ISSUE01-2018InternationalSquashMagazine

ALI FARAG WINS UCS SWEDISH OPEN
ALIFARAGWINSUCSSWEDISHOPEN
Egypt’s Ali Farag won his first title of the year courtesy of a 11-7 6-11
11-3 11-5 victory over Germany’s Simon Rösner in the final of the 2018 UCS
Swedish Open in Linköping, Sweden.
Farag last tasted title success when he
triumphed at the U.S. Open in October
to win the first Professional Squash
Association (PSA) World Series title of
his career, but capped off a sublime
week that saw him return to his best
form in Sweden with a commanding
victory over Rösner - preventing the
German from adding the Swedish Open
to the Tournament of Champions crown
he collected in January.
The in-form German started strong,
looking to pick up where he left off
following an impressive semi-final
defeat of Tarek Momen, but ultimately
came up short as 25-year-old Farag
began to turn the screw, exerting
consistent pressure that eventually
sapped Rösner’s energy and paved the
way for a 51-minute victory.
“I’m over the moon to have won the title
here at this great event,” said Farag.
“I’ve heard great things about this
event for years and it exceeded all my
expectations. It has been a great event.
“After losing the second game I got
some great words from Tarek (Momen)
so I have to thank him, and my wife
and family back home, for their support
because without a full team behind me I
wouldn’t have been able to do it.”
The Swedish Open first began in the
1970s and the 2018 edition saw ActiPro
Event under the stewardship of its
founder and CEO Fredrik Johnson
celebrate their 15th year running the
tournament on the PSA World Tour.
UCS Swedish Open
Final:
[1] Ali Farag (EGY) bt
[4] Simon Rösner (GER)
3-1: 11-7, 6-11, 11-3, 11-5
INTERNATIONALSQUASHMAGAZINE April 2018 | 15
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