ElShorbagy, Matthew stage great escapes to make semis

Top seed Mohamed ElShorbagy is on course for his fifth consecutive final appearance in Qatar, while also closing in on a third straight Qatar Classic title.Yesterday, despite a gallant challenge from Simon Rosner, the Egyptian World No. 1 managed to reach the last four stage of the World Series event – which is the third stage on the Road to Dubai that will culminate with the season finale in June – at the Khalifa Tennis and Squash Complex here.Defending champion Elshorbagy went into yesterday’s first quarter-final clash with a 8-0 head-to-head advantage, but it was German Rosner who gave the first big jolt of the evening when he went 1-0 up by speeding through the first game 11-5.The jolt was enough to wake up the till then sluggish-looking Elshorbagy. But Rosner, fresh off his stunning upset of former World No. 1 James Willstrop in Tuesday’s second round, was in no mood to slow down. For the better part of the second game, he was ahead, but just when had the chance to close out the set with two game-balls, two costly mistakes cost him the advantage as ElShorbagy levelled the scores to force a tie-break. Another game ball, another mistake, and ElShorbagy kept his calm to clinch the second 14-12 to draw level.It was a similar story in the third. The German went 4-0 up, only to see the advantage disappear as ElShorbagy fought back. The scores went on level terms till the German benefited from two contentious decisions to win 11-9 and go 2-1 up.A resurgent ElShorbagy sped the fourth game 11-5 to force a decider, which witnessed a series of sensational exchanges. With the vocal crowd egging the Egyptian on, and the scores level at 9-0, another debatable decision saw a stroke being awarded against Rosner. That was all ElShorbagy needed to close out the 80-minute contest to make the semi-finals. Two more wins over the next two days could see him become the first man to win three Qatar Classic titles in succession.“It was unbelievable! What is it with players at the moment? They all seem to play their best squash against me!” said a clearly fatigued ElShorbagy at the end of the epic battle. “Every player has a quality that is different from other players. Maybe my quality is that I’m a fighter, I just keep fighting and that’s maybe the thing that kept me alive in this match and got me a win in the end.“I was playing at my best but I think he was the better player today. He was controlling things and I had to get things back. Some of the shots he was hitting were unbelievable. “The thing about my backhand is that it wasn’t that bad, but when it was that tight he would go for the ball and hit a straight drop. “I wasn’t playing badly, but I was playing someone who was doing something special on court today. I think my mental strength won it for me today,” added the Egyptian, who has always considered Qatar as one of his lucky venues.Rosner said he will take a lot of positives from his display. “I’m happy with the way I played against one of the best players in the world. Obviously this is not the outcome I wanted in the end… I have never reached the semis of a World Series, so the frustration continues… I was just two points away tonight,” Rosner said. “I hope I can do better one day, get to the semis and maybe do even better,” the German added.Elshorbagy will meet three-time world champion Nick Matthew in the semi-finals today. The veteran Englishman too was taken the distance by France’s Gregoire Marche, who had won their most recent clash in September, before prevailing in another five-gamer. Marche went 2-0 up after taking the first two games 11-8, 11-9, and almost closed it out before a series of unforced errors from the Frenchman allowed Matthew to claw his way back. Once he took the see-saw third game 12-10, there was no looking back for the seasoned Matthew.“I definitely never stopped believing,” said Matthew after the pulsating 85-minute battle. “The first two games were the same, I felt like he played really well, but I don’t feel I played badly.”“I think it would be fair to say that neither of us have played our very, very best this week, but here we are in the semis,” Matthew said ahead of his mouthwatering semi-final encounter against ElShorbagy. “Mohamed is the number one player in the world, he has that same quality that I think I have, where he can get the wins even when he’s not at his best, and he’s proven that over and over again.” Results (Quarter-finals)1-Mohamed ElShorbagy (Egy) beat 7-Simon Rosner (Ger) 3-2 (5-11, 14-12, 9-11, 11-5, 11-9); 4-Nick Matthew (Eng) beat Gregoire Marche (Fra) 3-2 (8-11, 9-11, 12-10, 11-8, 11-5); Daryl Selby (Eng) beat 8-Cameron Pilley (Aus) 3-1 (11-9, 11-1, 8-11, 12-10)