Ali Farag is through to his fifth PSA World Championships final after taking out defending champion Diego Elias 3-0.
Farag, a four-time world champion, was defeated in the semi finals last season by Elias as the Peruvian went on to become the first South American to win the title.
But the World No.2 avenged that defeat to Elias to progress to his fifth final at the World Championships – his fourth in Chicago.
Farag had won the last five meetings with Elias coming into today’s semi-final showdown, with the Peruvian last getting the better of the Egyptian at the QTerminals Qatar Classic 2024.
Farag’s tactical approach previously against Elias was to extend the rallies early on and it was no different on this occasion, with the exchanges lengthy as Farag wore him down to win 11-5 in 19 minutes.
World No.2 Farag continued to dominate into the second, pushing Elias into the back corners and squeezing the errors from his racket to go 2-0 up.
Elias, who delivered a tactical masterclass against Farag last season at the World Championships, couldn’t find the answers he needed this time as Farag won the third 11-5.
“He [Diego Elias] had an injury for two months in a crucial time of the season so I don’t think he’s as fit as he’d like to be coming into the World Championships,” he said.
“That played into my hands big time and I think it was very clear with Karim [Darwish] before stepping on court that I have to elongate the first rallies.
“Even if I lost the first it was important to put some mileage into both of our legs and I knew I had that advantage with his injury that had him sidelined for a while.
“Even when at the very end I could see he was struggling but I was nervous because I know he can come up with some incredible winners. Certainly very happy to be through.”
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Result
[1] Ali Farag (EGY) bt [3] Diego Elias (PER) 3-0: 11-5, 11-4, 11-5 (41m)
