World Champs FINALS

Sherbini and Farag crowned in Chicago

We knew that the new World Champions would be Egyptian, now we know that the 2018/19 titles belong to Nour El Sherbini and Ali Farag after they completed four game victories over compatriots Nour El Tayeb and Tarek Momen in Chicago’s Union Station ….

Day EIGHT : World Championship FINALS

[2] Nour El Sherbini (Egy) 3-1 [3] Nour El Tayeb (Egy)  11-6, 11-5, 10-12, 15-13 (57m)

[2] Ali Farag (Egy) 3-1 [4] Tarek Momen (Egy)  11-5, 11-13, 13-11, 11-3 (79m)

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It’s Farag the First

He became World #1 yesterday, today he became World Champion … what is Ali Farag going to do tomorrow ???

Like he has been all tournament, he was on fire in the first game, taking a 9-3 lead and closing it out 11-5, but Tarek Momen fought back well to take a 23-minute second game 13-11.

Two first-time finalists were giving their all, and the packed crowd at Union Station were loving it.

The third was even longer, close all the way but this time it was Farag who finished it off 13-11.

Momen admitted afterwards, “I’d been running on fumes for a while, it would have been good to take the third to see what happened, but once I lost it that was the end for me.”

Farag took the fourth 11-3 and with it the world title.

“If five years back you had have told me that I would be standing here holding the World Championship trophy then no chance would I have believed you.

“As a senior at college I never thought about going pro and to be here today and the main driving force behind it is Nour, I’m deeply blessed to have her in my life, and she is the one who pushed me to go pro.

“Tarek and I have been practising together for the last ten years and I hardly ever beat him. It’s always tough against him, I see how hard he works every day and I was a bit lucky today in the third and I think that made the difference.”

“Winning the World Championships is one thing, but winning it in front of this crowd is something else. Thanks to the Walter Family, it’s the biggest prize purse that’s ever been on offer in squash and it’s a huge honour.”

Sherbini makes it three

Appearing in her fourth final in a row – and fifth in all – Nour el Sherbini claimed a third World Championship title as she beat Nour el Tayeb in a thrilling four game encounter in front of a packed crowd at Chicago’s Union Station.

It looked as though the title would come easily as Sherbini dominated the first two games – causing Tayeb to smash her racket in anger backstage.

The effect was immediate as Tayeb raced into a 7-0 lead in the third. Sherbini fought back, levelling at 8-8 and earning match ball at 10-9. She thought she’d won it as the ball came down thhe middle, but it was only a let. Tayeb took the reprieve, took the next three points, and she was back in the match.

Tayeb led early in the fourth, but there was nothing much in it. Tayeb got to game ball at 10-9, 11-10, and 12-11, all saved. Sherbini had match ball at 13-12 and 14-13, clinching the title to her and her team’s utter delight.

“I think I’m out of words!

“The last two games were really close and she was coming back. I think she likes it like that – she was a little bit tense in the first two games and then she started to relax. I was trying to focus point after point and I’m really happy of course.

“It was really tough tournament for me, and a lot of things happened before I came here and behind the scenes. But I’m really glad that I came because one of the options was that I wouldn’t be able to come.

“I was improving match after match and I had a lot of tough matches in the earlier rounds but I’m really glad that I managed to get everything together this week.”

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