No.4 seed Sam Todd advanced to his first-ever British Nationals final after taking down top seed Marwan ElShorbagy in straight games at St George’s Hill Lawn Tennis Club.
World No.37 Todd, who with victory claimed his first-ever win over a top 10 player in the PSA Rankings, defeated World No.9 ElShorbagy by an 11-9, 11-5, 11-7 scoreline.
A closely contested first game saw both players fighting hard in what appeared to be a crucial moments in the match. ElShorbagy fought back from 7-3 down to just a one-point deficit at 9-8, but Todd held off his senior compatriot to take a one-game advantage.
ElShorbagy looked to have steadied the ship early in a scrappy second game, taking an early 5-3 lead. However, as the referee was forced to become increasingly involved in the contest due to traffic around the ’T’, ElShorbagy began to lose his concentration and accuracy.
From 5-3 down, Todd claimed eight straight points to double his advantage by an 11-5 scoreline.
Todd continued to play at a rock-solid level in the third, attempting to keep ElShorbagy behind him on the ‘T’ and moving into a 7-3 lead. Despite ElShorbagy fighting his way back into the third, the comeback wasn’t to be, with 23-year-old Todd clinching victory after 37 minutes of play.
After the match, Todd said: “Today was more of a mental battle today. It was probably a little messy to watch, but I’m glad I kept my head. I tried to not get too involved in everything that was going on, because it can be very distracting. I just tried to play my squash, which I know I can play. I think I did that well today.
“Marwan’s very good around the middle. His straight lines are so accurate. On this court, that can be so brutal. It goes very fast off the front wall and into the back corners. I just tried to make sure I got him behind me, and I got on the volley and not him.”
Result: [4] Sam Todd (ENG) bt [1] Marwan ElShorbagy (ENG) 3-0: 11-9, 11-5, 11-7 (37m)
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