Marwan ElShorbagy wins sibling clash to reach semis

One ElShorbagy brother was guaranteed to be in the semi-finals of the VITAGEN Singapore Squash Open as Mohamed and Marwan ElShorbagy took to the court in the second match of the day for a spot in the final four.

In a high quality opening game, both players were looking sharp as they tried to move each other around the court and gain control of the match. It was clear that pleasantries were put aside as soon as the court door closed as both brothers were totally focused on winning. Mohamed earned the first game balls at 10-8 but a run of four consecutive points to steal the game 12-10.

Mohamed returned to the court with a steely determination. The former World Champion pushed up on the T and increased his power and accuracy to test his brother physically. This tactic worked perfectly for the elder brother as he started to squeeze errors and loose balls from Marwan. The pressure from Mohamed didn’t let up after he took the second game and more of the same followed in game three, again Mohamed took it to lead 2-1.

The fourth game was close throughout as both players looked to pull ahead on the scoreboard. Marwan elected to try and slow the pace down and chip the ball straight and tight to frustrate his older brother. This allowed Marwan to control the middle of the court a lot better than he had being doing in the previous two games. Marwan earned a top point lead at 9-7 and held on well to win 11-9 and force a decider.

Marwan looked to be in good shape in the fifth game and continued to chip the ball into the back corners to create volleying opportunities, which allowed him to dictate the play and force Mohamed into several hard movements. The points came thick and fast for the younger brother and after leading 9-4, earned four match balls. The World No.8 only needed one to knock out his older brother and the defending champion.

“It’s always tough to play my brother, I apologise to him. We’re more used to it now. I was trying to focus and kill my emotion and just concentrate on what I had to do. But I’m happy to win and I’m looking forward to my semi-final tomorrow.

“Even when I was up in the fifth and I could see him struggling, I was thinking about keeping my focus because he can come back any time and he’s such a fighter. Its so hard mentally and being on court with him is never comfortable, it never gets any easier. We both appreciate being on tour together and I think in 10 years time we will look back at these matches fondly.”

Result:
[6] Marwan ElShorbagy (ENG) bt [3] Mohamed Elshorbagy (ENG) 3-2: 12-10, 7-11, 6-11, 11-8, 11-6 (67m)