Published: April 26, 2026 at 12:12 pm
Frenchman Victor Crouin battled back from one game down to defeat the tournament’s top seed Diego Elias and reach his first Grasshopper Cup final in Zurich on Saturday.
Crouin, who’s now claimed back-to-back wins over Elias on the PSA Squash Tour having got the better of him in the final of the Texas Open, triumphed 3-1 against the World No.3 for a maiden title decider in Zurich.
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The No.3 seed will now meet 2023 Grasshopper Cup champion Karim Gawad in the final as the Egyptian No.2 seed saw off Joel Makin 3-1.
The semifinal clash followed a similar pattern to the title showdown in Texas in February, with Elias drawing first blood against the Frenchman. The Peruvian is in full control of the opener, with his strong line hitting and dominating the middle of the court seeing him claim the first 11-4.
Crouin improves from second game onwards
A much-improved performance from Crouin in the second followed, volleying the ball more frequently, which helped the Frenchman equalise with a 11-4 success. The equaliser gave Crouin plenty of confidence going into the third, playing very accurate and disciplined squash while his defensiv work paid dividends to see him go 2-1 up.
Last year’s runner-up Elias saw his discipline slip in the third and fourth games, with conduct strokes going against him for dissent. But Crouin remained steady to seal the victory. “It’s huge to make it to the Grasshopper Cup final,” he said.
“It was a good match on my hand, there was a lot of variety in my game; using the height, using the drop and I tried to make it tough for him more mentally than physically. I was trying to ask more questions, still lost the first game so I need to see how to improve on that,” Crouin said.
Gawad overcomes Makin
In a repeat of the 2023 title decider where Gawad overcame Makin to lift the Gold-level title, former World No.1 Gawad held firm against the Welshman to advance to the final.
Gawad has been in excellent form all week in Zurich, and he continued that in the semifinal showdown with Makin by playing more enterprising squash, volleying well and controlling the middle of the court.
Karim Gawad got the better of Joel Makin to reach the final. Pics: PSA Squash Tour
Having lost the first 11-6, Makin landed the perfect riposte in the second – hitting some excellent lines and driving the ball into the corners as he deservedly equalised.
But Gawad was back in control in the third, and rattled off some quickfire winners to build up a cushion. Although the threat of a Makin comeback lingered, Gawad restored his lead by winning 11-4.
The confidence was flowing from Gawad’s racket in the fourth, and Makin was hanging tough. The hard defensive work Makin was doing eventually was capitalised on by Gawad, clinching the fourth 11-8 to move into the final.
“The crowd is amazing. They know what good squash is and when you play a good shot, they stand behind you and they cheer for both of us,” said Gawad.
“It’s a crazy venue and the crowd is amazing, I enjoy being here and it’s one of my favourite tournaments on the calendar,” he added.
Results (semifinals): 2-Karim Gawad (EGY) beat 4-Joel Makin (WAL) 3-1 (11-6, 8-11, 11-4, 11-8); 3-Victor Crouin (FRA) beat 1-Diego Elias (PER) 3-1 (4-11, 11-4, 11-6, 11-5).
