Marwan ElShorbagy Downs Top Seed Elias To Join Brother Mohamed In Oracle NetSuite Open Final

Egypt’s World No.9 Marwan ElShorbagy produced a terrific performance to down No.1 seed and World No.4 Diego Elias to reach the final of the Oracle NetSuite Open where he will meet his brother Mohamed for the Silver event title.

ElShorbagy and Elias opened the action on day four at Pier 70 in San Francisco, both looking to reach their first final of the new season. ElShorbagy got off to the perfect start, catching Elias off guard to race out to a 7-1 lead. The Peruvian battled back however and hit a superb backhand cross-court nick to draw level at 9-9. Two errors followed from the racket of the No.1 seed to hand ElShorbagy a 1-0 lead.

Despite Elias equalising by winning the second game 11-7, ElShorbagy maintained his concentration and continued to test the movement of ‘The Puma’ by moving him into all four corners with intelligent squash. No.4 seed, Elias, was becoming distracted by referring decisions and subsequent errors flowed from the Peruvian to hand ElShorbagy the win and a spot in his second final of the season.

Marwan’s opponent in the final will be his older brother and No.2 seed Mohamed ElShorbagy, who overcame Egypt’s Mazen Hesham in a tight two games to also secure a second final appearance of the season.

Mohamed started the match in superb style, pinning the talented Hesham deep in the back corners, giving him no opportunity to showcase his skills. ElShorbagy secured the first game 11-8 then lead 6-1 in the second game. A fall in concentration from ‘The Beast’ allowed Hesham back into the match and he took full advantage. El Shorbagy recovered in the final game and returned to his accurate hitting to win 11-5 and reach the final.

In the women’s draw, Egypt’s Farida Mohamed closed out semi-final day with an impressive win over New Zealand’s Joelle King to reach the biggest final of her career. The World No.18 had beaten King previously and showed her confidence in the opening game, hitting hard to the back corners to set up attacking opportunities. 

King showed her class after losing the first game and started to dominate proceedings on the glass court in San Francisco. The New Zealand No.1 stepped up the court and looked to volley at any opportunity to take the game and force a decider. King continued her form and ran out to a 5-1 lead, looking sure to book her place in the final. Mohamed had other ideas however and started to fire off winners to take the next eight points to lead 9-5. She closed out the final game 11-9 to reach the biggest final of her career.

Mohamed’s opponent in the Oracle NetSuite Open final will be defending champion and No.1 seed Amanda Sobhy, who defeated fellow North American Hollie Naughton in straight games to keep her title defence alive. 

Sobhy didn’t have it all her own way in the match and was tested by Naughton’s changes of pace and deception on several occasions. The USA No.1 used her superior accuracy and shot-making skills to close out both games 11-9, however, to win in just 22 minutes.

Action from the Oracle NetSuite Open finals will be played on the all-glass court at Pier 70, San Francisco starting at 18:30 (GMT-7) and will be shown live on SQUASHTV and selected broadcast partners.

For more information on the tournament, visit the PSA World Tour’s website or follow the PSA World Tour on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Oracle Netsuite Open 2022 results: Men’s Semi-Finals

[4] Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY) bt [1] Diego Elias (PER) 2-1: 13-11, 7-11, 11-7 (40m)

[2] Mohamed ElShorbagy (ENG) bt [3] Mazen Hesham (EGY) 2-1: 11-8, 8-11, 11-5 (40m)

Oracle Netsuite Open 2022 results: Women’s Semi-Finals

[1] Amanda Sobhy (USA) bt [4] Hollie Naughton (CAN) 2-0: 11-9, 11-9 (22m)

[3] Farida Mohamed (EGY) bt [2] Joelle King (NZL) 2-1: 11-6, 10-12, 11-9 (35m)

Oracle Netsuite Open 2022: Men’s Final draw

[4] Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY) v [2] Mohamed ElShorbagy (ENG)

Oracle Netsuite Open 2022: Women’s Final draw

[1] Amanda Sobhy (USA) v [3] Farida Mohamed (EGY)