Report courtesy of Matt Schoch
As he had all week, Mohamed Abouelghar took the long, tough road on Saturday to win the championship of the 2019 Motor City Open presented by the Suburban Collection.
Abouelghar needed five games to top Peru’s Diego Elias in the finals, completing a week where the Egyptian won four matches in 18 games in the Professional Squash Association World Tour event.
Third-seed Abouelghar topped #4-seed Elias in a thrilling, high-quality, 63-minute final, 5-11, 11-6, 11-3, 4-11, 11-8 – becoming the seventh Egyptian to win the MCO in the past 10 years at the Birmingham Athletic Club.
Veteran referee Mike Riley called it one of the five best matches he has ever called.
“I’m very, very happy and proud to put my name on the trophy with so many legends,” Abouelghar said. “It’s very special.”
Despite the long week, the 25-year-old Abouelghar showed off his endurance in the final.
“It was hard, man,” Abouelghar said. “Diego is such a great player. Sometimes he makes you work so much, you have to grind yourself out. He moves the ball very well around the court. At some point, you just have to retrieve and get the ball back.”
In Game #1, Elias raced through seven of the last eight points to win, 11-5.
Abouelghar came out aggressively in the second game. He took a 7-2 lead and won 11-6, then dominated Game #3 for an 11-3 triumph. Elias recovered the win the fourth, 11-4, setting up a dramatic finish.
“It was a tough match, he played well,” said Elias, 22, who also reached the MCO semifinal in 2017. “It was really close, but I felt it was right in front of me this time.”
The pair played to a tie at 8-8 before Abouelghar won the final three points to raise the trophy.
“I doubt if it gets harder than that,” Abouelghar said. “We’re going to play many more battles. I’m happy I got this one, and I’m sure he’s going to come at me next time.”
Tournament organizers praised the champion’s resilience and also recognized Elias as an up-and-comer to watch.
“I’m confident that within the next 12-24 months, he’s going to be right up there near the top, in the top five in the world,” MCO co-chair Peter Schmidt said. “It’s great to have a fantastic final.”
Added Derrick J. Glencer, co-chairman of the MCO: “This happens a lot at our tournament, and a lot of people who end up winning our tournament go on to being world No. 1 and I can absolutely see (Elias’) future. It was a brilliant battle tonight.”
For more information and tournament coverage visit themotorcityopen.com.
Watch a replay of the MCO final on YouTube below. Match starts at 01:19:48)
