Bristol-based
Egyptian brothers Mohamed and Marwan ElShorbagy claimed wins on the
opening day of the 15th edition of the Canary Wharf Classic, PSA M100
tournament as a best-of-three games scoring format was used for the
first time in a ranking PSA World
Tour event.
World No.1 Mohamed marked his first Canary Wharf Classic appearance
since 2013 with a 2-0 victory over fellow Egyptian Mazen Hesham inside
London’s iconic East Wintergarden.
Hesham showed glimpses of the shot-making talents that have made
him one of the most mercurial talents on the PSA World Tour but he was
held at arm’s length for the majority of the match by ElShorbagy, who
wrapped up an 11-6, 11-6 victory to make it 27
wins out his last 28 matches.
“He’s [Hesham] an amazing player,” said Mohamed.
“He got to World No.13 and he had a really bad injury. He’s making
his way back and he’s been playing well. Every tournament he’s been
getting better and once I saw that I had him in the first round I had to
have a special preparation for him because he
is very tricky.
“I knew he would be good in a best of three as well because of the
shots he plays, so I had to be on my toes and be sharp from the very
first point. I’m just really glad my plan worked out in the end."
Mohamed will line up against Tournament of Champions winner Simon
Rösner in the next round after Rösner defeated best friend Nicolas
Mueller 2-0.
Meanwhile, World No.4 Marwan claimed his first ever victory at the
Canary Wharf Classic after he defeated Colombia’s Miguel Angel
Rodriguez. Marwan hadn’t tasted victory at this tournament in four
previous appearances but a comfortable victory in the opening
game laid the foundations for an 11-5, 14-12 victory for the man from
Egypt.
“I think concentration is the key in best of three and you try not to lose your concentration," said Marwan.
"Of course, in the second Miguel played really well and came back from 6-2 down and I’m happy to win.
“I’ve played this tournament four times, this is my fifth time and
it’s my first win in Canary Wharf. I’m so happy to finally get my first
win here and hopefully I can keep going.”
Marwan will line up against England’s Daryl Selby for a place in
the semi-finals, with Englishman Selby coming back from a game down to
defeat Australia’s Cameron Pilley.
“Best of three is so different and anyone who said it’s not as
physically hard [as best of five] is wrong because there were some
really brutal rallies in that and I’m glad I didn’t have to play any
longer than three games,” said Selby, who this month
celebrated his 100th month inside the world’s top 20.
“Me and Pilley are good friends and we’ve been doing a podcast
[Comments from the Couch] together, which has been good fun. We’ve known
each other for 20 years and it’s always a pleasure to play against him,
he’s a great competitor and can hit some unbelievable
shots."
The first round of the Canary Wharf Classic continues tomorrow
(March 6), with Australia’s Ryan Cuskelly and Spain’s Borja Golan
getting proceedings under way at 18:00 local time (GMT).
Results - First Round (Top Half): 2018 Canary Wharf Classic
[1] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) bt [Q] Mazen Hesham (EGY) 2-0: 11-6, 11-6 (25m)
[5] Simon Rösner (GER) bt [Q] Nicolas Mueller (SUI) 2-0: 11-7, 11-5 (25m)
[8] Daryl Selby (ENG) bt Cameron Pilley (AUS) 2-1: 7-11, 11-8, 11-5 (48m)
[3] Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY) bt Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) 2-0: 11-5, 14-12 (44m)
Draw - First Round (Bottom Half): To Be Played March 6
[4] Tarek Momen (EGY) v [Q] Gregoire Marche (FRA)
[Q] Greg Lobban (SCO) v [6] James Willstrop (ENG)
[7] Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) v Borja Golan (ESP)
[WC] Nathan Lake (ENG) v [2] Ali Farag (EGY)
Draw - Quarter-Finals: To Be Played March 7
[1] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) v [5] Simon Rösner (GER)
[8] Daryl Selby (ENG) v [3] Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY)
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