World No.10 Marwan ElShorbagy delivered a superb performance to defeat older brother Mohamed in straight games and book his spot in the semi-finals of the Silicon Valley Open 2024 presented by Oracle NetSuite.
Marwan, who arrived in San Francisco on the back of a title victory at the Open Squash Classic, looked a player full of confidence as came through the stop-start encounter by an 11-9, 11-7, 12-10 scoreline.
Despite having won just six of their 23 meetings on the PSA Tour, Marwan largely controlled proceedings on the all-glass court at Squash Zone, displaying impressive ball control and winning the length battle throughout the 46-minute encounter.
In a match that saw regular interference in the middle of the court, Marwan impressively fought through a nip-and-tuck opening game before saving a game ball in the third on his way to victory.
After the match, he said: “It’s mixed emotions really. My brother is the person I looked up to when I was young. I was very lucky to have him because everything that he has achieved is amazing.
“I don’t know how many times I’m going to be playing my brother again on the big stage, so I just wanted to enjoy it. That’s why I tend to enjoy these matches more as I get older and mature more. One day, me and my brother will sit down and look back at these battles.”
No.6 seed ElShorbagy will face Welsh No.1 Joel Makin for a spot in the title decider of the PSA Squash Tour Gold-level event after the No.5 seed ground down the dangerous Abdulla Al-Tamimi in three games.
After fighting off an early barrage of winners from the Qatari No.1 in the first game, Makin grew in confidence as the match progressed, taking the entertaining duel by a 12-10, 11-4, 11-7 scoreline.
Meanwhile, in the women’s draw, American No.1 Olivia Weaver and Malaysian No.1 Sivasangari Subramaniam were the two players to advance to the last four, coming through their respective matches in contrasting styles.
Sivasangari avoided a seeding scare by holding off the attacking threats of No.8 seed Zeina Mickawy in a see-saw five-game encounter, sealing an 11-9, 9-11, 13-11, 11-13, 11-3 win after 55 minutes of breathless action.
Despite seeing two match balls slip through her grasp at the end of the fourth game, No.3 seed Sivasangari recovered well in the decider to move through to her first World Tour semi-final since her London Classic victory in March.
“I think the last time we played was in the British Junior Open back in the U17s, where she beat me 3-2 and 12-10 in the fifth,” Sivasangari said after the match. “I remember she won the match on a cross-court slotted nick, so I definitely remembered the dangers that she has in her game.
“I just tried to reset mentally after every rally today. It’s hard when you’re not quite playing your best squash, and I just tried to reset as often as possible and play my own game.”
Meanwhile, top seed Weaver continued her faultless progression through the Silicon Valley Open draw with a battling victory over No.7 seed Farida Mohamed.
Egypt’s Mohamed, who won the Open Squash Classic title last week, struggled to match the consistent accuracy and composure of the World No.4 during their 34 minutes on court, with Weaver eventually taking the match by an 11-8, 11-8, 12-10 scoreline.
Results: Men’s Quarter Finals – Silicon Valley Open 2024
[5] Joel Makin (WAL) bt Abdulla Al-Tamimi (QAT) 3-0: 12-10, 11-4, 11-7 (45m)
[6] Marwan ElShorbagy (ENG) bt [4] Mohamed ElShorbagy (ENG) 3-0: 11-9, 11-7, 12-10 (46m)
Results: Women’s Quarter Finals – Silicon Valley Open 2024
[1] Olivia Weaver (USA) bt [7] Farida Mohamed (EGY) 3-0: 11-8, 11-8, 12-10 (34m)
[3] Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS) bt [8] Zeina Mickawy (EGY) 3-2: 11-9, 9-11, 13-11, 11-13, 11-3 (55m)
Draw: Men’s Quarter Finals (Bottom Half: To Be Played October 14)
Aly Abou Eleinen (EGY) v [7] Victor Crouin (FRA)
[8] Youssef Soliman (EGY) v [2] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY)
Draw: Women’s Quarter Finals (Bottom Half: To Be Played October 14)
[4] Amanda Sobhy (USA) v [6] Satomi Watanabe (JPN)
[5] Amina Orfi (EGY) v [2] Georgina Kennedy (ENG)