ElShorbagy, Momen advance to semi-finals

Former champions England’s Mohamed ElShorbagy and Egypt’s Tarek Momen entered the semi-finals of the QTerminals Qatar Classic 2022 squash tournament at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex on Thursday.Three-time champions ElShorbagy, who reached his first semi-final since 2017, produced a clinical performance to beat unseeded Miguel Rodriguez in straight games 3-0 (11-6, 11-4, 11-7), while Momen overcame defending champion Diego Elias from Peru 3-2 (11-8, 9-11, 4-11, 11-9, 11-7). In the other quarter-finals, Victor Crouin of France defeated home favourite Qatar’s Abdulla al-Tamimi 3-0 (13-11, 11-6, 11-7) in 40 minutes, while Mostafa Asal of Egypt defeated compatriot Marwan ElShorbagy 3-1 (11-6, 7-11, 11-4, 11-2).World No. 17 Rodriguez produced a fantastic performance to beat World No. 1 Ali Farag in round three, but was unable to consistently lay a glove on ElShorbagy. Both the players started cautiously as the lead changed hands several times, but with the game in the balance 6-6 ElShorbagy changed the tactic by taking the pace out the game. The 31-year-old then found great accuracy at the front as he raced clear to take the first game 11-6.The Englishman pressed his advantage in the second game and took a commanding 2-0 lead with an 11-4 win, before closing out the match with a controlled 11-7 win in the third.ElShorbagy will face either his brother Marwan ElShorbagy or 21-year-old World No.3 Mostafa Asal in the semi-final.ElShorbagy praised his opponent Rodrigue after the match.“Miguel is a class act. What he did against Ali is unbelievable at his age. To fight that way for 90 minutes with the World No.1. You’re not going to beat the World No. 1 unless you do something special, no matter what. So, respect to him. I could see from the first point he was trying to get the ball warm from the first point and I was trying to keep him down as much as I could. Sometimes I couldn’t do it, but he’s a high-quality player and having him on tour until now is great. He always gives something special to every event he plays,” ElShorbagy said.ElShorbagy will take on Egypt’s Mostafa Asal in the semi-finals today. Asal reached his second consecutive semi-final as he overcame No. 8 seed and compatriot Marwan ElShorbagy 3-1 in a match of two contrasting halves.Earlier in the day, former champion Tarek Momen from Egypt defeated the defending champion and World No. 4 Diego Elias of Peru. The Egyptian, who enjoyed a 10-1 head-to-head record against Elias, certainly the better player in the first game, as he took the advantage of Elias’ weak defence to take the first game 11-8. The Peruvian, however, responded excellently in the second game. He neutralised the short attacks of Momen with perfect lobs as he drew level with an 11-9 win before recording a dominant 11-4 victory in the third to take the lead.In a fast-paced fourth game, Momen fought back well and moved into a 10-7 lead as he controlled the play from the front. There were concerns for the Egyptian when he saw two of his game balls saved, before an error from Elias handed Momen the game 11-9 and took the pair into a tense fifth game.Elias, who had been recovering from a problem with his hip, struggled with his movement in the decider, as Momen exposed his defence once again on his way to a 6-2 lead. The Peruvian pulled back to 6-5, before a brilliant volley drop from Momen halted his momentum. From there, the Egyptian looked in top form and pulled clear to reach his fourth Qatar Classic semi-final with an 11-7 win.