RESULTS: CIMB Malaysian Open Squash Championships, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Men's quarter-finals:
[1] Amr Shabana (EGY) bt [8] Farhan Mehboob (PAK) 11-6, 11-8, 11-6 (45m)
[4] James Willstrop (ENG) bt Omar Mosaad (EGY) 11-6, 11-4, 11-6 (55m)
[3] Wael El Hindi (EGY) bt [6] Ong Beng Hee (MAS) 11-9, 12-14, 8-11, 11-6, 11-9 (108m)
[2] Nick Matthew (ENG) bt [7] Aamir Atlas Khan (PAK) 11-5, 11-8, 11-9 (35m)
Women's quarter-finals:
[1] Nicol David (MAS) bt Kasey Brown (AUS) 11-4, 11-8, 11-3 (32m)
[3] Natalie Grinham (NED) bt [8] Madeline Perry (IRL) 11-5, 11-7, 10-12, 11-3 (53m)
[4] Alison Waters (ENG) bt [7] Laura Lengthorn-Massaro (ENG) 2-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-4 (45m)
[2] Rachael Grinham (AUS) bt [5] Jenny Duncalf (ENG) 11-9, 11-7, 6-11, 4-11, 11-9 (80m)
Local hero Ong Beng Hee, the title-holder from Penang, took higher-ranked Egyptian Wael El Hindi the full distance in today's (Thursday) quarter-finals of the CIMB Malaysian Open - but ultimately crashed out after 108 minutes to leave the country's premier annual international squash championships in Kuala Lumpur without Malaysian interest in the men's semi-finals for the first time in eight years.
In the men's $52,500 PSA World Tour event, sixth seed Beng Hee - three times winner of the title since 2000 - moved ahead of the world No9 from Cairo after three games. But El Hindi, the third seed who lost to the Malaysian in the 2005 final, reclaimed the advantage to record a 11-9, 12-14, 8-11, 11-6, 11-9 victory – much to the disappointment of the local fans surrounding the all-glass court at The Curve Shopping Mall at Mutiara Damansara.
In one of two Anglo/Egyptian men's semi-finals, El Hindi will face second seed Nick Matthew, the recently-crowned World Games champion who took less than a third of the Egyptian's match time to defeat Pakistan's Aamir Atlas Khan 11-5, 11-8, 11-9 in 35 minutes. The result was hardly the best present for the world No19 from Peshawar, who was celebrating his 19th birthday!
Top seed Amr Shabana, the three-time world champion competing in KL for the first time since 2000, kept his straight games run intact with an 11-6, 11-8, 11-6 win over Pakistan's Farhan Mehboob.
The former world number one will now take on James Willstrop, the fourth seed from England who beat unseeded Egyptian Omar Mosaad 11-6, 11-4, 11-6.
Malaysian superstar Nicol David moved one step closer to her seventh successive appearance in the women's final after despatching Australia's Kasey Brown 11-4, 11-8, 11-3 in the $53,500 WISPA World Tour Gold event.
The 25-year-old world number one from Penang will now face long-time Tour rival Natalie Grinham for a place in the final. The third-seeded Dutch star earned a repeat of last year's final – and last week's World Games gold medal play-off – after beating Ireland's Madeline Perry, the eighth seed, 11-5, 11-7, 10-12, 11-3.
Natalie's sister Rachael Grinham also earned a place in the last four – but the second seed from Australia had to fight off a courageous comeback by Jenny Duncalf before finally beating her fifth-seeded English opponent 11-9, 11-7, 6-11, 4-11, 11-9 in 80 minutes.
Grinham senior now has another English opponent to deal with: Alison Waters, the fourth seed from London, had to recover from a game down before overcoming England team-mate Laura Lengthorn-Massaro, the No7 seed, 2-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-4.
Men's semi-final line-up:
[1] Amr Shabana (EGY) v [4] James Willstrop (ENG)
[2] Nick Matthew (ENG) v [3] Wael El Hindi (EGY)
Women's semi-final line-up:
[1] Nicol David (MAS) v [3] Natalie Grinham (NED)
[2] Rachael Grinham (AUS) v [4] Alison Waters (ENG)