RESULTS: Saudi Squash International, Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia
2nd round (lower half of draw):
[6] Thierry Lincou (FRA) bt [10] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) 11-9, 11-2, 11-9 (45m)
[4] David Palmer (AUS) bt [16] Stewart Boswell (AUS) 13-11, 11-8, 11-6 (46m)
[13] Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY) bt [5] Peter Barker (ENG) 10-12, 11-9, 11-8, 11-8 (54m)
[1] Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt [12] Alister Walker (ENG) 12-10, 11-8, 11-5 (38m)
Egyptian teenager Mohamed El Shorbagy continued his end-of-year surge at the Saudi International when he upset fifth seed Peter Barker in the longest match of the day to reach the quarter-finals of the $250,000 PSA World Tour Super Series squash championship in Saudi Arabia - the final major event of the year at Sunset Beach in Al-Khobar.
The youngest player in the world's top 20, El Shorbagy showed the same sparkling form which took him to a surprise quarter-final appearance in last week's PSA Masters in Mumbai after overturning England's world No6 James Willstrop.
In their first meeting on the PSA Tour, the 18-year-old from Alexandria recovered from a game down at Sunset Beach to beat Englishman Barker, the world No7, 10-12, 11-9, 11-8, 11-8 in 54 minutes.
"I’m so happy - it was my mum’s birthday yesterday, that’s my belated birthday gift for her," El Shorbagy told the official website www.atcosquash.com afterwards.
"In the first game, we didn’t know how to play each other, so we were ever so patient, and I could feel that he got a lot of confidence after winning the first - like I got a lot of momentum after winning the second.
"I shouldn’t have lost the first game: I was up 9-7, but I lost my concentration, and I feel that he probably did the same in the second. He was up 9-6, made errors at crucial times, and seemed to lose his focus a bit," explained the UK-based world No20.
El Shorbagy goes on to face fellow countryman Ramy Ashour for a place in the semi-finals. The 22-year-old top seed kept alive his dreams of becoming world number one for the first time next month with a 12-10, 11-8, 11-5 victory over England's 12th seed Alister Walker.
Earlier, Australian veteran David Palmer took one step closer to his fourth successive semi-final appearance in the Saudi championship after a hard-fought 13-11, 11-8, 11-6 win over 16th seed Stewart Boswell - his second battle in a row over a fellow countryman.
"Two Aussies in a row, that’s not easy," said the 33-year-old fourth seed whose first round clash with compatriot Cameron Pilley came about as a result of a late re-draw. "I was disappointed with the change of draw of course, but that the game.
"I had a bit of luck at the end of the first, things seemed to go my way a bit. And after that, I was able to control things better.
"It was a 3/0 match - but oh so close. After I saw Thierry winning 3/0, I realised that, if I could avoid it of course, the last thing I needed was to be dragged in a long five-setter. Any 3/0 win against Bozza is a good win!"
Palmer now plays fellow Tour stalwart Thierry Lincou, the 33-year-old Frenchman who despatched tenth-seeded Malaysian Ong Beng Hee 11-9, 11-2, 11-9 in the first match of the day.
"For tomorrow, Thierry and I have been around for a few years now, it’s all due to a good preparation, a good management from my team, a bit of luck, and turning up to tournament to win. Also, we both have the kind of game that allows us to win even on a bad day," added Palmer.
Quarter-final line-up:
[15] Aamir Atlas Khan (PAK) v [8] Adrian Grant (ENG)
[3] Nick Matthew (ENG) v [7] Wael El Hindi (EGY)
[4] David Palmer (AUS) v [6] Thierry Lincou (FRA)
[1] Ramy Ashour (EGY) v [13] Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY)
For up-to-the-minute information, visit the official website www.atcosquash.com