Optasia Championships Day Three: Player Reaction as Lee Stuns ElShorbagy

Round two of the Optasia Championships concludes today at the Wimbledon Club in London, with the final four matches of the round being played this evening.

All four matches are available to watch live on SQUASHTV from 17:00 (GMT), while you can keep track of the live scores from the event here.

You can purchase tickets for the Optasia Championships here.

For updates on the Optasia Squash Championships, visit the PSA World Tour website or follow the PSA on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.

We will have reports and reaction from the winners of today’s matches below.

Soliman Comeback Thwarts Mueller

In the evening’s opening match, Egyptian No.8 seed Youssef Soliman delivered an impressive comeback to down last year’s semi-finalist Nicolas Mueller of Switzerland.

The Swiss No.1 made the ideal start to the match, playing his usual entertaining brand of squash finding his targets well against a flat Soliman, taking the first five points on the way to an 11-6 win.

Soliman, playing his first match of the tournament after receiving a first round bye, responded well. The 26-year-old’s movement looked much improved and he retrieved excellently to force errors from Mueller, levelling the tie with an 11-7 win and then pulling ahead with an 11-8 victory in game three.

With his struggles of the opening game now long forgotten, Soliman pushed hard in the fourth against a struggling Mueller, with the Egyptian harrying well to reach the Optasia Championship quarter finals for the first time with a comfortable 11-3 win to finish.

A born entertainer @MuellerNicolas 🍿

He’s started in great style at the @OPTASIAsquash 🔥

Watch the action LIVE on @SquashTV 📺#OptasiaChampionships pic.twitter.com/EzWBz6kntr

— PSA World Tour (@PSAWorldTour) March 23, 2023

Afterwards, Soliman said: “He caught me off guard. For most of the match he was in front of me and I think how he pushed me, mentally, I had to play better and get my length. It was good for me to sharpen me up for the next round.

“His shots, especially in the first game, were incredible. It was so hard to read and really tough and I’m just happy to have won.”

Result
[8] Youssef Soliman (EGY) bt Nicolas Mueller (SUI) 3-1: 6-11, 11-7, 11-8, 11-3 (45m)

Wildcard Lee Halts ElShorbagy’s World No.1 Charge

In the upset of the tournament, wildcard Charlie Lee reached the quarter final after stunning England compatriot and World No.3 Mohamed ElShorbagy, who was troubled by an injury throughout.

World No.58 Lee, looking to record his second upset of the tournament after beating World No.20 Raphael Kandra in round one, took a shock 1-0 lead with a tidy 11-9 win against the No.3 seed, who appeared to be struggling with an injury to his right leg.

Despite his troubles, ‘the Beast’ – who would have reclaimed the World No.1 ranking with an Optasia title – dragged himself level with an 11-8, with Lee making too many errors as he attempted to capitalise on his opponent’s limited movement.

After regaining his composure between games, Lee targeted the front right to good effect early on and then played simple, effective squash to move ahead, regaining the lead after taking the third game 11-6.

While ElShorbagy appeared frustrated at the beginning of the fourth game, Lee appeared far more settled and confident in his attack, playing some of his best squash of the match to stretch into a seemingly insurmountable 9-3 lead.

ElShorbagy, however, somehow dragged himself to within touching distance of a famous recovery as he saved two match balls to reach 9-10, only for Lee to finally put the tie to bed with an attacking boast at the front to end the clash.

Lee will play Soliman in tomorrow’s quarter final.

😱 We’re seeing some SHOCKS this week!

Here’s the moment @leecharlie98 downed World No.3 Mohamed ElShorbagy to reach the @OPTASIAsquash quarter finals!#OptasiaChampionships pic.twitter.com/SxQ3oYzB4d

— PSA World Tour (@PSAWorldTour) March 23, 2023

Speaking after the win, Lee said: “Mo probably wasn’t at his full potential today but I’m very happy with the win. He’s a legend of the sport and I have so much admiration for him and have looked up to him my whole career. He’s probably my first squash idol. To get the win here is really surreal. That’s all, really!

“It nearly didn’t happen at the end. 9-3 to 10-9 was a little shaky. He went into that unstoppable mode and the ball died off a little bit. But I was really happy to protect the lead and get the win in the end. I think that’s testament to the work I’ve been doing for a long time. It all pays off. What an evening!”

Result
[WC] Charlie Lee (ENG) bt [3] Mohamed ElShorbagy (ENG) 3-1: 11-9, 8-11, 11-6, 11-9 (46m)

Defending Champ Farag Comes From Behind to Beat Marche

Top seed Ali Farag’s return to form continued to gather steam as the defending champion came from behind to get the better of Gregoire Marche in a see-saw encounter.

Alarm bells were ringing for Farag, who had made the final in all three of his previous appearances at the Optasia Championships, after the immaculate Marche took the first game 11-4, with Farag – who is working his way back to match sharpness following a lengthy injury layoff – struggling to deal with the movement of the Frenchman, who took the lead with an 11-4 win.

Farag began to move more smoothly in the second game and hit the corners well to restore parity with an 11-8 and looked likely to take the lead when he went 6-2 up in game three, only for Marche to brilliantly claw his way back with nine unanswered points to restore his advantage.

The fourth game began as an even and entertaining affair, before Farag moved up the gears to storm away from 4-4 to 11-4 and force the first decider of the evening.

In the decisive final game, Farag showed more of the quality that crowds at last week’s Canary Wharf Classic, with the reigning World Champion, while still not at his best, able to read Marche’s shots early and hit enough of his targets to bring a thrilling contest to an end.

Afterwards, Farag said: “Greg played extremely well. I’m a little frustrated with myself because I knew my gameplan well and I didn’t execute it at all. Credit to him because he made me play his own gameplan. Greg likes to play a very open court, playing cross courts and with a lot of angles. I played into his hands a little more than I would have liked.

“Credit to him, he was so accurate and forced me to open the court too much. Thankfully my corner told me to keep it tight and keep it higher to try and nullify his attacks and I managed to do that. But it was very nervy at the end.

“It was easy to motivate myself to come back [after the injury]. This injury was a blessing in disguise because it reignited the fire inside of me, so the rehabilitation was fun I guess. It was a new challenge and an exciting one for me and I’ve had a great team behind me and they’ve worked wonders on my knee – look how small those quads are! They’re not really helping with taking the load off my joints but I’ve been building that up.

“I’d love to [win here]. The Optasia title is the only one I’ve won on British soil so I’ve got good memories here. Thanks to everyone who organises this, you make us feel so welcome, and thanks to the crowd, too, it’s always busy from day one. We love to see it and the English crowd, you can’t find better anywhere in the world.”

Result
[1] Ali Farag (EGY) bt Gregoire Marche (FRA) 3-2: 4-11, 11-8, 6-11, 11-4, 11-4 (55m)

On Song Hesham Beats Ibrahim

In the final match of the day, which was contested by two of the most exciting players on the tour, No.5 seed Mazen Hesham are out on top in an all-Egyptian matchup against left-hander Youssef Ibrahim.

The very best of Hesham was on display from the opening rally, with ‘the Falcon’s’ maverick range of shots, which were brilliantly executed, consistently disorienting Ibrahim as Hesham took the first two games 11-3, 11-8.

Ibrahim, who had found ways to trouble Hesham in the second, was powerless in the face of another rapid start from Hesham, who continued to attack at will and set up a quarter final against defending Farag with an 11-7 victory.

“Before the match, I was really tired, mentally,” Hesham admitted afterwards.

“I think everyone has been, you saw that in the first round. I think it’s good for me, it sharpens me and playing Ibrahim, who’s very dangerous and hungry, so I had to be on my mental and push from the start and I think I surprised myself even, which is very good!”

Result
[5] Mazen Hesham (EGY) bt Youssef Ibrahim (EGY) 3-0: 11-3, 11-8, 11-7 (40m)