Egyptian squash player Mohamed El-Shorbagy, who ranks as world number one, was crowned champion of the British Squash Grand Prix, for the first time in his professional career.
El-Shorbagy won the title after beating England’s Nick Matthew with a score of 11-7, 12-10, 9-11, 11-6.
Egyptian players have gained some of the best results in the tournament’s history, winning the title three times, behind only players from Britain, who have won the title four times. Englishman Nick Matthew is considered the most successful player at the British Grand Prix, as he was crowned three titles, followed by Egypt’s Ramy Ashour who won the title twice.
Leading up to the finals, El-Shorbagy, beat his English rival, Richie Fallows, in the first round of the tournament 11-4, 11-7, 11-7. In the second round, he also won against another English player, world number 17 Daryl Selby, with a score of 6-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-7. Meeting French player Grégory Gaultier in the semi-finals, El-Shorbagy won 7-11, 11-7, 11-9, 6-11, 11-8.
Nick Matthew won his first game against Chris Simpson with a score of 11-4, 11-7, 11-6. He went through to the semi-finals after beating James Willstrop 11-7, 11-5, 11-7. Matthew defeated Egypt’s Karim Abdel Gawad in the semi-finals with a score of 11-7, 11-6, 13-11.
The British Grand Prix title is El-Shorbagy’s third this season under the PSA world tour. The Egyptian player had previously won the titles at the World Squash Champion in New York and the British Open Championship.
