Masterful Gawad Delivers Late-Night Spectacle To Reach Paris Quarters

World No.6 Karim Abdel Gawad was at his masterful best as he defeated Welsh No.1 Joel Makin in an eye-catching conclusion to day two of the Platinum-level Paris Squash 2024.

The 33-year-old was near-faultless throughout the hour-long encounter at the spectacular Cirque d'Hiver Bouglione, pushing the physical capabilities of Makin - regarded as one of the fittest players in the sport - with a barrage of dazzling winners.

After moving his way to a one-game advantage, the 'Baby-Faced Assassin' crucially saved two game balls before clinching a pivotal second game tie-break. The Egyptian subsequently looked destined to wrap the victory up in swift fashion at 10-4 up in third, but Makin continued to fight until the end, saving four match balls with his own impressive squash.

However, Gawad ultimately proved too strong, claiming the final game by an 11-8 scoreline to set up a compelling quarter-final match with reigning World Champion Diego Elias.

After the match, Gawad said: "I really wanted to win, I would have done anything to win today. I was feeling physically good and was moving very well.

"Playing someone like Joel, you can just never give him cheap points, any easy games. I felt like I could keep pushing all the way through the match. As everyone saw, the last game I was 10-4 up, and then he pulled it back to 10-8, but I just told myself to keep pushing to the very end. I'm really happy to be through in three."

Elsewhere, world No.1s Ali Farag and Nour El Sherbini both comfortably advanced to the quarter-finals, defeating France's Gregoire Marche and Hong Kong's Tomato Ho, respectively.

Top seed Farag will face Mohamed ElShorbagy in the quarter-finals, after the England No.1 defeated compatriot Adrian Waller, while El Sherbini will take on Olivia Weaver for a spot in the last four.

In what is her first tournament of the season, the American No.1 came through a high-quality four-game bout with Malaysia's Sivasangari Subramaniam saying afterwards: "If I play my best game, I can beat anyone!"

The other two players to progress to the quarter-finals were Egypt's Rowan Elaraby and Belgium's Nele Gilis after defeating Salma Hany and Lucy Turmel in challenging contests.