Farag Conquers Elias in 94-Minute Epic on Dramatic Semi-Finals Night at Paris Squash 2024

World No.1 Ali Farag booked his spot in the Paris Squash final after conquering current World Champion Diego Elias in an epic 94-minute encounter at the Cirque d’Hiver Bouglione. 

In a match which will likely go down as one of the finest of the modern era, it was Farag who eventually managed to wear down Elias to take the match by a 7-11, 14-12, 6-11, 11-7, 11-4 scoreline. 

Farag will play World No.2 Mostafa Asal in the final of the PSA Squash Tour Platinum event after he defeated Paul Coll,while Egyptian duo Nour El Sherbini and Nouran Gohar will renew their rivalry in the women’s event after defeating Rowan Elaraby and Hania El Hammamy, respectively. 

Right from the get-go of the first men’s match of the evening, Farag and Elias delivered a series of high-quality exchanges, with two-minute rallies taking place with regularity. Such was the brutal nature of the squash in the opening two games, that the match clock neared the hour-mark as Farag won a second-game tie-break to bring the scores level.

Although Elias looked down and out physically after the 26 and 27-minute opening games, the World No.4 managed to keep his quality miraculously high upon his return for the third game, once again edging ahead of Farag on the scoreboard.

Farag, though, rallied to force a deciding game and soon afterwards finally began to see Elias crack physically. The top seed roared into an early 7-2 lead and wasn’t to be denied the victory, collapsing to the floor with cramp after 94 minutes of thrilling action. 

After the match, an exhausted Farag said: “That was one of the matches that I will remember for the rest of my life. 

“Diego and I have had some unbelievable battles over the years, but we would fade away by the third, but this time around it wasn’t the case. That second game was one of the most proud games of my career. 

“At the beginning of the fifth, I could feel the cramp in my left quad, and then there was that crazy rally at 8-4 which got me to 9-4 up. I was really seizing up and I had to hide it somehow. I’m so proud that I got through it.”

The other men’s semi-final was as equally entertaining, with ‘The Raging Bull’ Mostafa Asal fighting back from two games down to defeat New Zealand No.1 Coll. 

The 23-year-old, who defeated Farag in the final of the season-opening CIB Egyptian Open earlier this month, continued his unbeaten start to the campaign with a gutsy 9-11, 6-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-5 victory.

Meanwhile, in the women’s event, current World Champion Gohar booked her spot in the title decider after claiming an 11-6, 11-1, 9-11, 11-6 victory over arch-rival El Hammamy – her fourth straight victory over the World No.3 on the PSA Tour. 

Gohar found her targets to great effect throughout the 71-minute encounter, pushing El Hammamy deep in the court with her destructive, but equally accurate, hitting.

Despite No.3 seed El Hammamy managing to pull a game back after falling 2-0 behind, a comeback victory wasn’t to be, with Gohar reaching her second consecutive final in the French capital.

After the match, Gohar said: “Hania is such a fighter. I think I played really well in the first game and I was hitting my targets really well and my short game was on point. 

“Sometimes it is too good to be true, though. She had nothing to lose at 2-0 down, and she was going to go for her shots as well. I think in the third I didn’t follow my game plan as well as I had before, but all credit to her, she made it tough. Overall, I’m really proud of my mental game and my tactical work. I think it is a match that has set me up well tomorrow.”

Top seed El Sherbini, who defeated Gohar in the season-opening CIB Egyptian Open final, came through her respective semi-final match with No.8 seed Elaraby in straight games. 

The Paris Squash defending champion saved three crucial game balls in the second game, before moving away to an 11-7, 14-12, 11-1 victory in 41 minutes. 

The finals of Paris Squash 2024 get underway at 18:30 (GMT+2) on Saturday, 21 September. All the action will be available to watch live on SQUASHTV, with live scores found by clicking here.

For more information on Paris Squash 2024, follow the PSA on X, Facebook, Threads, Instagram, WhatsApp, YouTube, or TikTok. 

Results: Paris Squash 2024 Men’s Semi-Finals 

[1] Ali Farag (EGY) bt [4] Diego Elias (PER) 3-2: 7-11, 14-12, 6-11, 11-7, 11-4 (95m)

[3] Mostafa Asal (EGY) bt [2] Paul Coll (NZL) 3-2: 9-11, 6-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-5 (83m)

Results: Paris Squash 2024 Women’s Semi-Finals 

[1] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) bt [8] Rowan Elaraby (EGY) 3-0: 11-7, 14-12, 11-1 (41m)

[2] Nouran Gohar (EGY) bt [3] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) 3-1: 11-6, 11-1, 9-11, 11-6 (71m)

Draw: Paris Squash 2024 Men’s Final – To Be Played 21 September

[1] Ali Farag (EGY) v [2] Mostafa Asal (EGY) 

Draw: Paris Squash 2024 Women’s Final – To Be Played 21 September

[1] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) v [2] Nouran Gohar (EGY)