“I’ve showed myself that I can compete with these guys and have the mental toughness to do it three days in a row,” said Farag. (Photo: Bryan Mitchell / BAC) 23-year-old Egyptian Ali Farag capped the most impressive week of his squash career to date by defeating England’s World No.3 Nick Matthew in the final of the 2016 Motor City Open to claim the trophy and the biggest tournament title of his career.
Farag’s 11-7, 5-11, 11-6, 11-7 (50m) victory over 35-year-old three-time World Champion Matthew, who was competing in the 70th PSA World Tour final of his career, saw the 12-years-younger World No.22 complete a hat-trick of wins over higher ranked players, like World No.1 Mohamed Elshorbagy and World No.10 Mathieu Castagnet. “This is definitely the best week of my career by far,” said Farag.
After the match Matthew said: “He was on a roll. The crowd was feeding on him. The last few points was the first time I felt tired all week. Credit to him for getting me to that point.”
Final:
[7] Ali Farag (EGY) bt [2] Nick Matthew (ENG) 11-7, 5-11, 11-6, 11-7 (50m)
Semi-finals:
[7] Ali Farag (EGY) bt [3] Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) 12-10, 9-11, 11-4, 11-9 (61m)
[2] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt [6] Borja Golan (ESP) 11-8, 9-11, 11-8, 11-7 (64m)
Quarter-finals:
[7] Ali Farag (EGY) bt [1] Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) 6-11, 11-9, 11-7, 8-11, 11-6 (66m)
[3] Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) bt [5] Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) 11-9, 7-11, 5-11, 11-9, 11-2 (78m)
[6] Borja Golan (ESP) bt [4] Max Lee (HKG) 11-4, 11-2, 11-5 (35m)
[2] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt [8] Chris Simpson (ENG) 11-6, 11-6, 11-7 (40m)
1st round:
[1] Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) bt Adrian Waller (ENG) 11-9, 11-9, 6-11, 11-8 (55m)
[7] Ali Farag (EGY) bt [Q] Diego Elias (PER) 11-9, 11-4, 11-2 (35m)
[5] Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) bt [Q] Nasir Iqbal (PAK) w/o
[3] Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) bt [Q] Olli Tuominen (FIN) 11-4, 11-6, 9-11, 11-4 (46m)
[4] Max Lee (HKG) bt [Q] Leo Au (HKG) 11-6, 11-7, 11-9 (59m)
[6] Borja Golan (ESP) bt Gregoire Marche (FRA) 11-3, 11-8, 11-4 (35m)
[8] Chris Simpson (ENG) bt Nicolas Müller (SUI) 13-11, 11-1, 19-17 (62m)
[2] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY) 11-8, 11-9, 10-12, 9-11, 11-9 (76m)
