June 25, 2011-Top
seeds Thierry Lincou and Mohamed El Shorbagy will contest the final of
the Squash Pro Internationaux de la Reunion after surviving contrasting
semi-finals in the PSA World Tour International 25 squash event at
Eventsport 61 in Saint Pierre on Reunion Island.
Lincou, the Frenchman who returned to the island of his birth to win
the inaugural PSA Tour event in Reunion in 2009, recovered from a game
down to overcome compatriot Julien Balbo 10-12, 11-8, 11-3, 11-7 in
just under an hour.
The distinguished former world number one and world champion from
Marseille, now aged 35, is celebrating the 41st Tour final of his
career - but his first since winning the Bluenose Classic in Canada in
February last year.
El Shorbagy, the second seed from Egypt, is back on the Tour after
completing end-of-year exams at University in Bristol, in the UK. The
20-year-old world No9 clinched his third successive straight games win
in the event to beat Hungarian number one Mark Krajcsak 11-5, 11-9,
13-11 in 36 minutes.
"I'm very happy to win again in three - I played much better than
yesterday," El Shorbagy told www.sitesquash.com afterwards. "I started
very well and then till 6/1 up in the second, I lost a bit of
concentration which is normal to lose sometimes but I was happy that I
was able to get it back quickly and win the game.
"He played really well in the third and I was really lucky to win it at
the end. He is a very good player and I am actually surprised his
ranking isn't much better than this.
"For tomorrow, that's the final the crowd wanted, so hopefully it will
be a good match. Lincou and I are good friends off court and hopefully
we will give a good match for the crowd," concluded the rising Egyptian
star from Alexandria, now in his third Tour final of the year. RESULTS: PSA International 25 Squash Pro Internationaux de la Reunion, Saint Pierre, Reunion Island