Cardenas Upsets Crouin In 105-Minute Epic To Set Up ElShorbagy Canadian Open Final

World No.16 Leonel Cardenas delivered one of the performances of his career to overcome French No.1 Victor Crouin in a 105-minute epic and advance to the final of the AirSprint Private Aviation Canadian Open in Calgary.

In a match which will go down as one of the finest in the tournament's history, it was fourth seed Cardenas who eventually claimed a thrilling five-game victory, holding off a last-gasp comeback by the No.2 seed to take the deciding game 11-9 and set-up a tantalising final with former World Champion Mohamed ElShorbagy.

The opening four games saw the momentum swing this way and that between the two 25-year-olds, with a combination of gruelling, high-quality rallies and superb strokeplay leading to a brilliant spectacle. Cardenas looked to be closing in on victory at 8-4 in the fourth, but Crouin found another gear when he needed it most, rattling off seven straight points to send the match to a worthy decider.

The fifth game that followed surpassed all expectations, as the clock approached and ticked over the 100-minute mark. At 10-5 up and with Crouin doubled over in physical pain, Cardenas looked to have one foot in the final. However, Crouin refused to give in, reeling off point after point to the astonishment of the packed house in Bow Valley Square.

After winning four straight points to sit 10-9 down, a remarkable comeback looked possible for Crouin, but it was Cardenas who eventually managed to hold on, hitting a gutsy backhand winner to reach his second straight final on the PSA Squash Tour.

"I'm so happy to get through," Cardenas said after the match. "It was a really tough fight out there today. It was a long, long battle so I'm really happy to win.

"I was leading in both the fourth and fifth games and I knew he was going to come back. I knew I had put some work into his legs, and I managed to stay patient right until the end."

ElShorbagy, the Mexican's opponent in the final, enjoyed a far more routine semi-final victory, powering his way past No.3 seed Dimitri Steinmann in under 40 minutes.

Top seed ElShorbagy, who will now enter the final having spent 121 minutes less on court than Cardenas this week, was at his relentless best to record his third straight three-game victory in Calgary, defeating the Swiss No.1 by an 11-5, 11-6, 11-6 scoreline.

After the match, ElShorbagy said: "Me and Dimitri have been training together recently, so we know each other's games really well. He is also coached by Simon Rosner, who is an old rival of mine. They all know my game really well and they can pass it on to the players who are playing me now. So it's always interesting to deal with this, because I have to get into the mindset of their coaches and how they speak to their players."

On the prospect of facing Cardenas in the final, he added: "Actually funnily enough, I played a tournament in Mexico in 2014 or so and I had a picture with him. It is amazing to be playing a final against him 10 to 12 years later and all credit to him for his amazing win today."