[1] Ali Farag (EGY) 3-0 [8] Tarek Momen (EGY) 11-3, 11-8, 11-6 (52m)
Next opponent: Diego Elias
So cute: Farida, Ali’s girl and Shahir, Tarek’s son, were playing together a few meters away from the court where those two were killing each other…
I feel that I cannot add much more to what Tarek said. His analysis of the match is exactly what happened. When you see 11/3, you think mmm, easy, but look at the length of the match, 16m. And the second game – where Tarek might have been able to push had he been a bit younger – I’m KIDDING – 6/3 to Ali, 6/6, 8/9… finally 11/8, 20m second game!
The last game was the shortest, Tarek now being a bit flat, Ali making as many errors at Tarek – that doesn’t happen a lot, but they were both exhausted, and Ali wanted to shorten the agony!
Well done once again to those two who can tear each other apart on the court, while being best mates and respectful. A joy to watch.
Even @AliFarag appreciated this one from @TkMomen 👏#PSAWorldChamps pic.twitter.com/xXGwwrHJGr
— PSA World Tour (@PSAWorldTour) May 15, 2024
Tarek
I feel that the score doesn’t reflect how hard it was.
In the second, there was a patch where things could have turned a little bit, I made him work enough to start finding some gaps. But then, he managed to sneak the win, 11/8, we were close, 7/7, 8/8, but I was exhausted as well. We both had to give it everything,
I forced him to make some hard movements, but he also forced me to make some hard movements, and eventually, I think he was a bit fitter to close out that second.
And then in the third, I tried super hard but I felt like physically, I couldn’t stay as consistent, I kept pushing until the end, I had patches, so I run away with a few points, but at the end, the gap was just too big for me to come back.
Ali : “Because of how tough the match, at the end I saw the finish line and I had to do a lot of running, I had to stay disciplined and even the first the scoreline doesn’t show it.
“The rallies went on so long, every single rally was very competitive, even from the first point. The first rally set up the pace for the rest of the match. We were both up for the World Championships, we gave it our all and we gave the crowd a very good match.
You can have all the game plans you want but to execute them against a high calibre player like Tarek is never easy. I was discussing with Karim [Darwish] that I was nervous and I know Tarek. When his shots are on and he’s stubborn like he is today then he can be hard to beat.
“It’s funny because every match is a story and the twists can go your way or the other way and it might change the entire ending. At the mid-stage of the first, if he took that lead maybe I would have taken a step back and he had a rise in confidence. I’m glad it went my way and stayed with him for the entire match. Thankfully I had Karim with me and we discussed a few things.
“It’s funny because I was 1-0, 6-3 at El Gouna and I hit a few errors as well. They weren’t the wrong shots but when you’re 1-0, 6-3, you shouldn’t give away three points.
It’s tough to choose between Karim or Diego, they are both playing really well, I mean Diego was world number one not a long time ago, and so was Karim. He is as good and maybe even better than what he was when he was world number one. It’s going a very skilful match, I’ll be watching with a lot of fun to be fair, and also probably studying it with Karim Darwish and my brother, and everybody who is helping me, and hopefully, I’ll be back the day after tomorrow.
