Mohamed ElShorbagy came from a game down to oust younger brother Marwan and book his spot in the quarter-finals of the CIB PSA World Championships.
Mohamed had won 16 of their 22 matches, but it was Marwan who got the start needed, going 7-2 up in the opener and taking the first game.
But former World No.1 Mohamed struck back to take the next three without reply, setting up a last eight battle with New Zealand’s World No.2 Paul Coll.
Marwan was issued a conduct warning at 10-9 in the fourth after he complained about his brother’s follow through. And his outburst seemed to play into his brother’s hands.
“If you asked me two months ago if I wanted to play again, I would have told you that I wanted to stop, I wanted to retire,” said ElShorbagy.
“If you asked me two months ago if I wanted to play again, I would have told you that I wanted to stop, I wanted to retire" 👀
Incredible insight from @MoElshorbagy following today's win over his brother Marwan. #PSAWorldChamps pic.twitter.com/4IrW7JHEQL
— PSA World Championships (@PSAWorldChamps) May 14, 2024
“After I beat Iker [Pajares] in El Gouna, I called Jonah [Barrington] that night, I needed someone who has known me since I was a kid. He really got me pumped up and I think everyone saw what I did against Youssef Soliman the day after.
“I went over the line there, but I wanted to be aggressive again and I used to be aggressive on court. At the European Teams I played Victor, I was aggressive but I wasn’t over the line and that’s ‘The Beast’ that I want to see of myself. In the past two or three years I’ve been more of an ambassador than ‘The Beast’ and I want to be the person who never cares about what people say on social media and who just wants to win.”
In the women’s matches Egypt’s World No.10 Rowan Elaraby mounted a fine comeback from two games down as she beat England’s World No.6 Georgina Kennedy at the seventh time of asking.
Kennedy applied plenty of pressure from the first game as she thwarted the World No.10 whenever Elaraby tried to impose her game. Having taken the first 11-5, Kennedy continued her positive start as she dominated the second the same way she did in the first, driving the ball deep into the back corners for an 11-5 victory.
.@rowanelarabyy recovers from 2-0 down to beat Gina Kennedy 😮
Here are the 𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 winning moments ⬇️#PSAWorldChamps pic.twitter.com/STBikabkPK
— PSA World Tour (@PSAWorldTour) May 14, 2024
Elaraby came out firing on all cylinders in the third, getting on the ball early and finding her targets as she halved the deficit. And it was the same again in the fourth and fifth games as the Egyptian completed an 7-11, 5-11, 11-4, 11-4, 11-7 victory which will see her take on No.2 seed Hania El Hammamy for a place in the semi-finals.
“I’m super thrilled,” Elaraby said on court afterwards.
“This is my first win against Gina and I came into this match very nervous. I was 2-0 down and Engy [Kheirallah, Elaraby’s coach] kept telling me I had nothing to lose, to do my best and not to leave the court until I’ve given it 100 per cent. I’m really happy to get through this match and beat Gina.
“This is a very special event and I want to keep pushing the top players and keep winning these matches. I’m really grateful for this win today and I’m looking forward to another match here on this amazing court. I’m lucky to be competing again.”
Results – Men’s Third Round (Bottom Half): 2023-24 CIB PSA World Championships
[4] Mostafa Asal (EGY) bt [10] Joel Makin (WAL) 3-1: 11-2, 11-4, 9-11, 11-9 (73m)
[6] Mazen Hesham (EGY) bt [12] Youssef Soliman (EGY) 3-0: 11-7, 11-3, 11-7 (44m)
[7] Mohamed Elshorbagy (ENG) bt [9] Marwan Elshorbagy (ENG) 3-1: 8-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-9 (54m)
[2] Paul Coll (NZL) bt Eain Yow Ng (MAS) 3-0: 11-9, 11-4, 11-6 (39m)
Draw – Men’s Quarter-Finals: To Be Played May 16th
[1] Ali Farag (EGY) v [8] Tarek Momen (EGY)
[5] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) v [3] Diego Elias (PER)
[4] Mostafa Asal (EGY) v [6] Mazen Hesham (EGY)
[7] Mohamed Elshorbagy (ENG) v [2] Paul Coll (NZL)
Results – Women’s Third Round (Bottom Half): 2023-24 CIB PSA World Championships
[3] Nouran Gohar (EGY) bt [12] Sabrina Sobhy (USA) 3-0: 11-3, 11-4, 11-1 (28m)
[5] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) bt [13] Satomi Watanabe (JPN) 3-0: 11-7, 12-10, 11-9
[9] Rowan Elaraby (EGY) bt [6] Georgina Kennedy (ENG) 3-2: 7-11, 5-11, 11-4, 11-4, 11-7 (52m)
[2] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) bt [14] Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS) 3-0: 15-13, 11-6, 11-5 (44m)
Draw – Women’s Quarter-Finals (Top Half): To Be Played May 15th
[1] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) v [7] Tinne Gilis (BEL)
[8] Olivia Weaver (USA) v Fayrouz Aboelkheir (EGY)
Draw – Women’s Quarter-Finals (Bottom Half): To Be Played May 16th
[3] Nouran Gohar (EGY) v [5] Nour El Tayeb (EGY)
[9] Rowan Elaraby (EGY) v [2] Hania El Hammamy (EGY)