02 May 2012

MONSTER RALLY: KARIM DARWISH vs. MOHAMED EL SHORBAGY, 2012 EL GOUNA INTERNATIONAL

We have had a few extremely demanding rallies in the past - for example that epic one between Peter Nicol and Gregory Gaultier, or a few heavy metal versions (I., II. and III.) between Nick Matthew, Ramy Ashour and James Willstrop
Here we have a recent one between Karim Darwish and Mohamed El Shorbagy. The high intensity balance is a result of an old master on decline and a future master not yet at the peak of his art. Just a year ago, Darwish gave Shorbagy some simple and straight forward lessons in terms of high pace squash coupled with accuracy and subtle deception, but at the end of last year Shorbagy already managed to get his first win over the former world #1. Darwish managed to get his revenge at the PSA World Series Finals in Queens and a few weeks ago in El Gouna (current video).  But  to be honest, seeing how much slower Darwish is compared to himslef in 2010 and beforehand, and how much this has influenced his confidence in his short game, I wouldn't wonder if this has been one of the very last times he's got the better of El Shorbagy.