Veteran Frenchman Thierry Lincou (pic le) celebrated his 11th victory over career-long rival Amr Shabana (pic ri) in the quarters of the El Gouna International Open. Though the 34-year-old Lincou went into the match 10-13 down in their overall head-to-head tally. In a clash described by an observer as “probably the best match of the tournament so far”, 7th seed Lincou recovered from losing the first game, then survived a tie-break in the third before moving on to secure his 9-11, 11-6, 12-10, 5-11, 11-4 upset in 69 minutes over the 2nd seeded reigning World Open champion. Lincou will now face another Egyptian Karim Darwish after the 3rd seed defeated Australia’s 13th seed Cameron Pilley 11-6, 11-9, 11-4. The match between European rivals French Greg Gaultier and James Willstrop failed to live up to expectations when Willstrop, the 5th seed from England, concede the match after one game down and 0-9 in the 2nd game as a result of slippery conditions on the court floor. Gaultier will now face favourite Ramy Ashour, the world No1 from Egypt who raced to an 11-4, 11-8, 11-2 victory over unseeded compatriot Omar Mosaad.
