Schoolboy El Shorbagy Masters Matthew In Classic Upset

The opening night of the ISS Canary Wharf Classic produced two stunning upsets as teenager Mohamed El Shorbagy beat the in-form Nick Matthew and Spanish outsider Borja Golan came from two games down to remove former world champion Thierry Lincou in the $52,500 5-star PSA Tour squash event at East Wintergarden in Canary Wharf, London.

Egyptian El Shorbagy, an 18-year-old Millfield School student who is coached by squash legend Jonah Barrington, clinched the best result of his fledgling career as he beat England's former British Open champion Matthew 11-7, 5-11, 8-11, 12-10, 11-9 in a brutal 90-minute marathon that thrilled a full-house opening day crowd at the London Docklands venue.

Matthew squandered a match ball in the fourth game and complained bitterly after being barged to the floor and receiving a dead-leg from his young opponent. At first the Englishman was denied a let ball but the referee's decision was overturned on appeal to the three-man team of officials.

Matthew played on, but Shorbagy showed amazing composure for such a young player to draw level and win the tie-break. The 28-year-old from Sheffield was clearly struggling in the fifth as his calf seized up and from 4-4 it was Shorbagy who edged ahead and held his nerve to win a pulsating contest.

"That was definitely the best result of my career," said Shorbagy. "Nick is playing the best squash of his life right now and it was amazing for me to do it. I played him before in Qatar and lost 3/0 but I learned a lot from that match and knew what I had to do today. I was trying to work him deep and then go short."

A dejected Matthew said: "I have enjoyed a great run recently and it had to come to an end at some time, but when all is said and done I did not play well enough to win the match when I had the opportunity.

"I was asked if I wanted an injury break when he dead-legged me but I knew if I stopped that it would just seize up, so I decided to play on. I am not using that as an excuse because he played very well."

Shorbagy meets top-seeded compatriot Amr Shabana in the quarter-finals after the three-time world champion cruised past Italian qualifier Davide Bianchetti in straight games.

The excited Shorbagy added: "I am looking forward to playing Amr. He is like a big brother to me. He beat me in the World Open very quickly and I hope he gives me a few more points this time!"

French star Thierry Lincou, runner-up in last week's ATCO Super Series Finals at Queen's Club in London, blamed fatigue for his shock defeat to Spanish grafter Borja Golan.

The fifth seed looked to have the match sewn up when he played tight, controlled squash to win the opening two games, but Golan turned the tables to draw level, and, from 1-4 down in the fifth game, produced an astonishing run of 10 consecutive points to win the final game 11-4.

The 32-year-old Lincou was suffering from conjunctivitis but did not use that as an excuse. He said: "I just ran out of energy. It is tough playing two major tournaments back to back. I suddenly felt that I couldn't go on any more and you can't afford to do that with an opponent like Borja, who is very fit and strong and chases everything."

An emotional Golan dedicated the victory to his grandfather, who died last week. "I was planning to come to England much earlier to prepare for the tournament but I had to stay in Spain to support my family," said the 26-year-old world No14 from Santiago. "My grandfather was one of my great supporters and it is a big moment for me to dedicate this match to him. Hopefully I can dedicate another match to him on Wednesday in the quarter-finals."

Golan meets reigning champion James Willstrop, after the Englishman weathered a spirited third-game fight-back from fellow Leeds resident Alister Walker to record a straight-games victory.

Willstrop was relieved to clinch the match in straight games and said: "Alister showed exactly why he has risen to the world top 16. I was happy with the first two games but the third was very difficult and I am very happy to have won in three games. I lost to him in the Yorkshire League last week and was determined not to let it happen again."

1st round (top half of draw):
[1] Amr Shabana (EGY) bt [Q] Davide Bianchetti (ITA) 11-7, 11-8, 12-10 (36m)
[Q] Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY) bt [7] Nick Matthew (ENG) 11-7, 5-11, 8-11, 12-10, 11-9 (90m)
[3] James Willstrop (ENG) bt Alister Walker (ENG) 11-6, 11-7, 13-11 (48m)
Borja Golan (ESP) bt [5] Thierry Lincou (FRA) 9-11, 4-11, 11-4, 11-8, 11-4 (77m)