Sobhy Beats El Sherbini, Elshorbagy Over Farag in Black Ball Open Quarters by Sean Reuthe
photos PSA
March 5, 2023
- USA’s Amanda Sobhy and England’s Mohamed ElShorbagy sent the No.2
seeds out of the Black Ball Squash Open at the quarter-finals stage
after they scored respective wins over Egyptian duo Nour El Sherbini
and Ali Farag at the Black Ball Sporting Club earlier today.
Coming into today’s match, Sobhy’s last win
against six-time World Champion El Sherbini came back at the 2020
edition of this tournament when she prevailed in a gripping five-game
battle, while the pair also met in the final of the 2021 instalment,
with El Sherbini getting the win on that occasion.
This time around, Sobhy was able to
vanquish the World No.2 after coming back from 2-1 down to secure a
9-11, 13-11, 10-12, 11-6, 11-8 victory which will see her line up in
the semi-finals of a PSA Tour event for the first time in 2023.
“I’m at a loss right now,” said World No.5 Sobhy after the match.
“I felt like I had a good chance, she beat
me at the ToC but I had patches where I played really well. It was more
about staying positive and being able to play that way from start to
finish. I did that tonight, which I’m proud of.
“Last time I beat her was here in December
2020 and I won it on a stroke. I know you want a good ending, but I’ll
take what I can get and I’m really happy to be able to redeem myself
and play the squash that I know that I’m capable of.”
Sobhy’s opponent in the last four will be
2020 Black Ball champion Hania El Hammamy, who overcame Belgium’s World
No.13 Tinne Gilis by an 11-3, 4-11, 11-7, 11-4 scoreline in 40 minutes.
Tomorrow will be Sobhy and World No.3 El
Hammamy’s first match on the PSA Tour since the quarter-finals of the
2020-21 PSA World Championships, with Sobhy winning 3-0 on that
occasion. However, it’s El Hammamy who has generally had the measure of
the American, with four wins to Sobhy’s three.
“We [El Hammamy and Gilis] both like to get the ball back and it’s always physical,” said El Hammamy.
“We gave it our all today and I’m
definitely pleased with the way I was able to change my game plan and
find a way after she got the second. I feel with every round I’m
improving and finding the right balance and right shots on court. Every
court is different and Black Ball is such a bouncy court.”
World No.1 and defending champion Nouran
Gohar also earned her place in the semi-finals after getting the better
of No.7 seed Sarah-Jane Perry in four games, and her opponent will be
New Zealand’s No.4 seed Joelle King, who dispatched No.8 seed Georgina
Kennedy 3-0.
Meanwhile, ElShorbagy and Farag were
meeting for the 26th time on the PSA Tour, with ElShorbagy narrowly
edging the head-to-head record with 13 wins to Farag’s 12 ahead of
today’s encounter.
Farag is playing only his second tournament
since returning from a four-month knee injury layoff and he couldn’t
match the ferocity of ElShorbagy’s hitting today. A dominant ElShorbagy
- known on tour as ‘The Beast’ - stormed to an 11-7, 11-3, 16-14 win to
end a run of four straight defeats to the World No.3, which included
the previous two PSA Men’s World Championship finals.
“I told Ali at the end of the match that I need him back because I’m back,” said ElShorbagy.
“Last season I was not there at all, I
didn’t play a good season while he did. We’re the two biggest rivals on
tour right now, we’re the two biggest names on tour right now. We’ve
played each other at the highest level, we’ve played in each venue in
each final and it’s always good to go on court with him even if he’s
not 100 per cent.”
The former World No.1 will contest a
mouthwatering semi-final fixture with No.3 seed Diego Elias. Elias -
who shook off the challenge of No.8 seed Mazen Hesham - will become the
first South American World No.1 if he wins the tournament, and the
Peruvian beat ElShorbagy in December’s Hong Kong Open.
ElShorbagy’s younger brother - 2021 Black
Ball champion Marwan - saw his tournament come to an end after losing
out to Welshman Joel Makin following a gripping 93-minute contest.
Makin won 14-12, 7-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-8 to reach the semi-finals of
this event for the second time.
“I’m in a good place,” Makin said.
“When I’m like that physically I can push
and I can get through these top guys. If I can get those straight drops
in and work it in well then I can cause problems for them no matter how
well they’re playing.”
Makin’s semi-final opponent, former World
Champion Tarek Momen, also had a brutal quarter-final match, requiring
89 minutes to finally get the better of 2020 champion Fares Dessouky.
The semi-finals of the Black Ball Squash
Open will take place tomorrow (March 6). Play begins at 17:30 (GMT+2)
and matches will be streamed live on SQUASHTV as well on the channels
of PSA’s broadcast partners.
For updates on the tournament, follow the PSA on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.
Results - Men’s Quarter-Finals: 2023 Black Ball Squash Open
