Elias Wins Third 2023 Title At Pittsburgh Open

Diego Elias maintained his impressive 2023 streak to take the Pittsburgh Open title, defeating Marwan ElShorbagy in straight games in the final of the PSA World Tour Silver event at the Rivers Club.

Elias, who has already won the Tournament of Champions and Motor City Open titles this year, is unbeaten since the Hong Kong Open final in December - and now boasts a career-high 13-match winning streak.

The win in Pittsburgh will also see the Peruvian Puma rise to a career-best world No.2 in the next PSA World Rankings to crown his sensational form.

Elias and ElShorbagy had previously met four times this season, with their last encounter the ToC decider in New York, and it was ElShorbagy who started the brighter in the opening Pittsburgh game.

With some long, testing rallies, Elias eventually pulled clear as he claimed the first game 11-5.

Elias made a blistering start to the second as he opened up a six-point cushion over his opponent. Although it seemed the game was running away from the Egyptian, he managed to claw his way back into the contest, but errors and the accuracy of Elias saw the Peruvian take a vital two-game lead after winning 11-7.

The match was then sewn up with a clinical display in the third, with Elias emphatically victorious 11-2 to cap off an impressive performance to notch his third straight tournament triumph.

"I'm very happy with my performance today," Elias said.

"It was a very tough match with Marwan - the start was very important I felt and I'm just very happy with the result.

"I think all the hard work before this tournament is paying off - I did a lot of work for this and I'm incredibly proud of myself for winning three tournaments in a row.

"I had to be very strong mentally at the start. I knew I was in for a long match, but I stayed solid and patient and at the end it paid off."

Elias and ElShorbagy head to Egypt next for the Black Ball Open, which takes place between March 2 - 7, at Black Ball Sporting Club. Action from Black Ball will be available to watch live on SQUASHTV.