Victor Crouin (FRA) 3-2 Mohamad Zakaria (EGY) 11-8, 9-11, 5-11, 11-6, 11-3 (74m)
The first two games are probably the key to understanding the 5th. Nearly 40m of hard game between the two players, Zakaria looking good in the 3rd, 11/5 in still 11m of work.
In the fourth, the Egyptian was quickly ahead with a 4-point gap, but the Frenchman seemed to find his best squash in the middle of the game and closed it 11/6 in 9m.
The 5th saw a tired Zakaria being penalised for not moving away from the ball after hitting loose shots, and his frustration grew as he got more and more penalised, ending with a conduct stroke at the business end of the match. Victor just kept stringing point after point and took the match on his first attempt, Zakaria having not played the last point in disgust of the decisions.
We have no idea who is going to win! 🍿
Mohamed Zakaria is providing a challenge for @VCrouin 👀
Don't miss the conclusion of this one ⬇️ https://t.co/7UlkbJ7Xw5 #EgyptianOpen pic.twitter.com/LGjh9YyPXh
— SQUASHTV (@SquashTV) August 31, 2024
Victor : In the first three games, he led throughout, and it was only in the first game that I managed to take the advantage at the end. With the second attack hitting the mark—the right tactical choice—I really pushed him forward and then went for the diagonal, not doing things halfway or making a bad shot that would let him back into the game.
And he plays like we all did when we were juniors—he goes for his shots without thinking, he has nothing to lose, and he’s very, very, very talented. He can do everything, and despite his movement not being perfect, he uses his reach very well and manages to lift the ball to give himself more time in defence.
We were taking turns to lead. Whenever he had an opportunity, he either made it count or made an error, but more often than not, he made it count. On my side, I was stronger at the back of the court, playing faster, more settled, and physically better. But in the game, there were three or four points that I gave him through strokes—where he went for the strokes while I was volleying lets—because I didn’t make the effort to really go for the stroke.
He was taking easy points, so it was 4/1, 5/2, 6/3, and he kept that three-point lead. What I’m happy about is that I managed to—I panicked a bit in the third game; he was leading, and I thought I’d come back little by little, like in the second, but I hit a return of serve into the tin, and then he strung together points. That’s when I told myself, “You haven’t been disciplined enough; you haven’t stuck to your tactic.”
In the 4th game, he retook the lead, but I think that’s when fatigue started to set in…
He’s going to be among the best very soon. He doesn’t play as fast as us yet, but he gave me a tough match, and I’m glad I responded well. I would have liked to win the second game to go up 2-0 and then drive the nail in, but at least I stayed calm and focused, and I found the solution, which Nick Wall couldn’t do yesterday.
It’s not easy playing young up-and-coming players here. You know he’s talented, you know he has the tools—you can’t let him slip away like that…
The day after tomorrow, Marwan – another good match, but not the same pace, on the court here…
