World No. 1 Ali Farag comes from behind to retain Singapore Squash Open title

SINGAPORE – This is how legends are made.

American singer Sam Tinnesz’s chorus provided a fitting end to the US$220,000 (S$296,000) Vitagen Singapore Squash Open, as Egypt’s world No. 1 Ali Farag proved his mettle by coming back from two games down to beat world champion Diego Elias of Peru and retain his men’s title on Nov 24.

Farag, who won 3-2 (6-11, 7-11, 11-8, 11-1, 11-4) in 70 minutes at the OCBC Arena, told The Straits Times: “You can have all the technique and tactics, but none of it matters if you don’t have the character and grit to back it up.”

In a generally good-spirited encounter that saw four-time world champion Farag applauding some outstanding winners from his world No. 3 opponent, it was Elias who surprised initially.

He came out firing on all cylinders to take the first two games, despite having come back from two games himself to beat Kiwi Paul Coll in the semi-finals the day before.

However, the tables soon turned on the 28-year-old Peruvian, who had beaten Farag en route to becoming the first South American squash world champion in May.

With the third game finely poised at 8-8, Elias was just three points away from sealing his first title in his third consecutive Singapore Open final.

Tension was building as Farag tossed his racket in frustration at one point. But there was no stopping the 32-year-old once he found his rhythm, as Elias began to lose his mojo with his semi-final exertions finally taking a toll.

Farag, who extended his head-to-head record against Elias to 26-5, said: “I know how talented he is and how many great shots he can come up with, but he’s also a very fair player and a very honest player. So that’s why the match was played in very high spirits.

“But I’ve played him five times this year and they were all tough games, so I hope I don’t have to play against him for the rest of the season.”

Elias returned the compliment, saying: “Today, I played well in the first two games, but Ali started playing better and I was feeling a little bit tired from yesterday and he didn’t give me any chance to come back.

“He’s No. 1 for a reason, and he’s very consistent. It’s very tough but I’m getting closer and closer. Hopefully, I can also get a bit more consistent and have a few more wins against him.”

With the 800-capacity Hall 2 more than 85 per cent filled, the fans got more than their money’s worth as both finals went to five games.

The women’s final was a more feisty affair with teen prodigy Amina Orfi claiming another big scalp in her fledgling career by beating compatriot and world No. 3 Hania El Hammamy 3-2 (9-11, 11-9, 11-13, 11-1, 11-9) in 96 minutes.

The bespectacled 17-year-old, who intends to celebrate with some Egyptian basbousa cake after clinching her first gold title on the Professional Squash Association (PSA) Tour, said: “I still can’t believe I won this match.

“I’m over the moon and looking to get back home to celebrate with my family and friends.

“I hope to keep going, break into the top five, and reach the semi-finals and finals of big tournaments. Hopefully, I can win an Olympic gold for Egypt in 2028 (when squash makes its debut in Los Angeles).”

World No. 10 Amina had already beaten Belgium’s defending champion and seventh-ranked Nele Coll and Malaysia’s ninth-ranked Sivasangari Subramaniam in Singapore and showed tremendous mental fortitude to defeat El Hammamy for the first time in three attempts.

She had been cautioned for unnatural movement into her opponent’s path, with umpire Josh Foyle telling her that she could lose a game at the next escalation. Meanwhile, El Hammamy was also warned for dissent in a heated second game.

Amina explained: “When there’s a ball in the middle, I try to take up my space, which is kind of my right. Sometimes they may view it as an intentional (obstruction), when it’s really not, so I just try to play the ball away from me.”

With both players having won two games each, the drama continued into the decider when El Hammamy, 24, required attention after sprawling on the court and scraping her right knee as her 5-1 lead evaporated.

She missed the chance to level at 9-9 with an unforced error at the front court and saved a championship point when the ball struck Amina’s leg, but the teenager completed the upset.

As the champions and runners-up each took home US$18,050 and US$11,400 respectively, the marathon finals wrapped up a three-year deal for the event.

Singapore Squash Rackets Association president Patrick Thio said the organisers are in discussions with Sport Singapore and the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth regarding a contract renewal.

He added: “With recent changes to the PSA Tour structure, we aim to elevate the event’s status beyond the gold level (to platinum or diamond) to bring even greater prestige and excitement to our squash community.

“Our commitment remains to grow the sport locally and enhance Singapore’s presence on the global stage.”