ZURICH – Egyptian duo Ali Farag and Nouran Gohar claimed their first-ever Grasshopper squash Cup titles after defeating Diego Elias and Sivasangari Subramaniam, respectively, at Zurich Hauptbahnhof in Switzerland.
It’s Farag’s 46th title on the PSA Squash Tour, the 27th different event he’s won after finally getting his hands on the piece of silverware that has eluded him throughout his trophy-laden career.
“It sounds good to be the Grasshopper Cup champion,” said Farag according to psasquashtour.com.
“I’ve been trying to win this for many years. I’ve loved the city, loved the event, loved the crowd but the one thing missing was the title. Now that I have that in my bag, I don’t have to come back every again [joked Farag].
“I’m so proud and happy. It’s always an honour to play Diego. He has beautiful racket skills and a beautiful grace about his game. He’s obviously lacking some match fitness but he’ll be scary next week at the World Championships. It’s great to have him back on Tour but not great to play him on court.
“He came out of the blocks very quick but I knew it wasn’t going to be sustainable. I didn’t do well in the first six points but after that, I started to get my length back and squeeze him in the back corners.
“He played well in the second game and that was a testament to his skill and then I think I got ahead of him and could go from there.”
Farag, a four-time world champion, was a runner-up at the Grasshopper Cup back in 2017 where he lost out to Gregory Gaultier, and he defeated Elias for the fourth time this season in a final to take the crown.
The Egyptian overturned a 6-0 deficit in the opening game to nudge ahead before Elias restored parity with victory in the second, but Farag had worn the Peruvian out enough to earn his maiden title in Switzerland with a 13-11, 12-14, 11-4, 11-5 success.
Meanwhile, Gohar crowned her first-ever visit to Switzerland by taking home the Grasshopper Cup title after downing Sivasangari in straight games.
It was the fourth time defending world champion Gohar was facing Sivasangari on Tour, and the Egyptian boasted a 100 per cent record over the Malaysian coming into today’s final.
“I’m very happy. I think this is one of the few tournaments that I’ve won at the first attempt,” said Gohar.
“To be honest, I really enjoyed my time here. It’s my first time in Switzerland. I’ve been around it but never here and it didn’t disappoint. This was one of the most amazing crowds to play in front of so it was a blast and a great week and I’m very happy to end the week positively.
“The second game was crucial. With Siva I knew that there was going to be a period where she was playing amazing squash and I just had to push through that. Once I did, it became a bit easier but overall, I’m very happy with my game management today.
“I’m taking it match by match but obviously I’m very happy with my form but I want to get better and better every day and I try my best very time I step on court.
The Egyptian kept that streak intact as she claimed her 13th victory in succession on the PSA Squash Tour, with Gohar only losing one match so far this calendar year.
Gohar has been relentless all week in Zurich, and the World No.1 was in the same ruthless form again in the title decider, containing Sivasangari well to win 11-7, 14-12, 11-9 and clinch her 33rd title on Tour.
