ElSherbini Dashes Home Hopes In Hamburg

No.3 Mohamed ElSherbini defeated home favourite Raphael Kandra in four games to set up a semi-final encounter with Switzerland’s Dimitri Steinmann.

ElSherbini had a strong start to the match and put Kandra, who had the full support of a packed crowd, under pressure from the opening rally. Both players produced moments of skills, using clever movement and deception, and through a tie-break, the Egyptian took the lead, winning 12-10.

In a similarly close-fought affair, ElSherbini remained accurate in the crucial moments as they fought to 9-9, but a forehand drop from ElSherbini gave the Egyptian a chance to double his advantage and Kandra struck the tin to give the No.3 seed the match.

The Egyptian looked to be cruising to a 3-0 victory over Kandra as he leapt to a 7-2 lead in game three, but the German fought back to 9-9 with the crowd cheering every point. The pair were inseparable as they traded points into a tie-break. Despite some missed opportunities from Kandra as he hit the tin in crucial moments, ElSherbini failed to punish the German and the home favourite won the game 14-12 with a well-disguised cross-court.

The fourth game was just as close-fought as the third as the two players battled for a place in the semi-finals. ElSherbini again earned a seemingly-decisive lead at 9-4, and the Egyptian held his nerve at the second time of asking to win the thrilling encounter with a pin-point accurate cross-court into the back-right corner.

“He’s such a great player [Raphael Kandra] and in front of this amazing crowd, it’s hard not to play your best squash and give your best effort,” said ElSherbini after the match. “Raphael is a very talented player and he was very strong today. I’m glad to have finished it in four even though I could have finished it in three.

“If he’s the goalkeeper then I’m the striker! He was retrieving a lot of the good shots I was playing and at some point I was thinking, ‘oh my god, this guy is retrieving everything and he’s not going away.’ I had to be extra accurate to the front and extra accurate to the back so I could win the rallies off him and he didn’t give any unforced errors throughout the match, and I had to win the point and finish the rally myself. Otherwise he wasn’t going to give me any free points.

“He [Dimitri Steinmann] would want me to play more so I’m tired for tomorrow! But we’ll see what happens, I’m looking forward to playing tomorrow and thanks to this amazing crowd.”

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Results: German Open 2024 – Presented by Sportwerk Men’s Quarter-Finals
[3] Mohamed ElSherbini (EGY) bt [5] Raphael Kandra (GER) 3-1: 12-10, 11-9, 12-14, 11-8 (69m)