Elshorbagy Beats Matthew 12-10 in the Fourth, Is 2015 ToC Champion by Nathan Clarke January 23, 2015
- 24-year-old World No.1 Mohamed Elshorbagy reinforced his position at
the top of the squash ladder with an impressive performance in the
final of the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions to see off England's
Nick Matthew 3-1 and claim his fourth major PSA World Series title.
Under the chandeliers in Grand Central Terminal's Vanderbilt Hall the
duo, who have developed a testy-rivalry on the tour in the last two
years, produced a thrilling spectacle in front of a sold-out crowd with
Elshorbagy eventually out-powering the man ten years his elder.
"I told Nick at the end of the match that he is an inspirational player," said Elshorbagy.
"He's the king when it comes to playing tough matches because he seems
to come back fresh every day but I'm really pleased with how I played
and to get my first title here.
"I wanted to win so badly and I'm proud to see my name join the illustrious list of previous Tournament of Champions winners."
Matthew started the match in the ascendency and used his wealth of
court-craft to take the opening game but Elshorbagy's ferocious pace
and power saw him claw his way back into the match and turn the tide,
to establish a 2-1 lead.
In the fourth game Matthew looked en route to levelling the scores once
again but saw the opportunity slip from his hands after an unforced
error when 9-7 ahead, followed by an unlucky bounce at 9-8, saw
Elshorbagy rally and from then on the Bristol-based-Egyptian refused to
give in.
Despite saving one match ball Matthew couldn't find enough in his
locker to hold on as Elshorbagy romped home to complete a memorable
night for Egyptian squash in the Big Apple, with Raneem El Welily also
taking the women's title with victory over Alison Waters.
"This has been a very tough week for me mentally," added Elshorbagy.
"When I saw Raneem win in the women's final it really inspired me
because we both recently lost in World Championship finals even though
we both had match balls.
"She showed me that you can rebound and I'm really proud of how I
played and that I proved I can come back stronger than before."
34-year-old Matthew said: "I really enjoyed the match tonight. You get
to a stage in your career when you just have to enjoy the experience
because you might not have many more of them."
Result: Final - JP Morgan Tournament of Champions
[1] Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) bt [3] Nick Matthew (ENG) 3-1: 5-11, 11-9, 11-8, 12-10 [83m]
