New Delhi: The final World Series event of the year, Punj Lloyd PSA Masters, witnessed two major upsets on a single day when 2009 champion Ramy Ashour and second seed Karim Darwish, both from Egypt, crashed out of the tournament after losing their respective quarter-final matches here on Friday.
Top seed and world number four Ashour lost 13-11, 7-11, 8-11, 1-11 in 45 minutes to fifth seed Peter Barker of England at the Siri Fort Sports Complex.
Ashour was returning to action after pulling his hamstring in the World Open and he appeared to suffer a recurrence in the middle of his second game against Barker here.
World number seven Barker will meet another Englishman James Willstrop, seeded third in the event, in the second semi-final of the USD 1,65,000 event on Saturday.
World number two Willstrop defeated his compatriot and seventh seed Daryl Selby 11-7, 11-7, 9-11, 11-5 in an all-English quarter-final in 65 minutes.
In another upset, Egypt's Mohamed El Shorbagy recorded his career's first ever win over compatriot Karim Darwish in the other quarter-final.
With a 0-4 head-to-head record going into the second quarter-final of the day, the five-time British Junior Open title winner Shorbagy used every shot in his repertoire and scored an emphatic 11-9, 8-11, 11-5, 11-3 win over second seed and world number five Darwish in 60 minutes.
Sixth seed and world number eight Shorbagy will lock horns with France's Gregory Gaultier in the first semi-final on Saturday. Gregory defeated Netherlands' Laurens Jan Anjema 11-5, 11-2, 11-5 in 38 minutes in the first last-eight match of the day.
Shorbagy got the better of his opponent in the first game and produced a flurry of delightful winners with deft touch to the front.
But Darwish, who last defeated the fellow Egyptian 3-1 in the semi-final of last month's Kuwait PSA Cup, kept the second game open with his unerring ability to dominate the court and finish points with his speed.
Then the 20-year-old Shorbagy pulled away from a five-all in the third to take the lead and quickly built a 9-0 lead in the fourth, which Darwish never looked likely to overhaul.
The match between the top two Egyptian racqueters was full of on-court drama, with Shorbagy needed to be on his guard against the 30-year-old from Giza.
Shorgaby repeatedly called for video reviews to justify his points in question, leading to Darwish once yelling "Oh my God" when a decision went in favour of Shorbagy.
Shorbagy, seemingly encouraged by successful video reviews, took control of the last two games with several exciting rallies to settle the issue in his favour.
"I have a lot of respect for Darwish; he is such an experienced player and I have learnt a lot playing against him. I did not want to say anything wrong about him out of my happiness; it's a happy feeling," said an elated Shorbagy after the match.
"I stayed focused throughout the match and believed in my abilities. Last time when we played each other, it was a very close game which I narrowly lost. That particular match in Kuwait PSA Cup gave me the confidence that I can beat him. You can say that this win was out of hunger.
"Today, I forgot that he is an Egyptian and just went on to play my natural attacking game. My successful video reviews also made him frustrated and he lost his way. It's the first time that I have defeated an Egyptian inside top-10 and I want to carry this form forward," said the Alexandria-born.
On his semi-final clash against world number three and fourth seed Gaultier, Shorbagy said, "He is in top form and I have to dish out something special to beat him."
"I need enough sleep before the crucial match as I have been sleeping at around 6 in the morning and getting up at 2 in the afternoon. Thanks to organisers that they have scheduled the match in the evening hours," added Shorbagy, who has enjoyed a meteoric rise up the world rankings since joining the PSA in 2006 as a 15-year-old.
In the first quarter-final, Gaultier lived up to his billing and recorded fourth successive victory of his career over Anjema. The Frenchman foxed the eight-seed Anjema throughout the match and used all four corners of the court to make the Dutch run.
On the other hand, Anjema failed to concentrate and gave away the match to Gaultier.
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