Chicago, March 1, 2018 - Women's World No.3 Nour El-Tayeb and Men's World No.1 Mohamed El-Shorbagy prevailed on finals day at the 2018 Windy City Open, beating New Zealand's Joelle King and younger El-Shorbagy brother, Marwan, respectively, to claim the sport's most lucrative World Series title. El-Tayeb, the Cairo-born player who won her first World Series title at the US Open earlier this season, had already endured three five-game matches, coming from 2-0 down in two of those to win, to reach the title-decider and once again showed her resilience to edge a tense five-game battle with King. The 24-year-old came from 2-1 down and saved two championship balls to defeat World No.9 King 11-8, 10-12, 11-13, 11-9, 12-10 victory in 78 minutes and claim her share of a record $250,000 prize purse, equal that on offer in the men's draw. “I can't believe it,” said El Tayeb following her second World Series title win. “I felt like I lost this match three or four times! I was down in the fourth, then I was down in the fifth but looking over at Haitham [Effat] and Ali [Farag] – they gave me the encouragement, but I really can't believe that I won the tournament. “Everyday that I've woken up I've felt tired but I knew that I can do it. I don't think I've ever only played five-setters in a tournament. I think I will have to give my physical fitness coach a very big bonus!” Meanwhile, in the family battle on the men's draw, it was Mohamed who came out on top against younger brother Marwan as he produced a masterclass performance to claim the title in straight-games. It was the second meeting between the brothers in a major final, following their clash in the PSA Men's World Championship final in December – and it was the elder statesman who yet again took the spoils. Mohamed – who returns to World No.1 next month – was in formidable form all week, not dropping a single game throughout the entire tournament and continued his winning momentum to dispatch his brother to claim his sixth title of the season. “It's been an incredible season,” said Mohamed. “After last season – I worked really hard, set new goals that I wanted to achieve, and it just shows that nothing can stop anyone achieving their dream if they work hard for it. “I'm really glad to get through this match with my brother. He has played incredible this season and he will still get better. This the second time we've played in a big final and his first World Series title will come at the right time – I just wanted to keep it a little bit later than today.” El-Shorbagy has overtaken Frenchman Gregory Gaultier at the summit of the PSA Men's World Rankings to claim the World No.1 spot for the first time in 12 months. The Bristol-based 27-year-old first rose to World No.1 in November 2014 and spent 15 consecutive months atop the rankings between January 2016 – March 2017 before a loss of form and motivation saw him concede top spot to 35-year-old Gaultier. Gaultier, who missed out on defending his Windy City Open and Swedish Open titles this month due to injury, drops down to World No.2, while Ali Farag, Marwan ElShorbagy and Karim Abdel Gawad complete the top five. A semi-final finish in Chicago is enough to see Tarek Momen swap places with Tournament of Champions winner Simon Rosner to go up to a joint-career high No.6 ranking, with Rosner dropping down to No.7. Three-time World Champion Nick Matthew and Egypt's Mohamed Abouelghar stay at No.8 and No.9, respectively, while Ramy Ashour returns to the top 10 for the first time since August 2017. Ashour's rise comes courtesy of a three-place drop for Peruvian Diego Elias, who moves down to No.13, while New Zealand's Paul Coll also benefits from the 20-year-old's drop, with the Kiwi moving up to No.11. Former World No.1 James Willstrop is also a riser, moving up a place to No.15 and he is followed by Colombia's Miguel Angel Rodriguez in No.16 as the 32-year-old South American ends a year-long hiatus from the top 20. Swtizerland's Nicolas Mueller also enjoys a strong move up the rankings, rising six places to No.18 to mark the first time since December 2014 that he has featured amongst the world's top 20. Australian duo Ryan Cuskelly and Cameron Pilley close out the top 20.
