Quarter-finals:
[1] Amr Shabana (EGY) bt [5] Thierry Lincou (FRA) 11-7, 11-10 (2-0), 11-5 (50m)
[3] David Palmer (AUS) bt [7] Nick Matthew (ENG) 11-5, 10-11 (0-2), 11-3, 11-3 (71m)
[4] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt [6] James Willstrop (ENG) 11-2, 2-11, 11-7, 11-9 (65m)
[2] Ramy Ashour (EGY) bt [15] Olli Tuominen (FIN) 11-6, 11-6, 11-7 (31m)
The world's top four players will contest the semi-finals of the Saudi International after surviving contrasting quarter-final clashes in the PSA Super Series Platinum squash event in Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia.
Egypt's top seed Amr Shabana was in no mood for another five-game thriller, and once he had saved a pair of game balls in the second he eased through to an 11-7, 11-10 (2-0), 11-5 victory over fifth seed Thierry Lincou. The Frenchman needed brief treatment following an accidental clash in the third - after which he failed to gain a further point.
"It was one of those matches that was more on the physical side, it's not the best technical squash I've ever played, but every one of Thierry's shots is technically perfect so it makes it very hard for you – if I don't play a good shot I'm in trouble," Shabana explained to the official website www.atcosquash.com
"I knew at 3-5 in the third that was the time, because he's the king of the comeback and if he had got back to 2/1 I was not likely to win. Even though I wasn't happy with my game, I am pleased to be through to the semi-finals. This is such a big tournament for us, and with all the fans here we want to do well for them."
The defending champion will meet David Palmer for a place in the final after the Australian world champion turned in "one of my best performances of the year" to see off the challenge of England's US Open Nick Matthew - who, by his own admission, had only one brief good spell during the match which enabled him to take the second game.
"I knew it was going to be a tough match, that I'd have to be at 110% to win this one - but the schedule suited me this week, I was fresh and well-prepared and that was probably one of the best matches I've played this year," said Palmer.
Another Egyptian who improved massively on his previous performance was Ramy Ashour, the 20-year-old No2 seed who, in the words of his opponent Olli Tuominen, "really ruled the game" with a very impressive performance.
"Olli is such a fast player, my target when I play him is to make him as tired as I can," said the world No2 from Cairo after his 11-6, 11-6, 11-7 victory over the 15th seed from Finland.
Ashour will meet France's Gregory Gaultier, who got the better of a topsy-turvy encounter with Englishman James Willstrop, winning 11-2, 2-11, 11-7, 11-9 in 65 minutes to set up a repeat of their Super Series Finals meeting in August.
"It's tough to keep the pace up for the whole match, and it was a little up and down for both of us," said fourth seed Gaultier. "The third and fourth games were very hard, he was very sharp today and came back very strongly towards the end."
Semi-final line-up:
[1] Amr Shabana (EGY) v [3] David Palmer (AUS)
[2] Ramy Ashour (EGY) v [4] Gregory Gaultier (FRA)
Official website: www.atcosquash.com