Farag Claims 2018 Swedish Open Crown

 

Egypt's Ali Farag, the World No.3, won his first PSA World Tour title since October 2017 courtesy of a 3-1 victory over in-form Simon Rösner in the final of the 2018 UCS Swedish Open in Linköping, Sweden.
Farag last tasted title success when he triumphed at the U.S. Open to win the first World Series title of his career, but capped off a sublime week that saw him return to his best form in Sweden with a comfortable victory over Rösner – preventing the German from adding the Swedish Open to the Tournament of Champions crown he collected last month.
Rösner, 30, started strongly, looking to pick up on where he left off following an impressive semi-final defeat of Tarek Momen. But ultimately he came up short as 25-year-old Farag began to turn the screw, exerting consistent pressure that eventually sapped the energy from Rösner and paved the way for a victory that came after 51 minutes of action.

Ali Farag with the trophy

“I'm over the moon to have won the title here at this great event,” said Farag.
“I've heard great things about this event for years and it exceeded all my expectations. It has been a great event.
“Today, after losing the second game I got some great words from Tarek (Momen) so I have to thank him, and my wife and family back home, for their support because without a full team behind me I wouldn't have been able to do it.”
After the match Rösner said: 'He was too good today. I just tried to hang in there but I didn't have enough in the tank to make it harder. He was controlling and playing smart.”
Result – Final: 2018 UCS Swedish Open
[1] Ali Farag (EGY) bt [4] Simon Rösner (GER) 3-1: 11-7, 6-11, 11-3, 11-5 (51m)