catching up with Mohamed ElShorbagy

A tough season

“It’s been quite a tough season for me,” said ElShorbagy, who defeated James Willstrop 12-10, 11-9, 11-8 on Saturday night for his first World Series Finals title. “It didn’t go the way I really wanted to and I lost a little bit of motivation, a little bit of confidence. I let a lot people down during this season.”

Fighting spirit

“I hate losing and I told myself I am not born to lose in the quarters or semis – I am born to win titles,” added ElShorbagy, who spent 28 months at the top of the men’s rankings but has now dropped to No 3. “I don’t mind losing, but I do mind giving up and during this season I did not play with my usual fighting spirit.”

Break does wonders

The Egyptian said exhaustion was to blame for his disappointing results, but a 10-day after May’s Grasshopper Cup in Zurich allowed him to think over things and rediscover his passion. “Now, all I can say is I cannot wait for the start of next season to start,” he said. “I took my break already and I am ready to go straight into training for next season.”

Massaro defends title

In the women’s final, Englishwoman Laura Massaro defeated world No 1 Nour El Sherbini 11-8, 12-10, 11-5 to continue her impressive run since returning to the sport after taking a break in early 2015 due to physical and mental exhaustion.

Keep on playing

“I’m one of the oldest ones on tour now and as long as I feel as though I’m still in contention to win titles then I’m happy,” said Massaro, 33. “As long as that’s the case, I’ll keep on playing. I’m not going to be around for very long if I’m not winning titles.”

* Ahmed Rizvi