SmartCentres Kinetic Florida Open: Elias Sails Through to Semi-Finals

Diego Elias booked his spot in the semi-finals at his home club, beating Tarek Momen 3-0 in the SmartCentres Kinetic Florida Open quarter-finals. 

Elias, the No.1 seed and World No.2, made relatively light work of his experienced opponent, winning 11-6, 11-6, 11-3 in 38 minutes. 

Key to Elias’ success was his consistency throughout the match, often leaving the Egyptian bereft of answers, with the Peruvian reading the play brilliantly to capitalise on anything loose. 

After winning game one 11-6, Elias followed it up by claiming the second by the same scoreline, taking his first game ball when a Momen backhand drop hit the tin, and the same shot would be the Egyptian’s downfall once more on match ball in the third. 

That capped a one-sided game in which Elias dropped only three points, and speaking after the match, he was delighted with the way things had gone on court.  

“Tarek is such a tough opponent and I’m just very happy I could do my gameplan the way I wanted and win in three games,” he said. 

“I think winning those first two games and the way I was playing gave me a lot of confidence. I just knew I had to close it in three because Tarek loves coming back, and I didn’t want to make it a tough match.”

Discussing this event playing at the club where he trains, Elias added: “It’s always great playing at your home club.  

“I’ve been here for the last three years and having all the people that I see every day supporting me is just great, and of course being able to train on that court often is a massive help.” 

Result: [1] Diego Elias (PER) bt [5] Tarek Momen (EGY) 3-0: 11-6, 11-6, 11-3 (38m)