Egypt's
Mohamed ElShorbagy won the Qatar Classic - PSA World Series tournament -
for the third time in his career courtesy of a 3-1
win over compatriot and surprise 2017 finalist Tarek Momen inside
Doha's Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex earlier today.
Competing
in his sixth straight Qatar final the 26-year-old from Alexandria
showed his championship calibre throughout the event as
he swept past World No.8 Fares Dessouky, World No.4 Ali Farag and World
No.1 Gregory Gaultier to reach the title-decider - where his big game
experience was too much for debutant finalist Momen, the World No.7.
It
was ElShorbagy who took the opening game as Momen, competing on the
biggest stage of his career, showed signs of nerves and while
the 29-year-old showed his mettle to take the second game he was
ultimately a step behind ElShorbagy in the end as the former World No.1
prevailed 11-8, 10-12, 11-7, 11-7 to add the 2017 title to his wins in
2013 and 2015.
"I'm extremely proud of how I performed this week at this event," said ElShorbagy.
"When
I saw the draw pre-event I knew it would be tough. I had to play the
World No.9, the No.5, the No.1 and the No.7 to win, but
playing tough opponents is the challenge that I live for. To be the
best you have to beat these players.
"At
the end of the day you want to challenge yourself against the best.
Backing it up mentally each day was not easy - but I'm really
happy. Last season I didn't play like a winner - this week I feel like I
played at my best level and that was my focus coming here."
After
dropping the second game ElShorbagy looked to be up against it in the
third as Momen, utilising his speed and agility, attacked
in the mid-stages to string together a series of punishing rallies and
sap energy from ElShorbagy's legs.
But
the Bristol-based player showed just why he has won 28 PSA World Tour
titles - 14 of which have come at World Series level - as
he dug in with dogged determination to come through a crucial stage of
the match and complete the win.
"This week I got it right and I felt I played the big points well," said ElShorbagy.
"What
made the difference today was my experience. I have been in so many
finals. But it was his first. I knew the emotions he was
going through.
"I
was trying to contain him but at times he was like a train - I just
couldn’t stop him. When he took the second game it was a big
blow for me. He really pushed me and I feel this is jus the beginning
for him. If he can keep that momentum, he’ll be hard to stop.
"But
today it didn’t matter how tired I was - it was about how much I wanted
to win. I just killed myself on every shot and I'm so
happy to have won."
After
the match Momen said: "It's been an incredible week for me. I didn't
know what to expect coming here and making my first ever
World Series tournament final was very special. Obviously I'm
disappointed to lose but think it was a good match."
Result - Final: 2017 Qatar Classic
[3] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) bt [8] Tarek Momen (EGY) 3-1: 11-8, 10-12, 11-7, 11-7 (64m)
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