Husband-wife on threshold of another title
dubai — Egypt’s Ali Farag and his wife Nour El Tayeb will look to replicate their US Open success in the ATCO PSA Dubai World Series Finals.
Farag and El Tayeb became the first husband and wife in history to win the same major title on the same day when they won the US Open Squash Championships last year.
And here in Dubai, the couple stand on the threshold of doing it a second time after they got through to the semifinals at the Emirates Golf Club.
While world No.2 Farag bested compatriot Karim Abdel Gawad, El Tayeb had to dig deep to get the better of Joelle King of New Zealand.
Farag revealed that having his wife by his side helps calm his nerves when he’s playing and vice versa. They often train together
No offence but I used to make fun of my parents when I was younger, how tense they got when I was playing and said I’m not even that tense on court but now I understand being in their seat Ali Farag
and are court side, egging each other on, when playing.
The pair, who have known each other since they were seven and eight years old, tied the knot in 2016.
And while it is love in the air and they are smitten by each other, El Tayeb doesn’t give an inch when they train together.
“I played with Nour three times where I have to play only in the back of the court and she plays everywhere and she makes me run and run and run, so I think that helped me a lot,” said Farag.
Farag also revealed that he does get tense when he watches his wife play.
“By far watching,” Farag said when asked if playing or watching was more stressful.
“No offence but I used to make fun of my parents when I was younger, how tense they got when I was playing and said I’m not even that tense on court but now I understand being in their seat. It is definitely much harder I guess. When you are watching you are so tensed. But, thankfully this season, she didn’t make me that stressed out. She’s being playing superbly well,” he said.
There were indeed some tense moments for Farag as El Tayeb was involved in an engrossing match against King, with both having a match ball each in the decisive third game.
Thankfully, for Farag, his wife held on to win the game and the
I’m very lucky to be on the winning side of it and I’m happy to be in the semifinals Nour El Tayeb
match.
“I really don’t know how I won it, Joelle was playing extremely well at the beginning of the match,” said El Tayeb.
El Tayeb admitted that she was nervous as well. “Throughout the match I couldn’t drink one sip of water because I was too nervous,” she said.
“She was playing so fast, so accurately and it took me a while to get used to her game. I had to focus on my length, the court conditions today were a bit too warm for my shots to go in and be effective. I’m very lucky to be on the winning side of it and I’m happy to be in the semifinals,” she added.
james@khaleejtimes.com