Motor City Open Semi Finals: Player Reaction – Hesham and Elias to Contest Final

It’s semi-finals day at the Motor City Open, with Detroit’s Birmingham Athletic Club hosting the action from 17:00 (GMT-5).

We’ll be bringing you the report and reaction as it happens. First, No.5 seed Fares Dessouky – fresh from a superb 3-2 win over top seed Paul Coll – takes on fellow Egyptian Mazen Hesham, before former World Champion Tarek Momen does battle with J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions winner Diego Elias.

You can watch all the action live from the Motor City Open on SQUASHTV.

You can also keep up with the live scores from the event here.

Here’s the Order of Play for tonight
(All times are local GMT-5)

Hesham Coasts Through to Semi Final

In the first semi final, No.4 seed Mazen Hesham coasted to victory against No.5 seed and Egyptian compatriot Fares Dessouky.

Hesham went into the match with a 4-0 losing record against Dessouky, but stormed into the lead after taking the first game 11-5, with Dessouky’s movement appearing to be troubled.

‘The Falcon’, though, will have known to be wary, with Dessouky showing his powers of recovery in coming from 2-0 down to dump top seed Paul Coll out of Detroit in yesterday’s quarter final.

Sure enough, Dessouky caused Hesham more issues as game two began, with little to separate the pair with the score at 6-5 Hesham.

The No.4 seed, however, then kicked on brilliantly, scoring five unanswered points to firmly wedge his foot in the door of the final.

Unlike in the quarter final, there were to be no heroics from Dessouky this time, with Hesham easing into the final with an 11-3 victory in game three.

Afterwards, Hesham said: “To be honest, I could see in the beginning that Fares was not sure about his movement, but I had to keep my head down and try to keep going in the match because he can come back at any time.

“I hope he’s not injured, and it’s just soreness. Injuries are the worst thing that can happen to a player, especially for someone like Fares and me. Having guys like him playing is really good for the game.

“I’m still happy to be in the final. I’ll try my best tomorrow to have one more go and hopefully get a title.

“I feel my form [over the last year] has been good, but I think I can do much better.”

Result

[4] Mazen Hesham (EGY) bt [5] Fares Dessouky (EGY) 3-0: 11-5, 11-5, 11-3 (26m)

Elias Reaches Fourth Consecutive MCO Final

Defending champion Diego Elias reached his fourth consecutive Motor City Open final after beating Egypt’s Tarek Momen in a brilliant display.

Elias, 28, had spoken before tonight’s clash with 2019 World Champion Momen about how well the court’s features suit his four-corners game, and from the first ball the No.2 seed looked in sharp form.

In a thrilling first game that saw both players throw everything at each other, it was Elias who edged into the lead courtesy of a 12-10 win.

The Peruvian put in an uneven performance in game two, opening up a 5-1 lead before being reeled in to 5-4, only to pull away again to go 2-0 up with an 11-6 win.

Elias’ brilliant retrieval skills were tested early on in the third game by strong attacking play by Momen and with the scores level at 5–5 both men had the chance to push on.

It was Elias, though, who was able to do so, with the Peruvian pressing home his advantage to end the match with an 11-7 victory.

“I’m feeling great and feeling fast.

“I’m very pleased as I think I’m playing good squash at the moment. It’s always tough playing Tarek, he’s a former World Champion and I always struggle against him. I’m happy with my performance today and am looking forward to another final!

“[The crowd makes] a huge difference. I love this club, I love playing here. I’ve been coming here for the last eight years and I just feel at home here.”

Result

[2] Diego Elias (PER) bt [3] Tarek Momen (EGY) 3-0: 12-10, 11-6, 11-7 (50m)