A sublime display from Peru’s World No.5 Diego Elias saw him overcome World No.3 Mohamed ElShorbagy to win the inaugural Necker Mauritius Open 2022 Presented by Beachcomber Resorts & Hotels.
Elias picked up where he left off from a stunning semi-final dismantling of World No.2 Paul Coll as he overcame ElShorbagy by an 11-2, 11-9, 11-8 scoreline at the RM Club to capture his 11th PSA title.
ElShorbagy had won four of their previous seven matches on the PSA Tour coming into today’s encounter, but Elias had won their last two matches, and the form book was clearly with the Peruvian as he stormed to an 11-2 win in the opening game, at one point leading 10-0.
The 25-year-old controlled the tempo of the match and used his deceptive hold to unsettle ElShorbagy, who was appearing in his first final since switching allegiance from Egypt to England earlier this week.
The second game was far more competitive, however, as ElShorbagy recovered from his slow start to take the game to his opponent. The Englishman made the match more physical and made the rallies longer, with Elias struggling slightly physically.
However, Elias switched his plan and moved up the court to nullify his opponent’s attacking prowess, before unleashing his own attacks to sneak the second game.
He continued to hold the advantage in the third game and held off a late fightback from ElShorbagy to seal the PSA World Tour Gold title after not dropping a match all event.
“I want to thank everyone for coming here today and I want to thank [Tournament Promoter] Ramy [Mabillon] for organising this amazing tournament,” said Elias.
“I love being in this atmosphere, it feels like home. I want to thank all the team, the club and Greg [Gaultier] for helping to organise this, as well as PSA for having a tournament here. I want to thank everyone for organising this huge event.
“I’m really happy to be the first winner of a tournament like this. Hopefully, this keeps happening every year and I can come back next year and try and win it again.
“I want to say thanks to Mohamed. He has been one of the best ever in squash, and I hope one day I can achieve what he has achieved and be like him when he loses. It’s like he is a winner too, I appreciate it a lot, you don’t see it very often.”
Result
[3] Diego Elias (PER) bt [2] Mohamed ElShorbagy (ENG) 3-0: 11-2, 11-9, 11-8 (41m)
Source: https://psaworldtour.com/news/view/10135/elias-lifts-inaugural-necker-mauritius-open-trophy
