Doha: Defending champion Mohamed El Shorbagy claimed his second successive Qatar Classic, PSA World Series title with an assured 3-1 triumph over Frenchman Gregory Gaultier while World No.3 Laura Massaro continued her stunning recent to clinch the women’s crown.
Yesterday at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex, the 24-year-old Egyptian came into the final without dropping a single game and carried on that scintillating form against Australian qualifier Ryan Cuskelly in the semi-final.
Gaultier on the other hand flirted with elimination against Karim Abdel Gawad in the quarter-final after recovering from a 2-0 deficit to win while he needed to show a great deal of experience to overcome a banana skin fixture against Mazen Hesham in the last round.It looked like Gaultier was feeling the effects of playing an extra three games in the early stages of the showpiece event as El Shorbagy raced into a one-game lead after starting the match with a punishing pace. Things looked to be going from bad to worse for the ‘French General’ in the second as Elshorbagy doubled his advantage with relative ease.
At 32-years-old, Gaultier is one of the most experienced players on the PSA World Tour and slowed down the pace of the game to blunt El Shorbagy and draw the Egyptian into hitting the tin with his drops. The Frenchman’s game plan worked superbly as he claimed the third game to unsettle Elshorbagy heading in to game four.
Gaultier built up another strong lead after El Shorbagy struggled to deal with the change of pace but the number one seed battled back to force the match into a tense tie-break.
El Shorbagy ramped up his punishing backhand efforts to edge a hard-fought 11-5, 11-7, 5-11, 12-10 triumph to capture the title in a win that will propel him up the PSA Road to Dubai Standings.
“This is my fourth year in a row to make it to the final in Qatar (2012 & 2014 World Championship, 2013 Qatar Classic),” said El Shorbagy.
“I’m just glad I was able to play the whole week here and I’m glad I could win the title just one week before the World Championship. For sure, it’s a confidence boost for me for that tournament,” he added.
El Shorbagy’s victory over Gaultier saw him maintain his dominance over the pair’s recent encounters with six of the last seven going in the former’s favour. However, El Shorbagy admitted that Gaultier’s ability to fight for points is what makes him such an accomplished player.
“You could see how tired Greg was from the first day and, to be honest, I don’t know how he got to the final. He fought so hard, each match and even today, when I was 2-0 up, I didn’t think he could fight back but he kept fighting and fighting. That just shows how strong he is and how much of a champion he is. I’m really happy to be able to step on court with a champion such as him,” El Shorbagy said.
Meanwhile in the women’s section, Massaro captured a second successive PSA World Series title defeating Egypt’s Nour El Sherbini in the final.
The England No.1 booked her place in the showpiece event after dominating Omneya Abdel Kawy in the previous round while El Sherbini came through an intense five-game affair with David.
Massaro started the match on the front foot with some typically powerful drives and well-placed boats setting the scene for her victory in the opening game, which she took by an 11-8 margin.
A resurgent El Sherbini came out fighting in the second and managed to level things up on the tie-break. Errors began to creep into the young Egyptian’s game though in the third and Massaro took full advantage as she regained the lead.
El Sherbini had mentioned the support from the crowd after her semi-final victory over David and her return to the court for the fourth game was met with rapturous applause from the Egyptian spectators.
The 20-year-old used that to her advantage, keeping Massaro at arm’s length throughout and ironing out her errors to bring the match level yet again and send the fixture into an exciting fifth game.
Alexandria-born El Sherbini raced into an early lead in the title-decider before a succession of lets and strokes halted her rhythm and allowed Massaro to find her way back into the match.
The England No.3 hit a delightful volley drop at championship ball to wrap up an enthralling 11-8, 12-14, 11-9, 8-11, 11-9 victory .
The Peninsula
