Egypt’s ‘first squash couple’ grab spotlight

KUALA LUMPUR: It will be an all-Egyptian men and women’s finals at the US Open squash championships.

Interestingly, Nour El Tayeb and her husband Ali Farag became the first married couple to reach their respective finals in the US tournament.

The 24-year-old Nour, who tied the knot with 25-year-old Ali last year, scalped world No. 4 Laura Massaro of England 11-6, 12-10, 9-11, 11-3 in the semi-finals at the Drexel University in Philadelphia on Friday.

World No. 14 Nour had beaten world No. 1 Nour El Sherbini in the quarter-finals.

The 2015 runner-up will now take on world No. 3 Raneem El Welily in the final.

“After I lost the third set my husband, who coaches me, told me that it didn’t matter because Laura is a top four player in the world and she was bound to a set back,” said Nour.

“She just doesn’t give up and that’s something I’ve learned from her. It’s unbelievable to beat her.”

World No. 5 Ali then took to the court and overcame compatriot Omar Mosaad 11-6, 14-12, 11-6 in the men’s semi-finals.

It earned him a title clash with world No. 3 Mohamed El Shorbagy.

“It’s special to be in the final with Nour, but it’ll be even better if we both hold the trophies together,” said Ali, a Harvard graduate.