Reigning world champion Diego Elias will meet Ali Farag in a rematch of last year’s semi-final clash on Friday after the Peruvian dispatched Youssef Soliman 3-0.
Elias overcame Farag last season in Cairo on his way to winning the World Championships for the first time, becoming the maiden South American to be crowned world champion.
The World No.3 was in stellar form against Soliman to continue his title defence with his second successive semi-final at the World Championships.
Soliman tried to rush Elias as he pushed up the court, but the Peruvian did an excellent job at controlling the middle of the court and dictating the pace of the game. The sting was taken out of Soliman’s attacks for an 11-8 win in the first.
After a close opener, the second was much more comprehensive for Elias as Soliman only notched one point as World No.3 Elias went two games up.
Soliman, appearing in the quarter finals of this event for the first time, upped the tempo once again but Elias once again diffused all of his attacking prowess to advance to the last four.
“Very happy I could win in three today. It’s been a long time since my last match and it feels like a new tournament and I’m happy I could close it in three,” he said.
“All of my team is here, my best friend is here and I’m very glad to have this support here. Hopefully I can go all the way this week.
“We’ve played so many times now, I think more than 35 times. We know each very well and it’s another semi-final and I think we’ve played eight times this season.
“Just happy to play again against him, it’s always a pleasure to share the court with him and hopefully I can do what I did last year in Egypt.”
