Quarters Roundup

Crouin saves match balls as the top four seeds in both draws reach semis in Cairo

French No.2 seed Victor Crouin came back from 2-0 down, saving four match balls in the third, to complete a thrilling comeback against unseeded Hungarian Balazs Farkas on a quarter-finals day where the top four seeds in both draws won through to the semis.

Farkas was appearing in his biggest ever PSA quarter-final, but the World No.70 showed no signs of any nerves at Zed Park as he outplayed Crouin in the opening two games and continued his fine form into the third to lead 10-6 and put his opponent on the brink of a shock defeat.

But Crouin, the World No.18, kept focused and fought his way back into the match, winning six straight points against a tiring opponent. That third-game victory sapped all of the energy and confidence from Farkas, who looked increasingly forlorn as Crouin powered to the win over the course of the next two games.

“I just hate losing, so I kept fighting and I found a way in that third game,” said Crouin, who will appear in his second Bronze level semi-final.“After winning that, I felt it was possible to come back, so I’m just very happy to win. It’s only a Bronze event, but it feels almost like a Platinum event. It’s an amazing venue here, it’s nice to play outside even though it’s hot.

“I love playing in Cairo, I have my friends here that I spent years with in the US and I still see them here in Cairo, so it’s great to be back.”

Crouin will take on fourth seed Omar Mosaad for a place in the title decider after ‘The Hammer of Thor’ got the better of compatriot Yahya Elnawasany.

Meanwhile, top seed Youssef Soliman will take on Germany’s Raphael Kandra in the other men’s semi-final following wins over Moustafa El Sirty and Mohamed ElSherbini.

“To beat Moustafa in three I had to be consistent with my hitting and movement, he’s so good with his stop/start game and I’m just glad to be through in three,” said Soliman. “You can see this event could be a Platinum event, it has to be the best 50k in the history of the PSA and hopefully I can keep going.”

In the women’s quarter-finals, both of the top seeds also made it through to the last four, with Salma Hany and Nour El Tayeb beating Nadine Shahin and Marina Stefanoni.

Hany dropped the third game against Shahin, but otherwise put in a strong display in which she showcased her delicate touch with the racket. An 11-5, 11-7, 7-11, 11-6 victory has sent Hany through to her second PSA semi-final of the year after her last four finish in May’s Tournament of Champions.

“Nadine is a very tricky opponent,” Hany said. “We play a lot on tour and it’s always back and forth between us. All respect to her, and I needed to be very sharp from the beginning. I had a good start in the first two games and then she was strong in the third, but I’m just glad I managed to get through in four games.”

El Tayeb, a former World No.3, required just 25 minutes to see off 19-year-old American Marina Stefanoni, who was appearing in her maiden Bronze quarter-final.

“First of all, I knew I was playing a dangerous opponent,” said El Tayeb. “I’ve heard about Marina for the past four or five years, so I was very aware and nervous and I watched a few of her matches to see how she plays because she’s new to the tour. I think because I was aggressive and focused from the beginning it helped me play well throughout the whole match.”

El Tayeb will lock horns with third seed Nele Gilis in the semis after the Belgian beat Hana Ramadan, while Hany will play fourth seed Farida Mohamed, who beat France’s Melissa Alves.