Analysis: How The Oracle NetSuite Open Was Won

The Oracle NeSuite Open 2022 came to a close just two days ago in San Francisco with USA’s Amanda Sobhy and England’s Mohamed ElShorbagy picking up the titles for the third time in their careers. 

Sobhy stats:

Games won: 9

Games lost: 1

Minutes played: 97

ElShorbagy stats:

Games won: 9

Games lost: 2

Minutes played: 158

Sobhy came into the event as defending champion and No.1 seed and faced Egypt’s Sana Ibrahim In her opening match in the best-of-three format event (apart from the finals). Sobhy looked as sharp as ever throughout the match and picked off the loose drives that she was forcing out of Ibrahim with severe drops and kills. After a competitive first game, Sobhy wanted no time finishing the match off 11-1 in the second game to move into the quarter finals.

Men’s champion Mohamed ElShorbagy had already won a title already this season, at the Qatar Classic but a disappointing Egyptian Open left him hungry for a strong performance in San Francisco. He was up against India’s Mahesh Mangaonkar in RD2 and didn’t have it all his own way in game one. The Indian used his good reach to stay in front of ElShorbagy at times and fired off some winners of his own. ElShorbagy managed to take the tight opening game 11-9 and then looked more comfortable in the following game, winning 11-6 to reach the final eight.

ElShorbagy was up first on quarter finals day, taking on another Indian player, Saurav Ghosal for a spot in the semi-finals. The Englishman had taken the last eight encounters between the two with Ghosal’s last win coming in 2008. ElShorbagy came out the blocks at a frightening pace, pulverising the ball to the back of the court and taking his aggressive style of play to a new level. After losing the first game, Ghosal started the following game well and looked to implement his accurate style on ‘The Beast’. ElShorbagy’s intensity was relentless however and he stormed through to the semi-finals, winning both games 11-6 in 34 minutes.

Sobhy’s quarter final opponent was Hong Kong’s Chan Sin Yuk who scored a victory over USA’s Olivia Clyne in round two to advance. Sobhy strutted into good form in the opening game, using her experience to hit the space on the court and command the middle. Chan looked to have shaken off the nerves in the second game and started to trouble the No.1 seed. Chan pushed up the court and stated the volley the ball short with great accuracy and earned a game ball to equalise. Sobhy stayed strong however and plated the big points well to eventually win 14-12.

It was an all-North American battle for Sobhy in the semi-finals as she took on Canada’s Hollie Naughton for a place in successive finals in San Francisco. The match was competitive throughout, with both players changing the paces and using the whole of the court including good height. The USA No.1 again knew how to play the big points well and closed out both games 11-9 in 22 minutes to move into another final.

Mohamed ElShorbagy took on former compatriot Mazen Hesham in the second men’s semi-final of the evening’s play in an entertaining battle. ElShorbagy took a comfortable first game 11-6 by pinning Hesham in the back corners, forcing the Egyptian to try and find winners from uncomfortable positions, which inevitably resulted in errors. Despite Hesham winning the second game, ElShorbagy managed to recover his opening-game tactics and force more errors from the Egyptian’s racket to seal the third and take his place in the NetSuite Open final.

Egypt’s Farida Mohamed stood in the way of Amanda Sobhy and a third NetSuite Open title with the finals going back to the best-of-five format. Sobhy took control of the opening game and lead 8-5, hitting hard to the back corners and finishing loose returns superbly. Mohamed found her way back into the game however and fired off several winners to storm into the lead and take the opening game 11-9.

Sobhy didn’t panic however and used her experience to stick to her game plan and started to dominate proceedings once more. By finding terrific length and working Mohamed into all four corners, the World No.4 took the next two games 11-3, 11-5 to lead 2-1 and place one hand on the trophy. The No.1 seed’s momentum continued as her relentless hitting was constantly troubling her younger opponent in all areas of the court. Mohamed tried her best to contain the pressure of Sobhy but struggled to lift under pressure which only gave more chances to Sobhy. The defending champion sealed the fourth game 11-7 to successfully defend her title and claim her third Oracle NetSuite Open win.

The men’s final was a special occurrence as brothers Mohamed and Marwan ElShorbagy went head to head for the Silver event title. The brothers have previously played 19 times on the PSA tour with Mohamed holding a positive 14-5 lead over his younger brother, the most notable win coming in the 2017 PSA World Championships final in Manchester.

Marwan started the better of the two, catching his older brother slightly off guard, and firing off quick winners to take a commanding lead. He eventually took the opening game 11-6 and looked sharp and focused heading into game two.

Mohamed has already captured a Platinum event title this season, convincingly winning the Qatar Classic last month in Doha. That form was showcased in the following game, cutting the ball severely into the front corners and testing the movement of Marwan. After securing the game 11-9, Mohamed stormed to a 5-0 lead in the third and wasted no time taking a 2-1 lead by winning 11-2.

The former World No.1 looked to be in a league of his own in the fourth game and really started to turn the screw against his brother, who was trying his best to stay in the match. Marwan is renowned for his fighting abilities and used his smart brand of squash to take a 7-6 lead in the crucial fourth game to give himself a lifeline in the match. Mohamed responded again however and moved from strength to strength to take five of the next six points and close out the match 11-8 to score his third Netsuite Open title and second title of the new season.