Paris Squash QF: Asal Seals Semi-Final Berth After Commanding Hesham Victory

World No.2 Mostafa Asal claimed the last semi-final spot of Paris Squash 2024 after seeing off the dangerous Mazen Hesham in straight games. 

‘The Raging Bull’, who won the season-opening CIB Egyptian Open just over a fortnight ago, continued his unbeaten start to the season with a commanding 12-10, 11-6, 11-4 win.

In a back-and-forth first game, both players treated the Parisian squash fans to a number of high-tempo and entertaining rallies, with Hesham moving into a 10-8 lead. 

However, these two game balls, which came and went in a flash of Asal magic, would prove to be decisive moments in the match, with ‘The Raging Bull’ never falling behind on the scoreboard after this point. 

After taking the first-game tie-break, Asal stormed into a 5-0 lead in the second with some blistering attacks which Hesham has no answers to. The 23-year-old doubled his advantage in the match by an 11-6 scoreline, and moved his way through a straight-forward third to wrap up the match after 42 minutes of action. 

After the match, Asal said: “It was an amazing match against Mazen. He’s a teammate for the national team and a brother. I respect him and I respect how he is managing to come back through his injuries. He can push anyone on his day. 

“I was lucky at 10-8 down in the first, so I’m glad to come through the match in three games.”

Result:

[2] Mostafa Asal (EGY) bt [5] Mazen Hesham (EGY) 3-0: 12-10, 11-6, 11-4 (42m)