Top seed Karim Ali Fathi survived a marathon all-Egyptian
final of the PSA Valencia in Spain, beating unseeded Zahed
Mohamed in the climax of the PSA Challenger 10 squash
event in its third year at Club Olympia in Valencia.
The triumph marked the 20-year-old from Cairo's second PSA World
Tour title in a row, and the eight-match run established Ali
Fathi's longest winning streak on the Tour.
The favourite ended Alejandro Garbi Caro's run in the
semi-finals when he beat the Spanish wild card 11-9, 11-4, 11-5.
The other semi was a non-seeded affair in which Mohamed prevailed in
an 80-minute five-game battle against Frenchman Joan Lezaud.
And, despite his marathon ordeal 24 hours earlier, the 21-year-old
from Alexandria twice led Ali Fathi in the final.
But Fathi, boasting a career-high world No39 ranking, forced the
match into a decider and eventually secured his anticipated triumph
over the world No78 Mohamed, winning 10-12, 12-10, 9-11, 11-7, 11-6
in 85 minutes.
The Valencia victory takes Ali Fathi's Tour title total to seven
since January last year.
Caro Carries On In Valencia
Spanish giant-killer Alejandro Garbi Caro continued his
progress in the PSA Valencia when he ousted fourth seed
Joel Hinds to reach the semi-finals of the PSA World Tour
Challenger 10 squash event in its third year at Club Olympia
in the Spanish city of Valencia.
It
was after his surprise first round defeat of experienced Frenchman
Yann Perrin that wild card Caro faced Englishman Hinds
(both pictured above) in the quarter-finals - where he took just
47 minutes to overcome the world No82 11-4, 11-5, 11-6.
Caro, ranked outside the world top 100, now faces top seed Karim
Ali Fathi, the world No39 from Egypt who dismissed France's
Geoffrey Demont 12-10, 11-8, 11-6.
Both seeds in the lower half of the draw failed to make the last
four. Germany's No3 seed Jens Schoor went down 11-6, 11-9,
11-6 to Egypt's Zahed Mohamed, while Denmark's No2 seed
Kristian Frost Olesen was unable to capitalise on a 2/0 lead
against Joan Lezaud, ultimately crashing out 8-11, 6-11,
11-6, 11-8, 11-7 to the Frenchman in 77 minutes.
Caro Lifts Home Hopes in Valencia
Local wild card Alejandro Garbi Caro thrilled the partisan
crowd at Club Olympia in the Spanish city of Valencia
when he fought back from a game down to beat experienced Frenchman
Yann Perrin in the first round of the PSA Valencia,
the PSA World Tour Challenger 10 squash event in its third
year.
The 30-year-old from Castellon beat Perrin 9-11, 11-5, 11-5, 11-6
(both pictured below) to set up a quarter-final clash with
fourth seed Joel Hinds. World No82 Hinds had to battle for 74
minutes to see off fellow Englishman Chris Fuller, a
qualifier, 10-12, 14-12, 11-9, 11-7 to earn his anticipated place in
the last eight.
There was another upset with French interest higher in the draw -
but this time Frenchman Geoffrey Demont gained the win after
recovering from two games down to beat higher-ranked Englishman
Nathan Lake 9-11, 2-11, 12-10, 12-10, 11-7 in 75 minutes, the
longest match of the day.
Demont, a 22-year-old from Aix-en-Provence ranked 119 in the world,
will now be tested by top seed Karim Ali Fathi.
The fast-improving 20-year-old from Egypt despatched England's
Alex Ingham 11-6, 11-7, 11-8.
