Fathi Fells Hinds For Madison Title by Howard Harding
photo Tom McInvaille
30 September 2013
- Rising Egyptian squash star Karim Ali Fathi saved a match-ball
against Englishman Joel Hinds in the final of the Madison Open to win
the PSA Challenger 10 event at Madison Squash Workshop in Madison in
the US state of Wisconsin - and claim the sixth PSA World Tour title of
his career.
Third seed Ali Fathi (pictured with Hinds below in the final), the
20-year-old world No56 from Cairo who upset No2 seed Martin Knight to
reach the final, took the first two games.
But unseeded Hinds, 26 and ranked more than 30 places lower, battled
back to draw level - and opened up a 9-5 lead in the decider.
"Karim seemed to have pulled an muscle on the inside of his thigh,"
explained Egyptian club member Ahmed Afifi. "He walked around the court
for a few minutes. Everyone thought it was all over for Karim, and he
himself later admitted he thought the same.
"Ironically, this worked to his advantage; it took off the pressure. He
then went on to produce his best points of the tournament, playing
solid offensive squash that you only see from the players ranked in the
top 20. He climbed back to 9-9.
"Joel got a match ball at 10-9, but Karim was simply on fire by now and
was not going to let go. He won three points in a row to win the best
game in the tournament."
The 11-7, 11-6, 5-11, 7-11, 12-10 triumph in 98 minutes marks the first
Tour title of the year for Ali Fathi - but the sixth of his career.
Jubilant tournament promoter Damon Bourne described the match as "the best final in the Madison Open five year history".
RESULTS: PSA Challenger 10 Madison Open, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
Final: [3] Karim Ali Fathi (EGY) bt Joel Hinds (ENG) 11-7, 11-6, 5-11, 7-11, 12-10 (98m)
