Lake Upsets Fellow Englishman ElShorbagy To Reach World Championships R2

England's world No.49 Nathan Lake claimed the 'biggest win' of his career after upsetting higher-ranked compatriot Marwan ElShorbagy in a controversial round one clash at the CIB Palm Hills PSA World Championships in Giza, Egypt.

In a feisty clash at the Palm Hills Club, Lake found himself 2/1 ahead in games and 9-7 ahead in the fourth when a no let was given against the England No.1 to give underdog Lake three match balls. A furious outburst from ElShorbagy directed at the referee then saw him handed a conduct stroke, giving Lake the point he needed to secure the win.

Lake will take on Muhammad Ashab Irfan in the last 32, and the 33-year-old from Cheltenham hailed his win over ElShorbagy as a career highlight.

"I think it's the best result of my career, and I'm an old man, so that's a long time," said Lake afterwards.

"I'm overjoyed and a bit sad the way it ended, but on the whole, it was a good competitive match. Marwan and his brother, Mohamed, went to school in Bristol, so I spent a lot of time with them. Living in Cheltenham, it is only 40 minutes away and they've been great to me during my career and I always enjoy the battles.

"It's my FA Cup final to use that analogy against Marwan. It's maybe a bit more difficult for him, and he played Europeans last week, and I've done that once before, and mentally that is really quite tiring. I felt like I had a chance and I'm really pleased."

Also through to round two is world No.2 Paul Coll, who dispatched Hong Kong's Alex Lau in a comfortable 3/0 victory to begin his title challenge at Golf Central Palm Hills.

Coll reached the final of this tournament in 2019 and will go up against Frenchman Baptiste Masotti next.

"Alex is a good mate, so I'm pretty familiar with how he plays, and I came in with a rock-solid game plan," said Coll, on his 34th birthday.

"To play at a venue like this on my birthday, it couldn't get much better. It was my first match of the event on this court, so I was trying to get used to the pace, the bounce and it was quite nice actually. I didn't actually struggle much with the floor or the wind. I hit my targets quite nice and I'm happy to be through in three."

Marwan's older brother - 2017 World Champion Mohamed ElShorbagy - advanced after a 3/0 win over Australia's Joseph White, but he has since pulled out of the tournament due to injury, meaning his round two opponent, Declan James, advances. Meanwhile, 2016 World Champion Karim Gawad stormed past England's Patrick Rooney by the same scoreline.

In the women's event, world No.2 Nour ElSherbini began her attempts to win a record-breaking ninth PSA World Championship title with a quick-fire win over England's Grace Gear.

ElSherbini is currently level on eight World Championship titles with Malaysian legend Nicol David and will contest her round two match with compatriot Nadien Elhammamy.

"I'm definitely happy, it's my first time playing Grace, so you never know what to expect," said ElSherbini.

"The way I was playing, I'm just happy to get off to a good start, there were some positives. They are still tricky conditions, it's windy and it can change directions. I've been here many times, though, I have been in these situations many times. I'm just taking it match by match and hoping it's going to be a good week. Hopefully, it will be a good one."

USA's world No.4 Olivia Weaver also got off to a winning start, beating New Zealand veteran Joelle King in straight games to set up a second round match with Hana Moataz.

"I had a blast being out here on the glass today," said Weaver.

"I think drawing Joelle in the first round is literally one of the toughest draws I could have gotten. We've had several battles in the past, but she's obviously coming back from a serious injury and it's amazing to have her back on tour. I have so much respect for her, I grew up watching her play. Not only is she an amazing player, she is an amazing person off the court."

The likes of England's Georgina Kennedy and USA's Amanda Sobhy also secured wins, beating Cindy Merlo of Switzerland and Toby Tse of Hong Kong.