Despite just a single world ranking position separating the Egyptian pair, world No5 Karim Darwish endorsed his superiority over Mohamed Elshorbagy by despatching his sixth-placed national rival in straight games to reach the semi-finals of the Delaware Investments U.S. Open Squash Championships, the fifth PSA World Series event of the year at Drexel University in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n
Darwish, the 32-year-old former world number one from Cairo, went into the match 8-2 ahead in the pair’s all-time head-to-head record – but 22-year-old Elshorbagy, from Alexandria, recorded a notable 3\/0 win over his senior Egyptian team-mate last December en-route to an impressive PSA World Championship final debut.<\/p>\n
Fourth seed Darwish took early control, leading 5-2, 7-5 and 9-6 and, despite Elshorbagy’s best efforts, took the lead 11-9.<\/p>\n
In the second, fifth seed Elshorbagy built up leads of 6-1, then 8-3 and 9-4 before proceeding to self-destruct – with five unforced tins in a row. Darwish took the game 11-9 with a dropshot for an unlikely two-game lead.\n<\/p>\n
Darwish took full advantage in the third, taking a 5-1 lead, then extending it to 7-3. At 10-6 a delicate crosscourt dropshot clinched the match for Darwish – and a first appearance in the US Open semi-finals since 2007.<\/p>\n
“I was really focused for this match,” said Darwish (pictured above in action with Elshorbagy) after his 11-9, 11-9, 11-6 victory. “I really wanted to win this one and it’s such a great feeling to be in the semi-final of the US Open. There were a few collisions in the second. I wasn’t too happy about it, but I told myself I had to win and I’m happy I could do it.”<\/p>\n
Darwish will now face career-long French rival Gregory Gaultier, the top seed, for a place in the final.<\/p>\n
“Greg’s one of the in-form players, so it should be a good match against him on Thursday,” concluded the exuberant Egyptian.<\/p>\n
Gaultier, the world No2 bidding to reach his fourth PSA World Tour final in a row, defeated unseeded compatriot Mathieu Castagnet 13-11, 11-8, 11-6.<\/p>\n
Underdog Castagnet, a surprise quarter-finalist after ousting No7 seed Borja Golan in the previous round, got off to a flyer, building up a 6-0 lead.<\/p>\n
The unperturbed event favourite calmly worked his way back into the game to draw level at eight-all before taking the lead 9-8 with another crisp volley.<\/p>\n
Castagnet came back to save a game-ball at 9-10 before getting his own game-ball at 11-10. But Gaultier pushed to take the game 13-11.<\/p>\n
The experienced 30-year-old from Aix-en-Provence led in both the next two games before closing out the match 13-11, 11-8, 11-6.<\/p>\n
“He started really fast and took me a bit by surprise,” admitted Gaultier. “It was maybe a bit faster than he usually plays, so I knew I had to make the game tough even if I lost it. Once I got a few points I was confident I could win the game, but I had to work hard.<\/p>\n
“He didn’t slow down at all in the second, he played just as well as he had in the first, so I had to really dig in to stay in front.<\/p>\n
“We’ve played together for so long it’s really hard to play in a match like this, but you just have to forget about that and find a solution to win.”<\/p>\n
Quarter-finals (top half of draw): Despite just a single world ranking position separating the Egyptian pair, world No5 Karim Darwish endorsed his superiority over Mohamed Elshorbagy by despatching his sixth-placed national rival in straight games to reach the semi-finals of the Delaware Investments U.S. Open Squash Championships, the fifth PSA World Series event of the year at Drexel University in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n Darwish, the 32-year-old former world number one from Cairo, went into the match 8-2 ahead in the pair’s all-time head-to-head record – but 22-year-old Elshorbagy, from Alexandria, recorded a notable 3\/0 win over his senior Egyptian team-mate last December en-route to an impressive PSA World Championship final debut.<\/p>\n Fourth seed Darwish took early control, leading 5-2, 7-5 and 9-6 and, despite Elshorbagy’s best efforts, took the lead 11-9.<\/p>\n In the second, fifth seed Elshorbagy built up leads of 6-1, then 8-3 and 9-4 before proceeding to self-destruct – with five unforced tins in a row. Darwish took the game 11-9 with a dropshot for an unlikely two-game lead.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17463","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-others"],"yoast_head":"\n
RESULTS: PSA World Series Delaware Investments US Open, Philadelphia, USA<\/strong><\/p>\n
<\/strong>
[1] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) 13-11, 11-8, 11-6 (47m)
[4] Karim Darwish (EGY) bt [5] Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) 11-9, 11-9, 11-6 (42m)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"