Karim Darwish (EGY) beat Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY) 11-9, 9-11, 11-9, 6-11, 11-6 as Shorbagy falls down in the 5th and needed 3 minutes break (pho: Steve Cubbins, SquashSite). Defending champion Karim Darwish was the 1st player to reach the semi-finals of the El Gouna International as Darwish played more conservative than fellow Egyptian Mohamed El Shorbagy. Darwish started to win the 1st as Shorbagy pulled back, but Darwish again stepped ahead and Shorbagy was able to level again. In the decider, it was the experienced Darwish who was moving 9-6 ahead as Shorbagy slipped in the back corner and took 3 minutes recovery time. But afterwards Darwish quickly finished (11-9, 9-11, 11-9, 6-11, 11-6) to reach the last 4.
In the 2nd quarter-final World Champion Nick Matthew faced Egyptian Hisham Ashour, whose magic style had delivered him a long-awaited win over Amr Shabana yesterday. The Englishman was a different proposition as he was controlling the game and limiting Ashour’s attacking opportunities. Even with a 10-6 lead in the 2nd Ashour missed his chances as Matthew pulled back to win on extra point and took the momentum to take the 11-6, 12-10, 11-7 victory.
