels of the PSA.

For updates on the El Gouna International Squash Open 2024, visit the PSA website or follow the PSA on X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.