Final: Momen outclasses Coll

It was a star-studded evening at the Cambridge Cup for Finals night.  The ever-bespoked title sponsor Vance Cooper of the eponymous Cooper Mediation was in his seat front-and-centre.  
Dave Taylor, who’s world-famous at the Cambridge Club, was installed upstairs beside the referee as per usual. Long-time tournament sponsor and elder statesman Mike Capombassis was on the glass, at his side some kid named Power who apparently used to be pretty good.  
With the all-Australian 7/8 match of Cuskelly vs Pilley settled 2-1 in favour of the latter, our venerable MC Randy Klein introduced the match everyone was there to see: Egypt’s Tarek Momen (WR #8) versus New Zealand’s squash Superman Paul Coll (WR#16).
This would be a classic match-up of Momen’s skill & polish versus the otherworldly speed & strength of Coll.  The Kiwi has been busy lighting the squash world on fire over the course of the last year, making a quantum leap up the rankings en route to being named PSA Most Improved Player of 2016. 
Cairo-born Momen has been more of a steady-eddie, a Top-10 stalwart for the better part of the last 5 years.  They were knotted at 1-1 in their last two meetings, Tarek having taken a 101m marathon 3-2 in Qatar in November and Coll returning the favour 3-0 in the Channel Vas Final in December.
On this night, Momen’s brand of tight, tactical pressure would prevail over the super-speed of the New Zealander in the way of a 3-0 victory.  

Game One remained close up to the middle section when Coll served up a double-nicker from the forehand side for the service ace rarely seen at this level.  It put a wry smile on Coll’s face and he gave a himself a wee clap for the accomplishment.  It must have fired up the Kiwi some as he ran down everything (and I mean -everything-) over the next handful of points.  
Coll was going corner to corner retrieving, staying in impossible rallies until the tide turned…then slotting winners. He brings a combination of strength & conditioning not seen on the PSA court and he rode it to a 10-6 lead in the game.  But Tarek Momen is no babe in the woods.  He’s no stranger to the gym either.  The spindly new-comer just out of his teens from a few years ago has been replaced by a strong, chiseled 28 year-old who’s clearly put in some hours in the weight room himself.  
He’d say later that, at this point in the game, he wasn’t thinking about the score but rather trying to get in a few more extra point in the game, trying to get ‘dug in’ and prepared for game two; an excellent lesson for the club player.  In doing so he fought off multiple game balls, winning 4 points on the trot to draw level at 10-10.  The Egyptian won a long, smart rally to go 11-10 and, in spite of a tin error on the next point, closed out the game 13-11.
Game Two followed the script that was drafted in the business end of game one.  Tarek employed a tight, accurate game plan, hitting his targets all over the court.  He continually dragged his counterpart into the front-left corner with deadly backhand drops, setting up crosscourt responses that he was ready to eat up with punishing straight drives.  

He seemed happy to let Coll put his speed and fitness on display, keeping the upper hand in the big rallies and working the mileage factor into his opponents legs.  He’d chop his way to 7-3 lead and make it 9-5 on a sublime backhand drop/forehand drive classic combination one-two punch.  Momen iced Game Two on a backhand drop that faded into the nick, holding the shot brilliantly such that Coll had no chance.  Game Two to Momen 11-5.
The Egyptian controlled proceedings out of the gate in game three with the first 5 points coming off his racquet in the way of either winner or error.  Coll was able to keep it close, never allowing his opponent to more than a +1 margin for all of Game Three.  A barn-burner of a rally at 6-6 left Coll propped up against the back glass shaking his head, chest heaving.  Was he winded?  Is it possible he’s human after all?  Maybe.  
Tight all the way up, a controversial stroke went against Coll at 9-9 to set up match-ball for Momen.  Not going gently into the night, the Kiwi gave a last push to send the game into extra points.  But Momen, visions of donning the white champion’s robe dancing in his head, wouldn’t be denied.  Even the unintelligible shrieks of Cambridge Club class clown Peter Ellis trying to spur Paul Coll into forcing a Fourth weren’t enough as Momen would blast a drive and finish off the match with a perfectly weighted forehand drop to win Game Three 11-9 and secure his name on the Cambridge Cup trophy

“I took my foot off the gas mentally,” said Coll, referring to his Game One collapse.  "Tarek was able to step up and attack.“  As for Momen, he summed it up perfectly in his post-match interview: "The court served me well today.”  Yes it did Mr. Momen.