SF : [9] Fares Dessouky (Egy) 3-2 [2] Tarek Momen (Egy) 9-11, 11-5, 11-7, 1-11, 11-7 (75m)
This match all came down in my humble opinion to that question: who was the hungriest?
I am NOT SAYING that Tarek didn’t fight, that he did. But Fares had a desperation that Tarek didn’t have. The Momenator in my opinion has a lot on hi
s mind. His first child is about to be born any minute and my guess if that yes, squash is important, but there are other things as well. But for Fares, this was his first ever Gold Final. And he wanted it. Badly.
Quite strangely, apart from the game he won 11/1, Tarek was down quite heavily each game (first game, 3/8, second, 3/7, third 4/8, fifth, 5/8.). He played catch up the whole match. And that’s using a lot of energy. Maybe that’s where the difference is: at the end, the mental juice was just not there anymore…
And I might be wrong, it would be the first time, OBVIOUSLY, but everything is possible. I give to you that Tarek just didn’t want to lose against Joel. He played his best match against him yesterday. Taking Joel 3/0 was maybe his final in a way. I’m not saying he doesn’t mind losing against Fares, he does, as he was leading 5/0 in their H2H – including Egyptian Nationals. But I don’t think he was heartbroken by the loss today. He would have been had he lost against the Welsh.
Still a good push from the Momenator in the first game, down like I said 3/8, thanks to huge rallies at a gruelling pace, he clawed back and scored 7 points in a row, 10/8, to take the game thanks to an error from Fearless, 11/9 in 16m.
Same bad start in the second, 3/7, 4/8, 10/4, 11/5, 4 errors from Tarek, 11m game.
In the third, the energy comes from Fares’ racquet I feel. Tarek is responding but I feel not confident enough maybe. Down again, 4/8. A good push but it’s too little too late and it’s Alexandria 11/7, Tarek only 1 error, Fares consistent with 2. 16m game.
Change of ball. Tarek mentioned he was struggling with the balls tonight. He said that he felt the most comfortable with his length when the balls were fresh, that he could prevent Fares from volleying. Which he couldn’t do when the ball died…. And that 4th he is unbeatable, 11/1 in 9m.
Too many errors for Tarek at the start of the 5th. A 4/0 start for Fares, what a mental boost for a decider. And again, as Tarek is closing down on the score, two more errors from the Momenator, 6/3, 8/5.
Tarek will keep on fighting, not making a single error from 3/5, but the damage is done. Fares believes, knows he can cross the finishing line. And he does. 11/7 for Fares, 3 winners for Tarek, 8 for Fares, 12m game.
🗣 "He is playing incredibly. He is very fast on court so I had to really focus on every single point."
Hear what @FaresDessouky had to say after reaching a Gold level final for the first time in his career 👏#BlackBallOpen pic.twitter.com/hMyGUZtzRu
— PSA World Tour (@PSAWorldTour) December 17, 2020
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If I want to beat someone like Tarek then I have to play those kind of shots.
I’m very happy that it worked today very well. There is a lot of ups and downs, especially if you are playing well from the first of the tournament, bit nervous because you don’t want to upset everyone that is coming to watch, so that’s why there were some ups and downs. He’s playing incredibly, he’s very fast on court so I have to really focus on every point. It’s hard to keep my focus until the end of the match in all games, it’s hard.
I’m very happy to make it to the final, this is my biggest final since I started playing PSA, so I’m really happy to be back and competing again, especially here in Egypt. I was missing playing in front of my friends, family and this amazing crowd.
I have to recover and make sure my body is in good shape. Tomorrow will be a tough match against Ali, he’s the World No.1 and is in good form so I will try to dig really deep to grab the win.
