Mohamed El Shorbagy and Nour El Sherbini win ATCO PSA Dubai World Series Finals

Nick Watkins - Writer 23:59 09/06/2018
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  • Winners: Nour El Sherbini and Mohamed El Shorbagy (right)

    Mohamed El Shorbagy and Nour El Sherbini showed why they are World No1s by clinching the men’s and women’s titles respectively at the ATCO PSA Dubai World Series Finals on Saturday.

    At the Emirates Golf Club in Dubai, El Shorbagy went into the title decider on the back of a thrilling win against Germany’s Simon Rösner on Friday night.

    Against his compatriot Ali Farag, who stood in his way of retaining his title, El Shorbagy fell behind in the first game 9-11, but regrouped in the second game to produce an impressive 11-3 victory.

    The world number one continued his good form into the third game with an 11-9 win after a succession of lengthy rallies.

    The championship was decided in the fourth game as El Shorbagy proved unstoppable and retained his title with a thrilling 11-8 victory.

    “We had a lot of great squash this week, and all the battles were played in a good spirit and I’m delighted to be a part of it,” said El Shorbagy.

    “I’m glad to play the final game of the season with Ali. I know he’s going to train hard over the summer, hopefully he doesn’t get much better as he’s already a tough test,” he added.

    In the women’s final, El Sherbini was competing in the final for the second year in succession after surviving a controversial semi-final clash with France’s Camille Serme.

    Her opponent and fellow Egyptian compatriot Raneem El Welily, came into the match high in confidence having defeated world number three Nour El
    Tayeb in a quick-fire 19-minute semi-final clash on Friday.

    The world number one was the aggressor from the start and kept her foot on the gas throughout the opening game, taking just 13 minutes to win the first game 11-5.

    In the second, El Welily fought back to win 11-9 to level the scores. El Sherbini triumphed in the third, taking the game 11-8. She then sealed the title with a comprehensive 11-5 victory.

    Speaking in front of a packed crowd, the new champion said: “This is the sixth time we’ve played this season and it’s hard to play the same person so much, and Raneem has probably been the most consistent player this season so I’m delighted to win. I think as Egyptians we’ve really been trying to push each other on. It’s been an honour to battle with her this season.”

    Both winners will take home Dh157,029 [$42,750] prize money.

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