As the Professional Squash Association (PSA) World Tour Gold event reached its climax, ElShorbagy led in the first game before Farag levelled in the second.

From there, ElShorbagy won the next two games - including a tiebreaker final games to secure a 11-8, 10-12, 11-6, 15-13 victory.

The two players have traded the top spot in the world rankings over the past couple of years, with ElShorbagy returning to the top in February.

He also now holds a record of 12 wins and eight defeats over his rival, who he has faced since 2010 when they were juniors.

Despite winning, ElShorbagy was relieved the match only lasted four sets, saying it "would have been a miracle for me to win the fifth".

"I went for it a few times here and there in the fourth, and it paid off to be honest!

"The longer you play on Tour, you realise you spend more time with your rival than your family.

"Ali is not just a rival for me, he is someone who really inspires me and he makes me want to be a better squash player every day."

This tournament, along with a women’s competition, the Black Ball Squash Open in Cairo in Egypt, are the last to be played before the PSA suspends its season due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. 

All PSA World Tour and PSA Challenger Tour events taking place up to and including the week commencing April 27 will not go ahead.

Farag added: "The season is suspended now so we wanted to give you a match to remember before we stop!

“We did our sport very proud today, Mohamed and I have come to enjoy our battles a lot recently, especially when it is played in front of such an amazing crowd.”