Reda
Rallies To Sportsmax Success
Mohd Ali
Anwar Reda
celebrated home success in the inaugural Sportsmax Open when he lifted
the PSA World Tour International 25 event trophy at the American
University in Cairo.
But the second
seed from Cairo was stretched for 96 minutes before overcoming the event's
giant-killer Marwan El Shorbagy - the 17-year-old qualifier from his own
country who ousted two seeds on the way to his unexpected appearance in the
final.
El Shorbagy,
from Alexandria, arrived in Cairo fresh from winning the world junior title in
Belgium - then immediately went through two rounds of qualifying, before beating
third-seeded Pakistani Aamir Atlas Khan in the quarter-finals, then top
seed Omar Mosaad in the semis.
And the
youngster continued his winning ways in the final, taking the opening game
before conceding the next two only in tie-break games.
But
22-year-old Reda ultimately emerged triumphant, beating his promising fellow
countryman 6-11, 12-10, 12-10, 6-11, 16-14 to secure the 11th PSA World Tour
title of his career.
Marwan Ousts
Mosaad In Latest Cairo Upset
Clearly
inspired by his new status as world junior champion, Egyptian teenager Marwan
El Shorbagy pulled off his third successive giant-killing victory in the
inaugural Sportsmax Open when he defeated top-seeded compatriot Omar
Mosaad to reach the final of the PSA World Tour International 25
squash event at the American University in Cairo.
After two
rounds of qualifying, the 17-year-old from Alexandria began his main draw run by
beating India's experienced Siddharth Suchde, before despatching
third-seeded Pakistani Aamir Atlas Khan in the quarter-finals.
But only four
months after losing in straight games to world No14 Mosaad, El Shorbagy
recovered from a game down to beat his formidable opponent 4-11, 11-4, 11-8,
11-8 in 54 minutes.
"I feel so
happy," said the youngster after reaching the fourth final of his brief PSA
World Tour career to date. "I expected that Omar would win - he is a very
talented player and I like his professionalism.
"This is the
match of my life!"
El Shorbagy
will now face another higher-ranked fellow countryman for the title.
But second
seed Mohd Ali Anwar Reda was tested for 81 minutes before getting the
better of unseeded compatriot Omar Abdel Aziz 11-13, 11-5, 11-9, 11-2.
"It was too
tough a match," conceded Reda, who is now in his 14th Tour final. "Omar is a
friend of mine. We train together - I know his style and he knows my style.
"It was 50/50
till the third game and then he lost his concentration and so I won."
The final will
be the first Tour meeting between El Shorbagy and Reda.
"It will be a
great match," conceded 22-year-old Reda. "Marwan is perfect and he is in form."
Marwan Marches
On In Cairo
Egyptian
qualifier Marwan El Shorbagy produced his second upset in two days in the
inaugural Sportsmax Open in Egypt when he beat third-seeded Pakistani
Aamir Atlas Khan in the quarter-finals of the PSA World Tour
International 25 squash event at the American University in Cairo.
Only days
after being crowned world junior champion in Belgium, the 17-year-old from
Alexandria followed his first round triumph over India's experienced
Siddharth Suchde to topple Khan, the world No28 from Peshawar, 11-6, 5-11,
11-7, 11-5.
Marwan El
Shorbagy's
stunning upset means that the Sportsmax semi-finals will be an all-Egyptian
affair.
The Egyptian
teenager admitted that his world junior championship success had given him a big
boost: "Really it's the main push - without it, I'd have never won such a
record, and all of these great matches in this beautiful tournament are due to
the confidence I gained after the world championship title."
Marwan also
explained that his older brother Mohamed El Shorbagy, ranked nine in the
world, had given him good advice: "He told me that I have nothing to lose, so I
did my best without any stress as he (Aamir) is 28th in the world and I'm just
92nd - so I'm really proud of the match."
Atlas Khan,
who reached last week's Malaysian Open final against the odds, acknowledged that
his preparation had not been ideal: "I should have rested my body after the long
flight from Malaysia, and I arrived on the first day of the tournament so I
played without previous training.
"But Marwan
was good. He is a younger player that is coming up. He has improved a lot since
the last tournament."
El Shorbagy
will now face fellow countryman Omar Mosaad for a place in the final. The
top seed beat Italian Stephane Galifi 11-4, 11-7, 9-11, 14-12.
It took 88
minutes for second seed Mohd Ali Anwar Reda to clinch his place in the
last four, stemming a fight back by Kristian Frost Olesen to beat the
unseeded Dane 13-11, 11-1, 6-11, 12-14, 11-7.
Reda will face
Omar Abdel Aziz, the 11-6, 11-9, 11-4 victor over Egyptian qualifier
Omar Abdel Meguid.
World Champion
Marwan Moves On In Cairo
Competing on
home soil for the first time since winning the world junior title earlier this
month in Belgium, Marwan El Shorbagy upset India's Siddharth Suchde
in the inaugural Sportsmax Open to claim an unexpected place in the
quarter-finals of the PSA World Tour International 25 squash event at the
American University in the Egyptian capital Cairo.
The
17-year-old from Alexandria, a qualifier, despatched Suchde, ranked 64 in the
world, 11-4, 11-7, 11-3 and will now face third seed Aamir Atlas Khan for
a place in the semi-finals.
Khan, inspired
by his surprise appearance in the Malaysian Open final last week, battled
to an 11-9, 11-8, 11-9 victory in 43 minutes over Englishman Robbie Temple.
There will be
domestic interest in all four quarter-finals - led by event favourite Omar
Mosaad, the world No14, who defeated Cairo-born Italian qualifier Amr
Swelim 11-9, 11-9, 11-9.
Omar Abdel
Aziz
and Omar Abdel Meguid secured surprise places in the last eight after
their opponents suffered injuries. Aziz faced fellow countryman Mohammed
Abbas, a former world No13 who took the opening game.
But Abbas
dropped the next two games and had to withdraw in the fourth to give 27-year-old
Aziz the match.
Qualifier
Meguid had played just two points when opponent Amr Khaled Khalifa, the
former world junior champion, was forced to concede the match.
Aziz and
Meguid will line-up in the quarter-finals to guarantee home interest in the last
four.
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