Momen
Is Malaysian Open Champion
Saving
two match-balls in the dying stages of the game, unseeded Tarek Momen
overcame second seed Mohamed El Shorbagy in today's first ever
all-Egyptian final of the CIMB Malaysian Open to win the PSA
World Tour International 50 squash event at the Curve Shopping
Mall in Selangor in dramatic style - and claim the biggest
title of his career.
The
24-year-old from Cairo had only beaten world No8 El Shorbagy once before
in his career - in the semi-finals of the 2010 Malaysian Open!
And
Shorbagy led his close friend in the opening game before underdog Momen,
ranked 11 places lower, won it on a tie-break.
But
Shorbagy drew level after the second - and led 10-6 in the third before
Momen found a run of six points to again take the game on a tie-break.
The
positions were reversed in the fourth where Momen led - only for
Shorbagy to reclaim the advantage and again draw level to force a
decider.
"In
the fifth, it was close all the way and both players were getting more
and more frustrated as the decisions of the referees don't seem to be
consistent," said event spokesman Andrew Cross.
"Tarek
reached game ball first but couldn't convert. Shorbagy had a chance to
win and probably should have had a stroke but not given as Tarek never
looked back and went on to win the fifth for his second title in two
weeks."
Momen
said after his 12-10, 6-11, 12-10, 8-11, 14-12 victory in 109 minutes
that he was happy to have won especially after playing and crashing out
of the event six times before this.
He
praised El Shorbagy in his post-match interview: "I hope we can make it
to the top five together," said Momen, clutching the biggest trophy of
his career.
Event
MC Sharon Wee asked him about Squash and the Olympic Games: "I
was watching the Olympics, I was watching every day and I thought, what
a shame - our sport deserves to be there."
A
frustrated El Shorbagy summed up his feelings later on Twitter: "10/7 up
in the 1st, 10/6 up in the 3rd, 9/7 up in the 5th and had 2 match
points!!!"
Momen
Sets Up First All-Egyptian Malaysian Open Final
Unseeded Egyptian Tarek Momen overcame a first game deficit in
today's semi-finals of the CIMB Malaysian Open at the Curve
Shopping Mall in Selangor before beating higher-ranked Spaniard
Borja Golan to set up the first ever all-Egyptian final of the
PSA World Tour International 50 squash event.
Momen
will face fellow countryman Mohamed El Shorbagy, the No2 seed who
earlier beat Swiss number one Nicolas Mueller.
Golan,
the 29-year-old world No17 from Santiago de Compostela, had several
game-balls in the opening game of the second semi-final before finally
clinching it after a lengthy tie-break.
But
Momen, five years younger and two ranking places lower, reclaimed the
advantage early in the second game and held his nerve thereafter to
close out the match 13-15, 11-7, 11-6, 11-6 after 53 minutes.
The
Cairo-based Egyptian was celebrating his second appearance in the event
final since 2010 - and his first win over former world No10 Golan since
August 2008.
"What
really helped me today - and made a big difference - was that I was
really calm. And this helped me keep my focus," said Momen, now in the
eighth PSA Tour final of his career.
"I
kept my error count to a minimum and that really helped.
"It's
good for Egypt that we have two players in the final. And I wish Mohamed
the best of luck!"
The
earlier semi was the first PSA Word Tour battle between two players who
contested the world junior semi-finals in Switzerland in 2008.
El
Shorbagy, the world No8 making his first appearance in the Malaysian
Open, twice had to come from behind against Mueller, the 23-year-old
from Zurich who became the first Swiss player to make the world top 20
this month.
The
Egyptian regrouped in the decider and finally clinched his 11-13, 11-7,
10-12, 11-8, 11-8 victory after 64 minutes.
"I am
just really glad I got through .. it wasn't easy at all," said the
21-year-old from Alexandria who is marking his ninth Tour final. "I'm
putting too much pressure on myself these days to win and which I
shouldn't!
"I
can't believe that was our first meeting on PSA. We played only once
before, which was at the semi final of the World Juniors which I won in
five also.
"I was
10-7 up in the first and 8-6 up in the third - and lost both! It's just
frustrating how I lose my concentration. If I had got any of these two
games, I don't think we would have gone to a fifth game - but the way he
came back was just very strong!
"It
was a great match. I think we both played well and I think we both
realise after this match that we will create great rivalry together -
hopefully like the Nick (Matthew) and Ramy (Ashour) one in the future!"
Golan
Downs Darwish In Malaysian Open Upset
Unseeded Spaniard Borja Golan celebrated an unexpected place in
Friday's semi-finals of the CIMB Malaysian Open after ousting
top-seeded Egyptian Karim Darwish in today's quarter-finals of
the PSA World Tour International 50 squash event at the Curve
Shopping Mall in Selangor.
Golan,
the world No17 from Santiago de Compostela, raced to a first game lead
before then surviving a close second after a tie-break. But the demands
took their toll on Darwish, the world No4 making his first Tour
appearance since April, and the birth of his first-born son Omar in May.
With
the score standing at 11-3, 12-10, the favourite conceded the match
before the third game as the result of an apparent leg injury - handing
a semi-final berth to the Spaniard in his maiden appearance in the
established championship.
Golan
will now meet a further Egyptian Tarek Momen, the world No19 from
Cairo and 2010 runner-up who put an end to home interest in the event
when he beat Malaysian Mohd Nafiizwan Adnan 11-8, 11-4, 11-13,
11-4 in 40 minutes.
There
will be Egyptian interest in the other semi where No2 seed Mohamed El
Shorbagy takes on the Swiss number one Nicolas Mueller.
El
Shorbagy, the 21-year-old world No8 from Alexandria, faced experienced
Finn Olli Tuominen, the 33-year-old former world No13 from
Helsinki. The young Egyptian opened up a two-game lead and looked on
course for a straight-game route to the semis.
"In
the third, Olli moved up the court taking as much as he could at the top
of the bounce and volleying in front of the half court line - and shot
off to a 7-1 lead," said event spokesman Andrew Cross. "He
continued to hit winner after winner and now Shorbagy is resigned to
losing this game and Olli wraps it up 11-1."
After
Tuominen took the fourth to draw level, El Shorbagy reclaimed the
momentum and sped to an 8-2 lead in the decider. The Finn fought back to
get within a single point of his higher-ranked opponent, but El Shorbagy
held his nerve to close out the match 11-8, 11-9, 1-11, 5-11, 11-8 in 55
minutes.
"Glad
I got through," tweeted El Shorbagy later. "Wasn't easy at all but happy
I was strong in the 5th game...1st time playing on a glass court in 4
months so wasn't easy."
It was
the end of the road for brave qualifier Abdullah Al Muzayen in
the other quarter-final where Mueller recovered from a game down to beat
the Kuwaiti left-hander - who upset No3 seed Omar Mosaad in the
earlier round - 10-12, 11-5, 11-4, 11-0 in 40 minutes.
'Smooth Dude' Al Muzayen Makes Malaysian Quarters
Kuwaiti qualifier Abdullah Al Muzayen stole the headlines on the
opening day of the CIMB Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur
when he defeated third-seeded Egyptian Omar Mosaad to claim an
unexpected place in the quarter-finals of the PSA World Tour
International 50 squash event at the city's National Squash
Centre.
Winner
of the KL Open in March this year, world No10 Mosaad was looking
for back-to-back titles in Malaysia. The 24-year-old from Cairo started
well against the gifted Al Muzayen and was looking to dominate from the
outset.
"But
the Kuwaiti had different ideas and started firing in shots from
everywhere," said event spokesman Andrew Cross. "He came back to
win the second, holding the ball and flicking the ball - and all of a
sudden he was two games to one up."
In the
fourth, Al Muzayen was on fire, going quickly from love-all to
five-love. Mosaad was not going to give up though and came back to
five-all. The 24-year-old world No51 - the lowest-ranked player in the
draw - recovered the advantage and soon closed out the match 6-11, 11-4,
11-6, 11-8 in 39 minutes.
The
win immediately prompted a rave review by Australian number one
Cameron Pilley on Twitter: "Kuwaiti dude Abdullah is one of the most
naturally gifted players I've ever seen!! Easily one of the smoothest
movers on tour!!"
Naturally Al Muzayen was delighted with his breakthrough win: "Sooo
happy 2 beat world no.10 omar mosaad 3/1 looking forward to play well
tomorrow against mueller switzerland player world no.20," tweeted the
left-hander from Kuwait City.
Pilley
himself was unable to reproduce the Kuwaiti dude's winning ways later
when the world No16 from New South Wales went down 11-9, 4-11, 11-6,
11-7 in 73 minutes to Spain's Borja Golan, ranked just a single
place lower.
Golan
progresses to face top seed Karim Darwish, the world No4 from
Egypt competing in his first Tour event since the birth of his
first-born son Omar in May.
Darwish defeated Indian qualifier Siddharth Suchde 11-3, 11-4,
11-6.
Another seed fell later in the day when local star Mohd Nafiizwan
Adnan fought back from two games down against England's world No15
Adrian Grant to beat the fourth seed and 2006 champion 9-11,
5-11, 11-9, 11-4, 13-11 in a 96-minute marathon.
The
London-based Malaysian now faces Egypt's Tarek Momen, the 2010
runner-up who beat Hong Kong qualifier Max Lee 11-4, 11-8, 4-11,
13-11.
But
there was big disappointment for veteran Malaysian Ong Beng Hee
when the former world No7 suffered his earliest exit in the event since
2004. Champion in 2000, 2005 and 2008, Beng Hee bowed out to Nicolas
Mueller, losing 11-2, 11-5, 11-2 to the rising Swiss star.
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