Youssef Ibrahim stuns top seed Mohamed ElShorbagy in Qatar repeat

By Alan Thatcher
October 18, 2021 - 4:31pm
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By ALAN THATCHER and MATT COLES

Egypt’s World No.17 Youssef Ibrahim got the better of World No.2 Mohamed ElShorbagy for the second year in succession to reach the third round of the 2021 Qatar QTerminals Classic.

The pair faced off in last year’s third round at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex, with Ibrahim saving match balls en route to a come-from-behind victory over the ‘Beast of Alexandria’.

This time round, it was in the last 32, and it was a much more comfortable victory for the left-hander. He took the first two games with ease, allowing top seed ElShorbagy to rack up just eight points across them, putting a small injury break for a cut on his hand right to the back of his mind.

The three-time Qatar champion fought back to take the third 11-7, but it was Ibrahim who took the victory after 47 minutes of action, condemning ElShorbagy to his first round two loss since October 2018.

More amazingly, it is the first time since this very event 12 years ago that ElShorbagy has lost his opening match of a major tournament on the PSA World Tour. Meanwhile, Ibrahim will now face compatriot Mazen Hesham in the third round on Tuesday.

“I expected myself to play really well,” the World No.17 said after his victory. “Mohamed is known as ‘The Beast’ and his mentality is so strong. He probably has the strongest mentality of any squash player.

“I knew my win against him last year would rile him up and he would come at me today and I didn’t want to be a victim. I’m also the kind of player who plays better when I’m angry, so I tried to give myself a reason to be angry today.

“I knew he would come at me strongly, so I was very prepared from the start. He tried to push the pace so hard at the beginning and I equalled him. I didn’t want anyone to say it was a lucky win and I’m happy to be competing with the top 10 guys and beating them consistently. I think my tactics worked out well and I held my nerves well throughout the match.”

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