Motor City Open Day One Roundup: Thrilling Comeback Sends Abouelghar Through

1 February 2023

Egyptian wildcard and 2019 champion Mohamed Abouelghar’s return to the tour continued to gather steam as he battled back from two games down to beat Mexico’s Leonel Cardenas and set up a second round Motor City Open clash with defending champion Diego Elias.

Abouelghar, who prior to tonight’s match had played just four times on the tour since 2021 due to injury, looked in trouble as Cardenas opened up a healthy lead thanks to hard-fought 11-8, 12-10 wins.

The 29-year-old, whose ranking slipped to 111 due to the time away, fought back brilliantly, digging in to pull level with 11-6, 11-9 wins before completing the comeback with an 11-5 victory in the fifth.

“I’m feeling great. It’s been a long road for me but coming bak here, with all the memories I have here, is an amazing feeling,” Abouelghar said afterwards.

The Egyptian will play No.2 seed and two-time champion Diego Elias in round two tomorrow.

Elsewhere, there were more comebacks, with Cesar Salazar saving multiple match balls as he came from 2-0 down to beat Karim El Hammamy 3-2 and Qatar’s Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi beating France’s Lucas Serme 3-1 after dropping the first game.

“It was really tough match with Karim. After that third game, I had the confidence to keep fighting. Then, in the fifth when I was 6-2 down, I just kept fighting, fighting, fighting,” Salazar said.

For the home fans, Shahjahan Khan is the last American standing after Faraz Khan crashed out to England’s Adrian Waller 3-0 in 29 minutes. US No.1 Shahjahan Khan looked in a confident mood as he beat Hong Kong’s Tsz Kwan Lau 3-0 in 38 minutes.

Completing the day’s play, Aly Abou Eleinen beat Nathan Lake and Mohamed ElSherbini held off Ramit Tandon, while Youssef Ibrahim brought the action to a close with a 3-1 win over Hong Kong’s Henry Leung.

Round two gets underway tomorrow (February 2) with play beginning at 17:00 (GMT-5). Court 3 will be streamed live and free on the PSA website.

For more on the Sturbridge Capital Motor City Open, visit the PSA website or follow the PSA on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.

Results – Round One: Sturbridge Capital Motor City Open 2023

Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi (QAT) bt Lucas Serme (FRA) 3-1: 12-14, 11-4, 11-4, 11-1 (46m)
Cesar Salazar (MEX) bt Karim El Hammamy (EGY) 3-2: 4-11, 6-11, 11-9, 13-11, 11-9 (81m)
Aly Abou Eleinen (EGY) bt Nathan Lake (ENG) 3-0: 15-13, 14-12, 11-5 (46m)
Mohamed ElSherbini (EGY) bt Ramit Tandon (IND) 3-1: 11-7, 11-4, 8-11, 11-9 (48m)
Youssef Ibrahim (EGY) bt Henry Leung (HKG) 3-1: 11-8, 11-6, 4-11, 11-7 (36m)
Adrian Waller (ENG) bt Faraz Khan (USA) 3-0: 11-9, 11-2, 11-3 (29m)
Shahjahan Khan (USA) bt Tsz Kwan Lau (HKG) 3-0: 15-13, 11-7, 11-5 (38m)
[WC] Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY) bt Leonel Cardenas (MEX) 3-2: 8-11, 10-12, 11-6, 11-9, 11-5 (55m)

Draw – Round Two: To be played February 2
[1] Paul Coll (NZL) v Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi (QAT)
Cesar Salazar (MEX) v [5] Fares Dessouky (EGY)
[7] Miguel Rodriguez (COL) v Aly Abou Eleinen (EGY)
Mohamed ElSherbini (EGY) v [4] Mazen Hesham (EGY)
[3] Tarek Momen (EGY) v Youssef Ibrahim (EGY)
Adrian Waller (ENG) v [6] Youssef Soliman (EGY)
[8] Gregoire Marche (FRA) v Shahjahan Khan (USA)
[WC] Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY) v [2] Diego Elias (PER)