"I knew that recently I found a way to be more patient but I haven't been consistent with it but so far in this tournament I kept my cool and calm and I've been very patient", said Momen. (pic: Helen Ree ) After despatching the top 2 seeds in contrasting semi-finals, Amr Shabana and Tarek Momen will contest the 1st all-Egyptian final of the Grasshopper Cup in Zurich, Switzerland.
3rd seed Shabana, the rejuvenated 34-year-old four-time World Champion, was at his best as he defeated No2 seed Borja Golan, the World No.5 from Spain, 11-3, 13-11, 12-10 in 43 minutes. “I really felt going into this match I was very sharp and very focused,” said the left-hander.
The 2nd semi-final was a match in which the fortunes ebbed and flowed between the 2 players for 93 minutes. Tarek Momen, the No.6 seed, had never before beaten top seed Englishman James Willstrop in 5 meetings. Games and points were shared right up to 8:8 in the decider – but underdog Momen, ranked 12 in the World, kept his nerve to win 11-6, 1-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-9. “I really surprised myself with the way my game has matured,” said Momen.
Final line up (over-all head-to-heads):
[3] Amr Shabana (EGY) v [6] Tarek Momen (EGY) – (3:0)
Semi-finals:
[6] Tarek Momen (EGY) bt [1] James Willstrop (ENG) 11-6, 1-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-9 (93m)
[3] Amr Shabana (EGY) bt [2] Borja Golan (ESP) 11-3, 13-11, 12-10 (43m)
Quarter-finals:
[1] James Willstrop (ENG) bt [5] Simon Rösner (GER) 11-8, 11-8, 11-6 (61m)
[6] Tarek Momen (EGY) bt [4] Daryl Selby (ENG) 11-3, 11-4, 12-14, 11-5 (61m)
[3] Amr Shabana (EGY) bt [Q] Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY) 14-12, 11-4, 11-8 (30m)
[2] Borja Golan (ESP) bt [7] Omar Mosaad (EGY) 12-14, 11-8, 12-10, 12-10 (112m)
1st round:
[1] James Willstrop (ENG) bt Olli Tuominen (FIN) 11-4, 11-6, 11-6 (32m)
[5] Simon Rösner (GER) bt Nicolas Mueller (SUI) 9-11, 11-9, 2-11, 11-7, 11-7 (82m)
[6] Tarek Momen (EGY) bt [Q] Kristian Frost Olesen (DEN) 11-5, 12-10, 11-8 (30m)
[4] Daryl Selby (ENG) bt [WC] Reiko Peter (SUI) 11-7, 11-8, 11-8 (36m)
[3] Amr Shabana (EGY) bt Alister Walker (BOT) 11-5, 11-9, 11-6 (36m)
[Q] Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY) bt [8] Cameron Pilley (AUS) 11-7, 8-11, 13-11, 11-6 (62m)
[7] Omar Mosaad (EGY) bt [Q] Mohd Ali Anwar Reda (EGY) 11-4, 5-11, 11-7, 11-3 (49m)
[2] Borja Golan (ESP) bt [Q] Henrik Mustonen (FIN) 11-7, 11-7, 11-5 (35m)
