Elshorbagy Is 2014 Hong Kong Squash Open Champion by Nathan Clarke August 31, 2014
- Egyptian World No.3 Mohamed Elshorbagy claimed arguably the greatest
victory of his career to date, beating Gregory Gaultier in a 97-minute
battle to be crowned 2014 Cathay Pacific Sun Hung Kai Financial Hong
Kong Open Squash champion.
The Bristol-based man
from Alexandria came through a tough, gritty encounter to win only his
second ever PSA World Series tournament, after the 2013 Qatar Classic,
inflicting a fifth Hong Kong Open final defeat on the World No.1 in the
process in a result that left the talented star elated.
"It feels great to be the champion," said Elshorbagy.
"I had a really good
summer of training and to see all the hard work pay off in this way, to
have won the Malaysian Open last week and to back that up here in Hong
Kong, has been marvellous and I just can't describe how I am feeling
right now.
"It was my first final
here and to win is something that I will remember for the rest of my
life and I would say that this is the most important win of my career
so far."
Elshorbagy raced into
a two-game lead early in the match before the Frenchman, who cruised to
the final without dropping a single game, levelled the scores at
two-two to force the match into a dramatic decider that the Egyptian
eventually edged, winning 11-9, 11-2, 4-11, 8-11, 11-4.
The deciding game had
its share of drama when an accidental collision, that saw Gaultier
sustain an ankle injury, halted the match forcing both players to
re-focus and despite losing the first two points after the resumption
of play, Elshorbagy managed to regain the ascension and withstand a
second spirited fight-back from Gaultier.
"When we play each
other we always seem to raise our game and after going 2-0 up Greg
definitely improved for sure," said Elshorbagy.
"I could sense he was
tiring at the start of the fifth game and it was very hard to refocus
after the injury break especially as he came back very strong. I
lost a little bit of concentration and lost the first two points, but I
had a couple of lucky bounces which got me back into it and that was
important.
"It's the start of the
season and to begin like this, by beating the World No.1, is huge for
me and my confidence. I'm hungry for more titles and I want to keep on
going."
Cathay Pacific Sun Hung Kai Financial Hong Kong Squash Open 2014 - Final: [2] Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) bt [1] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) 3-2: 11-9, 11-2, 4-11, 8-11, 11-4 (97mins)
