Ga Sabry Shakes Up EL Gouna International by Nathan Clarke April 13, 2014
- Egyptian qualifier Mazen Hesham Ga Sabry, the World No.35, delighted
the home crowd during the first round of the 2014 El Gouna
International as he pulled off a shock 3-1 win over French World No.22
Mathieu Castagnet. Ga Sabry, who’s only
previous appearance in the main draw of a PSA World Series event was a
first round exit in the 2013 World Championships, impressed on the Red
Sea resort of El Gouna as he got the better of his more experienced
opponent to come from one game down to win 7-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-7. The 20-year-old from
Cairo, who only joined the PSA World tour in 2011, will now take on
compatriot Mohamed Elshorbagy in the second round after the World No.3
saw off Columbian Miguel Angel Rodriguez 3-1. “Before the match I was not feeling well,” said Ga Sabry. “My body was feeling tired but the second I started to play it was absolutely fine. “This match is definitely the best PSA match I ever played.” Victory for
Elshorbagy, one of the favorites for the title, over Rodriguez
completed a delightful double for his family after brother Marwan
Elshorbagy upset World No.17 Cameron Pilley earlier in the day,
comfortably beating the Australian 3-0 to earn his second round berth. “I’m happy with the way I handled that first round match,” said Mohamed Elshorbagy. “I gave him full
respect going into the match as he is a top player. At the start of my
season I had some poor results in the first rounds so today I’m happy
that I managed to play a good match. “I played the first
three games the same way but at the end of the third my mum came and
talked to me. She told me to step up and volley more and play more drop
shots and she was right - it helped me a lot.” Earlier in the day
French World No.1 and number one seed Gregory Gaultier and English
World No.10 Daryl Selby survived dramatic contests against India's
Saurav Ghosal and local hope Zahed Mohamed, respectively.
In a see-saw battle
which also included a prolonged injury-enforced break in the fifth and
deciding game, Gaultier eventually came through the 102-minute match
3-2 while Selby took 74-minutes to record his 3-2 victory.
“It’s always tough
playing youngsters here in Egypt as they have so many good players and
Zahed made it very tough for me,” said Selby. “I’d never seen him
before so didn’t know what to expect. I thought I had him at 2-1 but he
came back strong so I’m really pleased to come through and I’m going to
enjoy my day off in EL Gouna.” 2014 EL Gouna International Round One Results – Top Half:
