Egypt’s Mohamed El Shorbagy justified his top billing in the Macau Open when he beat Frenchman Thierry Lincou, the No2 seed, in today’s final of the PSA World Tour International 50 squash event at the Centro de Bowling do Complexo Desportivo Internacional de COTAI in Macau, China.
The 20-year-old world No8 from Alexandria recovered from a game down – as he had done in the previous three rounds – to shake off veteran Lincou, the 35-year-old former world champion ranked two positions lower, 11-13, 11-5, 11-5, 11-7 in 60 minutes.
“I’m glad to win the championship,” said the jubilant Egyptian at the trophy presentation. “Thierry and I have known each other for quite a long time, so we know quite well the way each other plays.”
With smile on his face, the humorous El Shorbagy added: “I think one of the reasons I won is because I’m much younger than Lincou – he’s in his middle age, but I’m still young!”
The triumph – marking El Shorbagy’s fifth career Tour title – will be a major boost on the eve of the Cathay Pacific Sun Hung Kai Financial Hong Kong Open, the seventh PSA World Series event of the year which gets underway in Hong Kong on Tuesday.
RESULTS: PSA International 50 Macau Open, Macau, China
Semi-finals:
[1] Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY) bt Olli Tuominen (FIN) 9-11, 11-5, 11-4, 11-7 (62m)
[2] Thierry Lincou (FRA) bt Hisham Mohamed Ashour (EGY) 6-11, 13-11, 11-8, 13-11 (60m)
Four-game victories by Mohamed El Shorbagy and Thierry Lincou in today’s semi-finals of the Macau Open have taken the top two seeds into the final of the PSA World Tour International 50 squash event at the Centro de Bowling do Complexo Desportivo Internacional de COTAI in Macau, China.
El Shorbagy, the favourite from Egypt, recovered from a game down to beat experienced Finn Olli Tuominen 9-11, 11-5, 11-4, 11-7 in 62 minutes.
The 20-year-old world No8 is celebrating the eighth PSA World Tour final of his career – and his fifth this year.
Lincou, the 35-year-old Frenchman who is a former world champion and world number one, used all his experience to hold off the challenge of Hisham Mohamed Ashour – beating the world No14 from Egypt 6-11, 13-11, 11-8, 13-11 in 60 minutes.
The world No10 from Marseille is on the eve of his 43rd PSA Tour final – more than 15 years after reaching his first, in Austria in October 1996.
