World
Championship runner-up Marwan ElShorbagy will return to the scene of
one of his biggest ever victories on the PSA World Tour later this week
when the Egyptian competes at the 2018 Windy City Open presented by the
Walter Family & EquiTrust Life Insurance
Company, PSA World Series tournament between February 22-28.
ElShorbagy reached his first ever World Series final at the 2017
instalment of the Windy City Open, with one win in particular standing
out - his quarter-final triumph over older brother and then-World No.1
Mohamed, which proved to be one of the defining
moments of the 2016/17 season.
Never before had Marwan taken more than a game against his sibling
in seven previous meetings but, under the chandeliers of the University
Club of Chicago’s Cathedral Hall, the 24-year-old defied expectations to
take a huge win in four games - leading
to tearful scenes as the emotional weight of the result took its toll
on both brothers.
"Of course it gave me a lot of confidence," said Marwan.
"Playing my brother is always more difficult for me and to get that
first win against him was really hard for me. I was very happy with the
way I dealt with it emotionally until the end of the tournament and
with how I backed it up the day after against
Ali [Farag]."
Marwan’s win over Farag in the next round took him through to a
maiden World Series final, where he eventually came unstuck against
World No.1 Gregory Gaultier.
But that final proved to be something of a breakthrough for the
Bristol-based Egyptian, who has won two PSA World Tour titles, reached
the final of the PSA World Championships and reached a career-high World
No.4 ranking, all in the past 12 months.
Marwan puts his rapid improvement down to an increase in
consistency, saying: "I think I have been playing very well recently. I
feel being inside the top four is making me more of a consistent player,
which is something I have been working on lately on
how to back up tournaments.
"I’m just enjoying my time on court and hope to keep that form going.
"I’m not putting any pressure on myself to win a first major
[title], it will come at the right time for me. Right now, I’m just
focused on being a better squash player every day."
Marwan will play Hong Kong’s Leo Au in round one and is seeded to
meet Farag in the semi-finals once again as he battles for a share of
the $500,000 prize fund, which is split equally across both the men’s
and women’s draws and is a record amount for a
PSA World Series tournament.
"I love going back to Chicago every year, it’s one of my favourite events of the year," he said.
"I remember in 2011 I reached my first ever semi-finals at a World
Series tournament and last year I reached my first ever final. It was a
great tournament for me, and I’m so looking forward to coming back this
year."
The 2018 Windy City Open will be held at the University Club of
Chicago and all glass court matches will be shown live on SQUASHTV (Rest
of World) and Eurosport Player (Europe only).
A women’s draw also features and is headed up by World No.1 Nour El
Sherbini, who is seeded to meet fellow Egyptian Raneem El Welily in the
final, which would be a repeat of December’s PSA Women’s World
Championship final.
The semi-finals and finals will also be shown on mainstream
channels across the world, with the likes of BT Sport, beIN Sports, Fox
Sports Australia and Astro just some of the channels showing coverage.
Tickets start from $25 and can be purchased through Eventbrite.
For all the latest news on the Windy City Open, go to www.windycityopen.com or
follow the tournament on Facebook, Twitter and Insta
Main Draw – 2018 Men’s Windy City Open presented by the Walter Family & EquiTrust Life Insurance Company
[2] Ali Farag (EGY) v [Qualifier]
Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) v [Qualifier]
Cameron Pilley (AUS) v [Qualifier]
Omar Mosaad (EGY) v [5] Nick Matthew (ENG)
[7] Simon Rösner (GER) v Saurav Ghosal (IND)
Daryl Selby (ENG) v [Qualifier]
James Willstrop (ENG) v [WC] Chris Hanson (USA)
Leo Au (HKG) v [4] Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY)
[3] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) v Borja Golan (ESP)
Diego Elias (PER) v Cesar Salazar (MEX)
Ramy Ashour (EGY) v [Qualifier]
[Qualifier] v [6] Tarek Momen (EGY)
[8] Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY) v [Qualifier]
Paul Coll (NZL) v Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL)
Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) v [Qualifier]
Declan James (ENG) v [1] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY)
Main Draw – 2018 Women’s Windy City Open presented by the Walter Family and EquiTrust Life Insurance Company
[1] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) v Dipika Pallikal Karthik (IND)
[Qualifier] v [14] Olivia Blatchford (USA)
[13] Tesni Evans (WAL) v [Qualifier]
[Qualifier] v [7] Nour El Tayeb (EGY)
[8] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) v [WC] Sabrina Sobhy (USA)
[Qualifier] v [11] Annie Au (HKG)
[15] Joshna Chinappa (IND) v Mariam Metwally (EGY)
[Qualifier] v [3] Camille Serme (FRA)
[4] Laura Massaro (ENG) v Donna Urquhart (AUS)
[Qualifier] v [9] Joelle King (NZL)
[12] Amanda Sobhy (USA) v Victoria Lust (ENG)
Salma Hany (EGY) v [5] Nouran Gohar (EGY)
[6] Nicol David (MAS) v Fiona Moverley (ENG)
Joey Chan (HKG) v [10] Alison Waters (ENG)
[16] Emily Whitlock (ENG) v [Qualifier]
[Qualifier] v [2] Raneem El Welily (EGY)
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