Women’s
World No.3 Nour El Tayeb and Men’s World No.2 Mohamed ElShorbagy
prevailed on finals day at the 2018 Windy City Open presented by the
Walter Family & EquiTrust Life Insurance
Company, beating New Zealand’s Joelle King and younger ElShorbagy
brother, Marwan, respectively, to claim the sport’s most lucrative World
Series title.
El
Tayeb, the Cairo-born player who won her first World Series title at
the U.S. Open earlier this season, had already endured three five-game
matches, coming from 2-0 down in two
of those to win, to reach the title-decider and once again showed her
resilience to edge a tense five-game battle with King.
The
24-year-old came from 2-1 down and saved two championship balls to
defeat World No.9 King 11-8, 10-12, 11-13, 11-9, 12-10 victory in 78 minutes and claim her share of a record $250,000
prize purse, equal that on offer in the men's draw.
“I can’t believe it,” said El Tayeb following her second World Series title win.
“I
felt like I lost this match three or four times! I was down in the
fourth, then I was down in the fifth but looking over at Haitham [Effat]
and Ali [Farag] - they gave me the
encouragement, but I really can’t believe that I won the tournament.
“Everyday
that I’ve woken up I’ve felt tired but I knew that I can do it. I don’t
think I’ve ever only played five-setters in a tournament. I think I
will have to give my physical
fitness coach a very big bonus!"
Meanwhile,
in the family battle on the men’s draw, it was Mohamed who came out on
top against younger brother Marwan as he produced a masterclass
performance to claim the title in
straight-games.
It
was the second meeting between the brothers in a major final, following
their clash in the PSA Men’s World Championship final in December – and
it was the elder statesman who
yet again took the spoils.
Mohamed
– who returns to World No.1 next month – was in formidable form all
week, not dropping a single game throughout the entire tournament and
continued his winning momentum to
dispatch his brother to claim his sixth title of the season.
“It’s been an incredible season,” said Mohamed.
“After
last season - I worked really hard, set new goals that I wanted to
achieve, and it just shows that nothing can stop anyone achieving their
dream if they work hard for it.
“I’m
really glad to get through this match with my brother. He has played
incredible this season and he will still get better. This the second
time we've played in a big final and
his first World Series title will come at the right time - I just
wanted to keep it a little bit later than today."
Result – Men’s Final – 2018 Windy City Open presented by the Walter Family & EquiTrust Life Insurance Company
[1] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) bt [4] Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY) 3-0: 11-8, 11-8, 11-6 (39m)
Result – Women’s Final – 2018 Windy City Open presented by the Walter Family & EquiTrust Life Insurance Company
[7] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) bt [9] Joelle King (NZL) 3-2: 11-8, 10-12, 11-13, 11-9, 12-10 (78m)
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