Pittsburgh Open 2023 Day Two Round-Up: Abouelghar Downs No.4 Seed Momen

Mohamed Abouelghar caused the biggest upset of round two of the Pittsburgh Open as he dispatched No.4 seed Tarek Momen in straight games.

Abouelghar, who reached the second round with a 3-0 win over Sebastien Bonmalais, showed great tenacity in the first game after falling behind to Momen, with Abouelghar going 10-9 ahead. The World No.90 converted game ball at the first attempt.

Another early lead for Momen in the second was soon gone as Abouelghar saved game ball to force a tiebreaker as his fighting spirit paid dividends to go 2-0 up with a 13-11 victory.

Momen, the World No.7, sustained a calf injury which caused a lengthy delay while he was trailing 9-8. The pause in play didn’t deter Abouelghar’s momentum, claiming the third 11-8 to move into the last eight.

“It feels unbelievable. I’ve always struggled against Tarek (Momen) – the head-to-heads, I’ve only beaten him once in a best of three. To beat him in straight games is a massive achievement for me,” said Abouelghar.

“I was 8-2 down in the first game and I told myself to hang in there and make it long for him so I could gain some momentum for the second game.

“I’m happy it worked out and I won the game – it gave me a huge boost going into the second game onwards.”

Reigning World Champion and the tournament’s top seed Ali Farag marked his return to action with a comeback victory against Nathan Lake.

Farag, making his first appearance since the Grasshopper Cup back in October, lost the first game 11-9 but the World No.2 found his form by taking the ensuing games 11-8, 11-8, 11-6 to book a quarter-final spot.

“It feels amazing (to be back on court). I feel like a child in a play area – I’m back to doing what I love most,” said Farag.

“I was very nervous and very excited – I had so many different emotions but the overriding one is gratitude and happiness.”

Farag’s fellow countrymen, Marwan ElShorbagy, Youssef Soliman and Mazen Hesham, cruised into the quarter-finals with straight set triumphs against Ramit Tandon, Gregoire Marche and Saurav Ghosal, respectively.

Elsewhere, there were 3-1 victories for No.2 seed Diego Elias, Miguel Rodriguez and Joel Makin, overcoming Youssef Ibrahim, Patrick Rooney and Eain Yow Ng, respectively.

The quarter-finals of the Pittsburgh Open take place tomorrow (February 10), with play starting from 17:00 (GMT-5) at the Rivers Club. All four matches will be streamed live and free on the PSA website.

For more information about the Pittsburgh Open, visit the PSA website or follow the PSA on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.

Results – Round Two: Pittsburgh Open 2023

[1] Ali Farag (EGY) bt Nathan Lake (ENG) 3-1: 9-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-6 (41m)

[7] Youssef Soliman (EGY) bt Gregoire Marche (FRA) 3-0: 11-9, 11-4, 11-3 (43m)

[5] Mazen Hesham (EGY) bt Saurav Ghosal (IND) 3-0: 11-9, 11-3, 11-9 (44m)

[3] Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY) bt Ramit Tandon (IND) 3-0: 11-6, 11-6, 11-5 (29m)

Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY) bt [4] Tarek Momen (EGY) 3-0: 11-9, 13-11, 11-8 (66m)

[6] Joel Makin (WAL) bt Eain Yow Ng (MAS) 3-1: 11-3, 8-11, 11-2, 11-9 (65m)

[8] Miguel Rodriguez (COL) bt Patrick Rooney (ENG) 3-1: 6-11, 11-7, 11-6, 11-9 (62m)

[2] Diego Elias (PER) bt Youssef Ibrahim (EGY) 3-1: 11-6, 11-9, 4-11, 12-10 (52m)

Draw – Quarter-Finals: To be played February 10

[1] Ali Farag (EGY) v [7] Youssef Soliman (EGY)

[5] Mazen Hesham (EGY) v [3] Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY)

Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY) v [6] Joel Makin (WAL)

[8] Miguel Rodriguez (COL) v [2] Diego Elias (PER)