CW Countdown : Dessouky sets up Elias #1 bid
Fares Dessouky downs Mostafa Asal and Joel Makin stops Paul Coll in Cairo as the stage is set for Diego Elias to become world No.1
BY ALAN THATCHER
Reigning Canary Wharf champion Fares Dessouky shed tears of emotion after beating Mostafa Asal in last year’s East Wintergarden final.
Last night Dessouky beat Asal again in the second round of the Black Ball Open in Cairo and afterwards asked the new world No.1, who is top seed at Canary Wharf, to stop making disparaging remarks about other players.
Dessouky repeated his straight-games triumph over Asal in London, winning 11-6, 13-11, 11-7 at the luxurious Black Ball Club.
Afterwards he said:
“I’m very happy to win the match. Every time I play Mostafa it’s very tough but today I played my best squash.
“He’s the world No.1 and he’s so talented, but the last couple of times we played each other he was very dodgy in terms of his movements.
“Today was the first time we played a clean match since Canary Wharf (last March). Every time after the match he talks badly about me but today I’m not going to do the same.
“He deserves everyone to respect him on court because he’s the world No.1, but it’s unacceptable that every time he talks about players in a bad way. Hopefully that will stop very soon.”
Asal’s defeat means that Peru’s Diego Elias, currently ranked at No.2 in the PSA men’s rankings, will have the opportunity to become the sport’s first South American world No.1 if he can win the Black Ball Open.
On an incredible night in Cairo, Wales’ Joel Makin overcame New Zealand’s Paul Coll (twice a Canary Wharf champion) 11-9, 8-11, 13-11, 11-8 in a battle lasting 90 minutes, gaining revenge for his defeat in the Commonwealth Games final in Birmingham last summer.
These results, and Dessouky’s comments, set the scene for a fascinating week at Canary Wharf, where the world’s top 12 male players will be competing in the 20th anniversary edition of London’s favourite tournament.
