Mostafa Asal is into the final of the PSA World Championships for the first time after overcoming Paul Coll in a five-game thriller.
Asal will take on Diego Elias in the decider tomorrow evening, with the Peruvian also featuring in his maiden final in this tournament.
New Zealand No.1 Coll has had the measure of Asal from their recent meetings, winning the last four, including the final of the London Squash Classic.
Asal made a positive start as he mixed the pace well with his strong line hitting giving him seven game balls in the first. Four of those were wiped out by Coll, but Asal finally converted at the fifth attempt.
The World No.3 was asserting himself in the middle of the court, taking his opportunities when they were presented to him as Asal made it a two-game lead.
Coll got off to an ideal start in the third as he upped the pace and taking the ball early to go in front. Asal’s ruthless accuracy got him back into the game, but Coll did enough to halve the match deficit.
The New Zealander was starting to find his feet, and he was managing play much better in the fourth, getting in front of Asal and utilising the drop to restore parity.
Asal looked to be well on his way to booking his place in the final of the World Championships when he had three match balls, only for Coll to save all three to send the fifth into a tiebreak. However two strokes went against the Kiwi, confirming Asal’s spot in the final. https://twitter.com/PSAWorldTour/status/1791611797977317452
“It’s crazy! I love to play here and I love to compete in Egypt. The crowd gave me a boost. Today was very physical and tough,” he said.
“Fair play to Paul – he’s an amazing athlete coming from 2-0 down. I’m really grateful.
“In between games, at 2-2 he [James Willstrop, Asal’s coach] said to me, ‘come on it’s a World Championships. Why aren’t you giving your 100 per cent?’ All credit to him and it’s a turning point having this legend behind me.”
Result [4] Mostafa Asal (EGY) bt [2] Paul Coll (NZL) 3-2: 11-7, 11-6, 8-11, 3-11, 12-10 (83m)
