Gohar has captured back-to-back U.S. Open titles after coming back from a game down to beat World No.6 Hania El Hammamy 9-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-3 in 74 minutes.
Gohar - who overturned a 2-0 deficit and a match ball against compatriot Nour El Tayeb to win the 2019 U.S. Open - found herself a game down and 9-4 behind after a rampant start from her opponent.
But a change in tactic from the 24-year-old saw her go on the offensive, and the momentum shifted in Gohar’s favour as she moved on to claim a seventh successive win over El Hammamy. It is Gohar’s second successive Platinum title after winning the CIB Egyptian Open in September and her 12th PSA title overall.
“I can’t really believe it, but it seems like I have to always be down in the final of the U.S. Open,” said Gohar afterwards.
“Last year I was match ball down, this year thankfully I was only 1-0 and 9-4 down. I just wanted to stick around most of the time, and I’m just glad with the way I dealt with it. I felt I was the most experienced today, so that made a huge difference.
“I’ve been in these situations before against the top players… I think what made the difference is that I just wanted to stick to my game plan and adapt a little bit. I played better, I thought about it more and that made the difference today. I think many matches, many losses, were in the back of my mind, so I just took the experience and was trying to execute it today.”
Gohar and Momen take home $19,000 in prize money for their efforts in Philadelphia this week, while Momen joins Gohar and Ali Farag in qualifying for the season-ending CIB PSA World Tour Finals, which will take place in Cairo in June, 2022.
Result - Final: Men’s 2021 U.S. Open presented by Truist
[8] Mostafa Asal (EGY) bt [4] Tarek Momen (EGY) 3-2: 5-11, 5-11, 11-9, 12-10, 11-3 (91m)
Result - Final: Women’s 2021 U.S. Open presented by Truist
[2] Nouran Gohar (EGY) bt [3] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) 3-1: 9-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-3 (74m)
