World No.7 Mohamed ElShorbagy ousted Scotland’s Rory Stewart in straight games to join three other English players in the quarter-finals of the Optasia Championships.
ElShorbagy, who won in a quick-fire 24 minutes, now faces Karim Abdel Gawad in a repeat of their brilliant 2019 final.
The Bristolian said: “It’s a very different time in my career right now. I’m not a dominant World No.1 so it’s about trying to work out the mental side of going from the best player in the world to one of the best players in the world. It’s a very differrent mentality that you have to understand and I had to understand how to cope with it.
No.1 seed and 2022 champion Ali Farag moved through to the quarter-finals with a straight-game win over Switzerland’s Dimitri Steinmann that was anything but straightforward, with everyone at The Wimbledon Club wondering how Steinmann hadn’t taken a game.
“It was enjoyable,” said Farag after the match. “There wasn’t much in it. Thankfully I was able to sneak the first few otherwise I would’ve been in a bit of trouble.
Jas Hutton also came through 3-0 but in a far more convincing manner in the women’s draw.
No.2 seed Sarah-Jane Perry will lie in wait against her compatriot after coming through an increasingly entertaining match against Cindy Merlo.
Results: Optasia Championships 2024 Day Three (RD2)
[7] Melissa Alves (FRA) bt Akanksha Salunkhe (IND) 3-0: 11-3, 11-5, 11-2 (19m) [5] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) bt Curtis Malik (ENG) 3-1: 11-9, 10-12, 11-8, 11-1 (47m) [4] Satomi Watanabe (JPN) bt Torrie Malik (ENG) 3-0: 11-7, 11-8, 11-7 (27m) [4] Mohamed Elshorbagy (ENG) bt Rory Stewart (SCO) 3-0: 11-6, 11-4, 11-8 (24m) [2] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) bt Cindy Merlo (SUI) 3-1: 11-5, 10-12, 11-8, 11-5 (32m) [1] Ali Farag (EGY) bt Dimitri Steinmann (SUI) 3-0: 16-14, 11-8, 13-11 (59m) [6] Jasmine Hutton (ENG) bt Emilia Soini (FIN) 3-0: 11-9, 11-6, 11-7 (29m) [7] Marwan Elshorbagy (ENG) bt Karim El Hammamy (EGY) 3-0: 11-5, 11-7, 11-8 (49m)Draw: Optasia Championships 2024 Day Three (RD2)
12:00 [5] Tesni Murphy (WAL) v [3] Nada Abbas (EGY)
13:00 [8] Baptiste Masotti (FRA) v [2] Paul Coll (NZL)
14:00 [1] Nele Gilis (BEL) v [8] Hana Moataz (EGY)
15:00 [3] Mostafa Asal (EGY) v [6] Joel Makin (WAL)
17:30 [4] Satomi Watanabe (JPN) v [7] Melissa Alves (FRA)
18:30 [5] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) v [4] Mohamed Elshorbagy (ENG)
19:30 [6] Jasmine Hutton (ENG) v [2] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG)
20:30 [1] Ali Farag (EGY) v [7] Marwan Elshorbagy (ENG)