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[1] Borja Golan
(Esp) bt [4] Mohamed El Shorbagy (Egy)
11/4, 8/11, 11/6, 7/11, 11/8 (85m)
Borja
Battles to Tenerife Title
 An
easy winner in the first game, local favourite Borja Golan found
himself 8/4 down in the fifth against young challenger Mohamed El
Shorbagy, but to the delight of the packed crowd in Santa Cruz the
Spaniard came back to win the final seven points and claim his first
Spanish Open title. Quite a lot happened in between though ...
Borja contained Shorbagy in the first game, do drama as he eased
away from 3-all to take the lead. In the second game a few lets and
discussions started to creep into the game, and when Shorbagy
insisted on cleaning fluff off the court floor at 7-all, the delay
infuriated and unsettled the Spaniard as Shorbagy went on to level.
 Shorbagy
had found his energy by now, and Borja couldn't contain him as he
did in the first. The Egyptian started the third well, led the early
part of the game, but from 5/6 Borja upped the intensity and took
the last six points to regain the lead, Shorbagy letting the last
four points go after a particularly brutal rally which had the crown
on their feet and Shorbagy on his knees..
Shorbagy's tactics of slowing the game down started to pay dividends
though, and Borja was distinctly grumpy throughout a fourth game the
Shorbagy led all the way. The youngster led in the decider too, some
lovely crosscourt flicks paying dividends.
When Borja put an easy ball in the tin to go 8/4 down it didn't look
good, and the crowd were at their quietest in a long while. They
needn't have worried though, as a combination of Egyptian tiredness
and Spanish determination saw the match swing for one final time.
Borja got three points back, then ran for his life in the next
rally, dived onto the floor twice, and when Shorbagy tinned the roof
came off. There was no stopping Borja now, and three more quick
points took him to the Spanish title.
"After winning the
first quite easily I lost concentration after a massive rally and
some stoppages in the second, then I won the third when he got tired
after a massive rally.
"In the fourth he played a very quick game, and although I played
some good shots at the front too he just hit better shots than me.
"The fifth stared close but then I was down. I got a couple of
points back, then that rally where I dived twice and the crowd's
reaction gave me the adrenalin I needed, gave me wings to win the
match.
 "It
was more mental than physical today, with his type of play any shot
can go in the nick so you have to concentrate all the time. I
thought I played good shots at the front today, better than
yesterday, but my length was too short and he killed me on that.
"I'm very pleased to win that one, he's an unbelievable player,
improving so fast, and it will be difficult for me to beat him next
time.
"I was taking it one step at a time, and that was the most important
step, so I'm delighted to win the Spanish Open ...
Borja Golan |
"It was a really tough match. I felt fresh before it, but I could
tell at the start I was tired, and after the first I was very tired.
"I needed to slow the pace down, take my time before serving, and he
got angry with that and started to make some mistakes, you sometimes
have to try to slow it down against very fast players.
"After I lost the third I was destroyed, but I wanted not to give
up. I got a good lead in the fourth, and in the fifth too, but I was
just too tired to finish it.
"I did well in the event, I played a good match in the final. I'm a
bit disappointed to lose, but hopefully I can win next time.
"He's a really fair player, I thought that maybe with him at home
and with the crowd it might be difficult, but he was really nice on
court, the crowd were great, and all congratulations to him for
winning.
Mohamed El Shorbagy
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For
Borja Golan, 25 years old from Santiago, this is nothing new
- it's his 25th final and he's won 17 of those. This year alone he's
won in Manitoba, here in Tenerife for the Spanish Nationals, and in
Santiago last month, and he's at his highest-ever world ranking of
14.
