SmartCentres Kinetic Florida Open: Asal Beats Hesham to Claim First Crown of 2024

Mostafa Asal claimed the first PSA World Tour title of 2024, beating Mazen Hesham 3-1 in the SmartCentres Kinetic Florida Open final.

Both players came through tough, five-game matchups yesterday, and it was Asal who made the faster start here, capitalising on some unforced errors in the early rallies to open up a 7-3 lead in the first. 

He soon had six game balls but only needed one, converting his first opportunity with a hard backhand winner to the forehand side. 

The tables were turned in game two, with Hesham this time opening up a comfortable gap on the scorecard, finding himself with three game balls at 10-7. 

Asal saved the first two with some brutal movement and some desperate retrievals, but he had no answer to Hesham’s winner at 10-9, with an overhead cross-court backhand volley hitting the nick and rolling. 

The No.2 seed stood in disbelief for a few moments after that winner, but he regained his focus in what would prove to be an extremely quick third, needing just five minutes to take it 11-1 and move within one game of glory. 

Hesham could ill-afford to let Asal make the better start in game four, but that’s exactly what happened. 

The No.4 seed had requested a new ball to start game four, but it was to little avail, with the younger of the two Egyptians flying out to a 5-1 lead in the blink of an eye. 

He would not have to wait long for the victory either, winning the next six points to wrap up the contest and secure his first title of the season. 

Speaking moments after his win, Asal spoke candidly about how he nearly walked away from the sport last year:  “It’s kind of a relief,” he said. “I’m super, super happy with that. Champions find a way, always find a way. 

“Even in the ups and downs, there was lots of learning on the road. There were lots of downs, up a little bit and up again from the dead. I’m saying up from the dead because I was completely out, I was quitting when I knew I had the third ban. 

“I actually didn’t want to play again and there were lots of things happening. No one knows what’s inside of you, even if I have a bad attitude or a good attitude, it was tough for me as well.  

“It’s a learning process, and I learned a lot about finding the balance between everything in my life. I’m 22 years old and trying to improve myself and like I say, champions find a way. 

“I have been wrong a lot, but I’m maturing. I’m still 22 so I’m finding the right balance with the right people. Thankfully, the third time when I was banned, I learned a lot of things and I went to the right people.” 

Result: [2] Mostafa Asal (EGY) bt [4] Mazen Hesham (EGY) 3-1: 11-4, 9-11, 11-1, 11-1 (51m)