After dropping a close first game Tarek Momen imposes against Zahed Salem
[3] Tarek Momen (Egy) 3-1 [9/16] Zahed Salem (Egy) 10-12, 11-4, 11-5, 11-2 (43m)
Playing Zahed on a warm court is never an easy task, and even if the “Boxer” is not as fit as he normally is, he still was a very dangerous opponent for the Momenator. As a spectator next to me mentioned – Canada Eddie – “Tarek losing the first game, that’s normal”.
There. Now you know.
Still, excellent effort from one of the fairest players on the tour, Zahed, never saw him block or argue or take a double bounce. He is recovering from COVID, hadn’t been able to train properly because of his military duties, but he showed tonight glimpses of what he is able to produce…
Tarek : Today was a bit more difficult, getting used to the conditions. It’s a mixture of windy and hot weather. Those are the two most difficult challenges a player can face on the court. At the beginning I was struggling to find my length, it was falling short and he was cutting off everything and I made a lot of errors. But at the start of the second game I started to adapt to the conditions. I started to find my range and made less errors. From then on I think I played pretty well.
The decision to skip the British Open was purely personal. I just wanted to spend some time with my family, but I think it worked out for the best for me because we’ve been playing for so long. The season hasn’t been a regular season for us. We’ve played in the summer when we’d usually get some time off, this year we didn’t. So for me to get this break, I think it was crucial to start the new season fresh.
I definitely hope the rest will help me to win a home major, so that’s what I’m looking for.
Zahed :T o be able to threaten Tarek, I would have had to keep the pace I was able to impose in the first game for the whole match. But for the reasons I mentioned on my previous matches – military duties etc – I haven’t been able to work physically as much as I would like and need to sustain such a pace.
My plan in the first game was not to play a defensive game but Tarek is such an attacker, I was forced to at times. I was so patient and I think I was leading the whole first game. My aim was also to win the first game as I need to be up 1/0 and not start the match in the second or third game…
I’ve been away from competition for a little while now, I need more matches like that consistently. No excuses, Tarek was just too strong today, but I’ll keep on working hard to come back to my best fitness. It’s all positive, it allows me to test myself to see where I am with my squash…
Happy I reached the quarters, and I will work in my errors…
