Farag Flourishes At Fitzwilliam

#PSAWorldTour

Unheralded Egyptian Ali Farag downed four seeds in a row to win the GillenMarkets Irish Open, PSA Challenger 15 event at Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club in Dublin and claim a second title inside two weeks.

The 23-year-old World No.73 from Cairo, who won last time out in Ireland at the Garavan’s Bar Paddy Whack Walsh West of Ireland Open, was sublime throughout the event taking out Greg Lobban and Karim Ali Fathi before upsetting top-seeded compatriot Mazen Hesham, ranked 43 places higher, in four games in the semi-finals.

Farag’s final opponent was Lucas Serme, the fifth seed from France, who avenged his defeat to Kiiwi qualifier Paul Coll in the final of the IG Markets Open de Paris to reach a second consecutive final.

With both competitors in fierce form the final was set up for an intriguing clash and it did not disappoint. The match was a close-fought see-saw affair, with honours shared after four games. Serme fought back from 3-8 down in the decider, but in front of a vociferous Egyptian crowd it was Farag who held his nerve and made his country proud to close out the match 11-8, 5-11, 11-3, 9-11, 11-9 after 81 minutes.

Farag became the first Egyptian winner of the men’s title since Tarek Momen, also unseeded, in 2011 – when his fiancée Nour El Tayeb also won the women’s trophy.

“It is so great playing in front of our Egyptian ambassador to Ireland and all the Egyptians who came out to support me today,” said Farag, who now boasts seven PSA World Tour titles, including three in 2015.

“This title also means a lot because my fiancée won the title here four years ago!”

RESULTS: PSA Challenger 15, Gillenmarkets Irish Squash Open, Dublin, Ireland

1st round:
[1] Mazen Hesham (EGY) bt [WC] Arthur Gaskin (IRL) 3-0: 11-4, 11-6, 11-3
[6] Rex Hedrick (AUS) bt [Q] Mohamed Elgawarhy (EGY) 3-1: 11-9, 7-11, 11-7, 11-7
Ali Farag (EGY) bt [7] Greg Lobban (SCO) 3-1: 5-11, 11-5, 13-11, 11-9
[3] Karim Ali Fathi (EGY) bt Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi (QAT) 3-1: 11-6, 3-11, 11-2, 11-8
[Q] Paul Coll (NZL) bt [4] Mahesh Mangaonkar (IND) 3-0: 11-8, 11-1, 13-11
[Q] Shehab Essam (EGY) bt [8] Charles Sharpes (ENG) 3-1: 11-7, 6-11, 12-10, 11-3
[5] Lucas Serme (FRA) bt [Q] George Parker (ENG) 3-2: 11-9, 8-11, 9-11, 11-3, 11-9
[2] Alan Clyne (SCO) bt Piedro Schweertman (NED) 3-1: 11-5, 11-4, 8-11, 11-9

Quarter-finals:
[1] Mazen Hesham (EGY) bt [6] Rex Hedrick (AUS) 3-0: 11-8, 11-4, 11-7
Ali Farag (EGY) bt [3] Karim Ali Fathi (EGY) 3-0: 13-11, 11-9, 11-5
[Q] Paul Coll (NZL) bt [Q] Shehab Essam (EGY) 3-0: 11-3, 11-3, 11-2
[5] Lucas Serme (FRA) bt [2] Alan Clyne (SCO) 3-0: 13-11, 11-8, 11-6

Semi-finals:
Ali Farag (EGY) bt [1] Mazen Hesham (EGY) 3-1: 9-11, 11-6, 11-6, 11-7
[5] Lucas Serme (FRA) bt [Q] Paul Coll (NZL) 3-1: 11-6, 11-8, 5-11, 11-4

Final:
Ali Farag (EGY) bt [5] Lucas Serme (FRA) 3-2: 11-8, 5-11, 11-3, 9-11, 11-9 (81m)

By Sean Reuthe