Devastating Asal Performance Stuns World No.1 Farag As No.3 Seed Wins CIB Egyptian Open

No.3 seed Mostafa Asal put in a devastating performance to topple World No.1 and defending champion Ali Farag as he claimed the first ever Diamond-level title with victory in the final of the 2024 CIB Egyptian Open.

Asal went into the match against his Egyptian compatriot very fresh, with the former World No.1 spending just 125 minutes on court across his four matches, with his last three opponents struggling with injuries in a bizarre run of bad luck.

‘The Raging Bull’ was utterly dominant in the opening game, with the stunned crowd beginning to wonder if an opening game bagel was on the cards as the 23-year-old raced into a 9-0 lead.

32-year-old Farag, a three-time winner of the event, avoided total capitulation at the end of game one, but could not prevent Asal from converting his massive advantage as the young Egyptian took a deserved lead with an 11-3 win.

Game two was much more even, with Farag matching up his opponent. 

With the scores at 6-5 to Farag, Asal was accidentally caught on the back of the head by the World No.1’s racket.

After seeking physio treatment, Asal returned to court and picked up where he left off, earning two game balls at 10-8.

Farag saved the first and then the second, with match referee Roman Svec declining to stop play despite Asal’s protestations about a patch of sweat on court.

In a tense tie break, Asal was able to reset, saving game ball and then capitalising on poor work from Farag’s backhand to double his advantage 13-11.

Farag’s gameplan finally kicked into gear in game three, with some excellent work at the front and back giving him a 7-2 lead. Asal took a couple of quick-fire points in response, but looked to have written off the game, and Farag coasted to an 11-5 win to gain a foothold in the match.

The fourth game began at a snail’s pace, with play frequently interrupted by decisions.

Eventually, though, Asal and Farag escaped the quagmire and the fantastic fast-pace contest of previous games returned.

Asal was the first to make a charge, as he moved towards the title with a 7-2 lead.

Mistakes then crept into his game, with Farag taking full advantage to reduce Asal’s lead to 7-6.

After bleeding points, Asal was finally able to regain the initiative, and the No.3 seed held out to earn four championship balls at 10-6.

Farag saved two, but could not perform a great escape, with Asal the deserved winner as he captured the first major title of the 24/24 season with an 11-8 victory.

Afterwards, Asal said: “Ali’s the best player in the world. He’s such a legend, and playing with him is such an honour for me. He’s giving the best for our sport. As an athlete, I’ve looked up to how intense he’s playing and how fair he’s playing as well.

“In the past there was such things I was doing, but I’m trying to learn lots of things from him. One of them is to be very fair on the court. Respect to Ali, he’s still World No.1, winning all these amazing trophies. He’s one of the legends of our sport.

“I want to thank my family, my mum and dad as well as my fiancée. I want to thank the team behind me. James Willstrop, such a legend and his support behind me is amazing and Pontefract club.”

For Farag and Asal, attention turns to the Platinum-level Paris Squash 2024, which is taking place September 15-21 at Cirque D’Hiver.

Result: CIB Egyptian Open 2024 Men’s Final
[3] Mostafa Asal (EGY) bt [1] Ali Farag (EGY) 3-1: 11-3, 13-11, 5-11, 11-8 (82m)

Watch the PSA Squash Tour on SQUASHTV. For more information on the CIB Egyptian Open 2024, follow the PSA on X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.