Men's draw preview: four aces
Like in the women’s draw, all the best players in the world will be battling out for the title at the Cirque d’Hiver-Bouglione. There is the defending champion Ali Farag, his current three main rivals - Diego Elias, Mostafa Asal and Paul Coll – as well as a few underdogs like Frenchman Victor Crouin. Here is everything you need to know about the men's draw.
TOP HALF
👉 Seeds
Ali Farag 🇪🇬 (World No.1), Diego Elias 🇵🇪 (#4), Karim Abdel Gawad 🇪🇬 (#6), Mohamed ElShorbagy 🏴 (#8)
👉 Expected quarterfinal lineup
[1] Ali Farag 🇪🇬 🆚 [8] Mohamed ElShorbagy 🏴 / head-to-head : 15-12
[6] Karim Abdel Gawad 🇪🇬 🆚 [4] Diego Elias 🇵🇪 / H2H : 7-7
👉 Dark horse
Joel Makin 🏴
Currently sitting at #9 in the world rankings, Joel Makin has been navigating between 7 and 12 for over 5 years. He has expressed his determination to go higher, and to achieve that he will have to break his glass ceiling, that is to say making finals in major events - he's 0 to 6 in semis. The Welshman could have a heavy schedule in Paris, with the likes of Aly Abou Eleinen in round 1 and if he goes through Karim Abdel Gawad or Victor Crouin the day after. But if there is a player who can back up physically, it's certainly him.
👉 Upset alert
Youssef Soliman 🇪🇬 🆚 Nicolas Mueller / H2H : 3-1
📅 Sunday September 15, 12:45pm at the Squash Horizon Ticketing 🎫
Even if World No.12 Youssef Soliman almost never loses against lower-ranked players, and if he’s had the upper hand in their recent meetings, one has to fancy #23 Nicolas Mueller’s chances. Because the Swiss Rocket has already shown some good form early in the season, at the European Championship as well at the CIB Egyptian Open, and also because the pressure will be on the Egyptian.
👉 Early popcorn match
[6] Karim Abdel Gawad 🇪🇬 🆚 Victor Crouin 🇫🇷 / H2H : 2-1
📅 Sunday September 15, 3:30pm at the Cirque d’Hiver-Bouglione Ticketing 🎫
It’s the story of the glass half full or half empty for Victor Crouin. Facing World No.6 Karim Abdel Gawad when you are ranked 11 in round 1 is a tough draw, but it is also an opportunity for the Frenchman to deliver a big performance in front of packed stands at the Cirque d'Hiver-Bouglione on Sunday.
BOTTOM HALF
👉 Seeds
Paul Coll 🇳🇿 (#2), Mostafa Asal 🇪🇬 (#3), Mazen Hesham 🇪🇬 (#5), Tarek Momen 🇪🇬 (#7)
👉 Expected quarterfinal lineup
[3] Mostafa Asal 🇪🇬 🆚 [7] Tarek Momen 🇪🇬 / H2H : 8-3
[5] Mazen Hesham 🇪🇬 🆚 [2] Paul Coll 🇳🇿 / H2H : 0-8
👉 Dark horse
Baptiste Masotti 🇫🇷
Admittedly World No.19 Baptiste Masotti had a tough ending last season, not winning many matches in PSA and being hit by some physical issues. But not only he proved in the past that he can raise his level in boiling atmospheres - and that should be the case at the Cirque d'Hiver-Bouglione – but he’s also the French player who’s got the least difficult draw, with Qatar’s and World No.21 Abdulla Al Tamimi to start with and should he go through World No.7 Tarek Momen or No.17 Fares Dessouky in round 2.
👉 Upset alert
[7] Tarek Momen 🇪🇬 🆚 Fares Dessouky 🇪🇬 / H2H : 8-4
📅 Sunday September 15, 6:15pm at the Squash Montmartre Ticketing
The two Egyptians met a few days ago at the CIB Egyptian Open, and Fares Dessouky’s disqualification in the 5th led to a flood of comments from squash fans on social media. This rematch will therefore be eagerly awaited, and even if Fearless Fares lost his last 4 matches against the Viper most of them were huge battles.
👉 Early popcorn match
[3] Mostafa Asal 🇪🇬 🆚 Miguel Angel Rodriguez / H2H : 3-0
📅 Sunday September 15, 12:30pm at the Cirque d’Hiver-Bouglione Ticketing 🎫
At almost 39 years old, World No.15 Miguel Angel Rodriguez understandably fell in the rankings but remains a threat for the top players on a given day. It will be complicated against World No.3 Mostafa Asal, who impressively won the CIB Egyptian Open last weekend, but for sure this opening match at the Cirque d'Hiver-Bouglione will be a treat for the crowd between two players with very contrasting physiques and styles of play.
EXPECTED SEMIFINAL LINEUP
We can’t really talk about a Big 4 yet because their domination is relatively new, but in 2023/24 no player other than Ali Farag, Paul Coll, Mostafa Asal and Diego Elias has featured in the final of a major event. Things started in the same fashion at the CIB Egyptian Open last week, and the Parisian crowd could therefore be treated with these two blockbusters on Friday September 20.
👉 [1] Ali Farag 🇪🇬 🆚 [4] Diego Elias 🇵🇪 / H2H : 23-4
This was the final at the Paris Squash 2023, which was won by Farag. A few months later, Diego Elias ended a streak of 19 consecutive losses against Ali Farag in the World Champ semifinal, but the World No.1 just won their first clash in 2024/25 at the CIB Egyptian Open.
👉 [3] Mostafa Asal 🇪🇬 🆚 [2] Paul Coll 🇳🇿 / H2H : 9-6
Who doesn’t remember Mostafa Asal's celebration, throwing his jersey into the crowd after beating Paul Coll in the quarters at the CIB Egyptian in 2020? The Raging Bull was 19 years old and it was his first meeting with the Kiwi. Since then there’s been 14 others, including a World Championship semifinal last May where the Egyptian saved match balls before edging 12-10 in the 5th game.
📅 Draws as well as match times and venues are available on : https://www.parissquashproject.com/tableau
📷 PSA World Tour, Nathan Clarke, Jonas Tana
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