Motor City Quarters: Dessouky upsets Coll in thriller; Elias, Momen, Hesham roll

Motor City Quarters: Dessouky upsets Coll in thriller; Elias, Momen, Hesham roll

By Andrew Graham
The Motor City Open

Birmingham, Michigan – Fares Dessouky upset top seed Paul Coll at the Motor City Open Sponsored by Sturbridge Capital as three Egyptians advanced to the quarterfinals. They will have to contend with a very on-form defending champion Diego Elias, winner of last week’s Tournament of Champions, if they are going to win the title at the Birmingham Athletic Club.

In an epic, contentious battle, #5 seed Dessouky had a choice: keep arguing with the official about decisions, or focus on winning his quarterfinal match against World #3 Coll.

Coll sprinted to a 2-0 advantage over the Egyptian. Both players were feeling each other out as well as the official – much to Dessouky’s chagrin. After Coll took the first game, 12-10 – including on a couple of points decided by the official – Dessouky aired his frustrations.

“You’re unbelievable, man!” he said walking off the court. After a similar result in Game 2 — an easy 11-3 win for Coll — it was clear that Dessouky was getting flustered by the way the game was being called. He received a warning after the second game that, if he kept up his actions, he’d get an official conduct warning.

Coll was the cooler customer in the early going. But as the match progressed, he grew more frustrated with Dessouky putting a hand into his back and hindering him from clearing. Eventually, Coll protested after going down for what he felt was an obstruction from the Egyptian. The official cut him off.

“I’ll make the decision,” he said to the players. “Then you make the comments.”

Midway through the third game — in which Dessouky seemed to spend as much time arguing with the referee as playing his opponent — Coll was given a point on a let to draw even at 5-5. Fed up, Dessouky hurled his racket to the ground, earning a conduct warning. The resulting penalty stroke put the New Zealander up 6-5.

Then Dessouky reeled off 17 of the next 25 points to draw the match even at 2-2 and force a fifth game.

“You know when sometimes you’re having some tough decisions, you have to fire it up to play good squash. That’s what happened,” Dessouky said of his fiery outburst. “So I said to myself: ‘look, you’re not going to win with the decisions, you have to win every single point with your hand.’ So that’s what I did. I kept fighting for every point and it worked.”

With a semifinal berth on the line, Coll and Dessouky elevated their play. Coll did everything in his power to keep the match under control, hitting shots to prevent the whipping, ricochet kill-shots that Dessouky has effectively used to draw even.

Back and forth they went, the Egyptian managed to take the lead at 10-9 lead and set up a match ball. Now it was Coll urging the ref to make a call.

Dessouky won the match-cinching point on a stroke decision, with the Kiwi futiley calling “It’s not!” to the official. Despite his quarrels with the officiating, Dessouky got the call he needed with the game on the line.

Now he’s on to the semifinals to face #4 seed Mazen Hesham, a winner over the ageless Miguel Rodriguez in three: 11-7, 11-7, 12-10.

Second seed and World #4 Elias, who will play Tarek Momen in the other semi, loves playing in Detroit.

The MCO has been kind to the Peruvian who won the tournament the last two times it was played in 2020 and 2022 (there was no 2021 MCO due to Covid 19).

“I knew Greg is a dangerous player so I just wanted to start with good pace,” Elias said of his straight-sets win over France’s Gregoire Marche. “And I think I played very well today. I hit my corners well and I’m happy with my performance.”

It’s becoming a bit of a tradition for Elias to play well at the Motor City Open. He credits the BAC courts and good vibes.

“I just really love this court. I don’t know. It’s a great court for me, my game. You can play the four corners very well. I just love being here. It’s a very nice atmosphere, good club, feels like a practice tournament,” Elias said.

Quarterfinal results:

Dessouky (5) def. Coll (1), 3-2 (10-12, 3-11, 11-9, 11-5, 11-9)

Mazen Hesham (4) def. Miguel Rodriguez (7), 3-0 (11-7, 11-7, 12-10)

Diego Elias (2) def. Gregoire Marche (8), 3-0 (11-5, 11-5, 11-4)

Tarek Momen (3) def. Youssef Soliman (6), 3-1 (11-5, 4-11, 11-9, 11-4)

Saturday semifinal schedule:

Hesham (4) vs. Dessouky (5) — 5 PM

Elias (2) vs. Momen (3) — 6 PM