Defending champion Mohamed Elshorbagy of Egypt sealed a place in the second round of the Allam British Open on Tuesday after claiming a thrilling 3-2 win over compatriot Fares Dessouky in a marathon game. It was a fierce battle where world number one Elshorbagy had to fight in a five-set match over 93 minutes to win (11/8, 10/12, 11/7, 8/11, 11/8). Elshorbagy has a date set with English player Daryl Selby in the second round on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Egyptian players Ali Farag and Tarek Moemen have also reserved a place in the tournament's second round at the expense of Australian player Ryan Cuskelly and Alan Clyne of Scotland, respectively. In the women's competition, defending Egyptian champion Nour El-Sherbini eased past Line Hansen of Denmark 3-0, setting a date with Hong Kong player Annie Au in the second round on Wednesday. "I feel like I'm playing well and I'm looking forward to seeing how it goes this week," El-Sherbini told PSAworldtour.com on Tuesday. "Winning here last year was very big for me. But I'm trying not to think about being the defending champion – I'm trying to just win the title again,” she said. "I haven't won a tournament for a while but I'm happy with how I'm playing and I'm pleased to be back [in good] form." Results Round 1 – Tuesday 21 March
Men
Daryl Selby (Eng) - Tom Richards (Eng) 3-2 (11/9, 10/12, 9/11, 11/1, 11/6) Mohamed Elshorbagy (Egy) v Fares Dessouky (Egy) 3-2 (11/8, 10/12, 11/7, 8/11, 11/8) Ali Farag (Egy) - Ryan Cuskelly (Aus) 3-1 (11/9, 11/1, 9/11, 11/1) Tsz Fung Yip (Hkg) - Stephen Coppinger (RSA) 2-0 (11/6, 6/0, retired) Paul Coll (NZL) v Declan James (Eng) 3-2 (9/11, 11/8, 9/11, 11/2, 11/5) Cameron Pilley (Aus) - Adrian Waller (Eng) 3-0 (11/6, 11/5, 11/6) Tarek Momen (Egy) - Alan Clyne (Sco) 3-0 (11/7, 11/8, 11/3) Gregory Gaultier (Fra) - Miguel Angel Rodriguez (Col) 3-0 (11/5, 11/4, 11/0) Simon Rosner (Ger) - Gregoire Marche (Fra) 3-0 (11/3, 11/4, 11/8) Borja Golan (Spa) v Nick Matthew (Eng) 3-0 (11/9, 11/6, 11/3) Max Lee (HGK) - Marwan Elshorbagy (Egy) 3-2 (5/11, 7/11, 11/5, 11/6, 11/6) Mathieu Castagnet (Fra) - James Willstrop (Eng) 3-1 (11/9, 10/12, 12/10, 11/9) Ramy Ashour (Egy) - Zahed Mohamed (Egy) 3-0 (11/4, 11/6, 11/5) Diego Elias (Per) - Nathan Lake (Eng) 3-1 (11/7, 8/11, 11/1, 11/6) Mohamed Abouelghar (Egy) - Charles Sharpes (Eng) 3-1 (11/3, 5/11, 11/5, 11/6) Karim Abdel Gawad (Egy) - Omar Mosaad (Egy) 3-2 (13/11, 6/11, 11/2, 5/11, 11/6)
