RESULTS: Punj Lloyd PSA Masters Squash Championship, Mumbai, India
2nd round:
[2] Amr Shabana (EGY) bt Saurav Ghosal (IND) 11-6, 6-11, 11-5, 12-10 (48m)
[12] Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY) bt [6] James Willstrop (ENG) 7-11, 11-5, 11-4, 5-11, 13-11 (64m)
[3] Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt [14] Stewart Boswell (AUS) 11-9, 11-7, 11-7 (41m)
[5] David Palmer (AUS) bt Omar Mosaad (EGY) 11-9, 11-9, 11-5 (40m)
[7] Thierry Lincou (FRA) bt [16] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) 11-5, 8-11, 11-6, 13-15, 13-11 (104m)
[4] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt [9] Adrian Grant (ENG) 11-3, 11-5, 11-7 (42m)
[8] Peter Barker (ENG) bt [10] Alister Walker (ENG) 7-11, 11-9, 11-5, 11-7 (64m)
[13] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) bt Daryl Selby (ENG) 11-7, 9-11, 11-9, 11-5 (82m)
Egyptian teenager Mohamed El Shorbagy, the youngest player in the world's top 20, upset England's James Willstrop in the second round of the Punj Lloyd PSA Masters to reach the quarter-finals of the $152,500 PSA World Tour Super Series squash event at the Bombay Gymkhana in Mumbai, India.
It was a dramatic five-game encounter which finished two hours and 20 minutes after it began - but included an injury break of more than an hour as sixth seed Willstrop recovered from a gash on his forehead.
And after 18-year-old El Shorbagy led 2/1, Willstrop regained the advantage to lead 5-1 in the fifth game decider, then have two match-balls to attempt to clinch his anticipated victory.
But devastating play by the young 12th seed finally enabled El Shorbagy to play a winning shot which Willstrop was unable to retrieve - and the Egyptian claimed his place in the last eight with a shock 7-11, 11-5, 11-4, 5-11, 13-11 triumph.
The win followed early exits in both the World Open and Qatar Classic last month - confidence-draining defeats which led the Alexandria-born youngster to seek advice from his long-time English coach Jonah Barrington at Millfield School in Somerset.
"Jonah worked with me, especially on the mental side," El Shorbagy explained to www.squashsite.co.uk later. "He understands how my head works, we had some very useful sessions - with Ian Thomas as well, his head coach there - and I got my confidence back. But I came here with no expectation - my only goal was to make it as hard as possible for the top guys, and then, it suddenly all came together today!
"I’m so happy! I needed a win to get my confidence back, and now, I’m back!"
El Shorbagy will now face compatriot Amr Shabana for a place in the last four. Second seed Shabana, the previous winner of the PSA Masters title in Bermuda, ended local hopes in the event when he beat unseeded Indian Saurav Ghosal, the world No32 from Chennai, 11-6, 6-11, 11-5, 12-10 in 48 minutes.
"He's a legend already, so it's an honour to be able to play him in front of my home crowd," said 23-year-old Ghosal of his opponent, winner of his fourth World Open title in Kuwait last month. "I thought I played well - I did the right things and proved I could stay with him for most of the match - so it bodes well for the future."
Daryl Selby's giant-killing run came to an end when the unseeded Englishman went down 11-7, 9-11, 11-9, 11-5 in 82 minutes to Dutchman Laurens Jan Anjema, the 13th seed.
"I'm obviously disappointed, but not disappointed to lose against LJ, the way he played today," said Selby, who claimed the biggest scalp of his life 24 hours earlier when he beat world No2 Gregory Gaultier. "He played a great match, hard and fair, with a great respect for his opponent. He fully deserved this win, and I still enjoyed it very much."
Quarter-final line-up:
[2] Amr Shabana (EGY) v [12] Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY)
[3] Ramy Ashour (EGY) v [5] David Palmer (AUS)
[4] Nick Matthew (ENG) v [7] Thierry Lincou (FRA)
[13] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) v [8] Peter Barker (ENG)