DOHA (Qatar): World no.1 Ali Farag advanced into the Qatar Classic semifinals on Thursday by beating Peru’s world No.7 Diego Elias.
The Egyptian won 11-6, 6-11, 11-6, 9-11, 11-7 in the match that lasted 69 minutes.
“Diego and I have played over ten times now, a lot more, and it is always close. I have been getting the wins, luckily, but you see today how close it is. Somehow, every time I have been coming out as the winner,” said Farag.
The pair had met 13 times on the PSA World Tour before, with Farag holding the healthy 11-2 advantage over his South American counterpart. They faced off in their final group game at the CIB PSA World Tour Finals in Cairo at the end of September, with the Egyptian taking the win on home soil.
The first two games were rapid, with the score level at 1-1 after just 20 minutes. Farag took the lead after dispatching the first game 11-6, before Elias turned the tables in the second to tie the match.
The new world no.1 took the third by the same scoreline to re-establish his lead, thanks to winning the last seven points of the game to come from 6-4 down to take it 11-6.
“What a match that was today. He was very subtle and smart with his tactics. The first, I started well and then in the second, he started slowing things down and twisting me a lot. I wasn’t happy with myself, in not dealing with it quick enough. It took me a game and a half to adjust accordingly,” added the defending champion. (Source: PSA)
