[1] Mostafa Asal (EGY) 3-0 [8] Youssef Soliman (EGY) 11-8, 11-6, 11-3 (61m)
Asal
It’s always tough to play against Youssef.
An amazing player and so unique inside the court and he’s a fighter. There is some changes with having Ali [Farag] in his corner is very tough and he’s mixing it up the same way Ali did to me.
I felt in the moment that Ali was playing and not Youssef! I wish he would come back and entertain us – Ali is such a legend for our sport and we miss him. I still can’t believe it that Ali is not there with us in this tournament.
“I take it match by match.
I’m pretty confident in my physique at the moment. It’s the first tournament of the year and I’m just experiencing again playing with the players and I’m happy to be back and I’m pleased with the way I’m playing and having my team, friends and family behind me. I want to thank the crowd for today.
