Mohamed Elshorbagy In Search of Third Motor City Open Rolex

Mohamed Elshorbagy accepts Motor City prize (Image: courtesy of Henry Payne)
Mohamed Elshorbagy accepts his second Rolex in two years after winning the 2014 Motor City Open (Image: courtesy of Henry Payne)

Mohamed Elshorbagy, current world No. 1 and two-time Motor City Open title-winner, is in search of a third Rolex this weekend at the $70,000 U.S. Pro Series Motor City Open at the Birmingham Athletic Club in Bloomfield Hills, MI.

Last year, Elshorbagy became only the second player, after Canadian legend Jonathon Power, to win the Detroit squash title twice. Elshorbagy rocketed to the 2014 finals after an emotional, first time victory over Egyptian compatriot Amr Shabana, the defending champion, in a forty-six minute match.

The 2015 edition boasts the strongest field in the tournament’s history with more than half of the top twenty PSA players competing.

Elshorbagy faces Australia’s Cameron Pilley—the hardest hitter in the game (176mph)—in Saturday’s opening round of main draw play. This will be the eleventh meeting for the pair, with four wins for Pilley of the ten previous matches.

The Motor City Open, a Men’s Squash Association (PSA) International 70 event, features a sixteen-player draw with four spots for qualifiers. The qualifying round begins today, January 22, with the final, deciding round tomorrow. Main draw play begins on Saturday, January 24.

This year the Motor City Open includes players from eighteen countries—the majority, five, from Egypt—and four former Motor Open champions. The tournament is in its fifteenth year since its inception in 1999.

For more information and updates, visit the official Motor City Open tournament page, and follow @MotorCityOpen on Twitter.

Motor City Open Main Draw:
[1] Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY) v Cameron Pilley (AUS)
[Q] v [6] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL)
[8] Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) v [Q]
[Q] v [4] Borja Golan (ESP)
[3] Peter Barker (ENG) v Nicolas Mueller (SUI)
Stephen Coppinger (RSA) v [7] Marwan Elshorbagy (EGY)
[5] Omar Mosaad (EGY) v [Q]
Max Lee (HKG) v [2] Amr Shabana (EGY)

Motor City Open Qualifying Draw:
[1] Chris Simpson (ENG) v Mahesh Mangaonkar (IND)
Eddie Charlton (ENG) v [7] Alan Clyne (SCO)
[6] Tom Richards (ENG) v [L] Ali Farag (EGY)
Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi (QAT) v [4] Olli Tuominen (FIN)
[3] Gregoire Marche (FRA) v Diego Elias (PER)
[L] Arthur Gaskin (IRL) v [8] Cesar Salazar (MEX)
[5] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) v Ryan Cuskelly (AUS)
[L] Shahier Razik (CAN) v [2] Saurav Ghosal (IND)