Egyptian duo Amr Shabana and Mohamed El-Shorbagy have qualified to the quarterfinals of the 56th US Open at Drexel University in Philadelphia, competing for $115 thousand.
In the second round, Shabana, ranked fourth in the world, thrashed Briton Adrian Grant 3-1 in 51 minutes (6-11, 11-6, 11-5 and 11-7) while the world number seven, El-Shorbagy, smashed Grant’s countrymen, Tom Richards, with similar results (4-11, 11-8, 6-11 and 2-11) in 53 minutes.
"I just played Grant a few days ago, and he upped his pace right from the start, which took me a little by surprise," said 32-year-old Shabana.
"I'm just trying to stay healthy and listen to my body. I'll take a rest day tomorrow and hopefully be ready for the rest of the tournament," the four-time world champion added.
Crucial quarterfinal
In the quarterfinals, Shabana will play Laurens Jan Anjema of the Netherlands, and El-Shorbagy will meet Briton Nick Matthew, the world number one.
The remaining two matches will see third seed James Willstrop of the UK compete against compatriot Peter Barker, ranked fifth, while unseeded Malaysian Mohamed Azlan Iskandar will come up against number six Thierry Lincou of France.
Six Egyptians out
Another two Egyptians have exited after round two as Omar Mosaad was beaten 3-0 by Matthew in 40 minutes, and Hisham Ashour lost to English fifth seed Peter Barker 3-0 in 49 minutes.
In the first round, four other Pharaohs suffered early exits: Tarek Momen, Mohamed Ali Anwar and Wael El-Hindi lost to Tom Richards, Miguel Angel Rodriguez (Colombia) and Amr Shabana. Second seed Karim Darwish withdrew against Iskandar due to injury.
Short link: