The Egyptian, seeking a place in the quarter-finals of the World Series tournament, was forced to overcome a stern test from Hong Kong’s Leo Au.

Having lost the opener 12-10, Au won the second game 13-11 to boost the possibility of an upset against the top seed.

Elshorbaby would ultimately have too much for his rival, however, as he triumphed in the next two games to seal a 12-10, 11-13, 11-8, 11-8 victory.

"I thought I was up and down again like the first round and I lost focus at times," said Elshorbagy

"Mentally, I felt a bit tired in the first round, but today I felt fresh.

"When you're playing short, sharp rallies, you have to be mentally fresh to keep it up.

"If you're not, you're going to struggle big time in these kinds of conditions.

"Yesterday, I took the full day off, I didn't even touch my squash racket for even a minute, and I never normally do that during tournaments, but I had to."

He will now meet Germany’s Simon Rösner, who swept aside the challenge of England’s James Willstrop.

An impressive performance saw Rösner triumph 11-7, 11-7, 11-8.

One of the closer ties of the day saw Egypt’s Tarek Momen defeat Gregoire Marche of France 4-11, 11-4, 11-8,  8-11, 11-9.

Momen will face fourth seed Nick Matthew in the quarter-finals, with the Englishman having defeated Scotland’s Alan Clyne, 11-5, 11-13, 11-7, 11-9.