It has been a great start to the Squash season for the World Number 2 Ali Farag. After battling his way past two fellow team Dunlop players in Diego Elias and former World No.1 Greg Gaultier, he finally met the current World No.1 Mohamed ElShorbagy in the final of the Oracle Netsuite Open and fought his way to an impressive 3-1 victory (11-9, 13-11, 4-11, 11-9).

There was very little to separate the pair during the match however, it was Farag who settled just a little quicker as he took the first game before doubling his lead in a nail biting second-game tie-break. While Elshorbagy came back strong in the third, Farag held his nerve to secure the match in the fourth game.

It’s Farag’s first tournament win since he triumphed at the Swedish Open in February and, of course, his first of the season.

“I’m feeling great right now, I’m very, very happy to have won this title,” said Farag.

“When I first saw the entry list I thought I would withdraw from playing because the draw was so strong. But my mentor Karim Darwish told me that I should play the event and show people that they should be scared when seeing my name in the draw – that is the kind of mentality that I need to have if I hope to be World No.1 some day.”

“Now I’m really looking forward to going to the U.S Open to defend that title next week.”

Farag now looks to the US Open where he will be defending his title along with his wife, and new team Dunlop player, Nour El Tayeb who is also the current US Open champion.