Unseeded Mazen Gamal secured the biggest scalp in the Egyptian Circuit No2 in Alexandria when he ousted top seed Karim Abdel Gawad to reach the semi-finals of the PSA World Tour Challenger 10 squash event at the Egyptian city's Sporting Club.
It was a 106-minute all-Cairo contest in which Gamal, a 24-year-old ranked outside the world top 100, recovered from 2/1 down to beat 19-year-old favourite Gawad, the world No44, 11-4, 7-11, 15-17, 11-1, 12-10.
Gamal will now take on another fellow countryman Andrew Wagih Shoukry, the only seed left in the field. Fourth seed Shoukry also survived a five-game battle to beat qualifier Mazen Hesham Ga Sabry 11-6, 9-11, 11-4, 12-14, 12-10.
Englishman Olivier Pett stands in the way of an all-Egyptian final. The 22-year-old from Sussex, ranked 113 in the world, saw off Egyptian Wael Farag, ranked two places higher, 13-11, 11-4, 11-7 to set up a meeting with Amr Khaled Khalifa.
The 18-year-old world junior champion from Cairo beat compatriot Fares Dessouki 11-4, 14-12, 11-9.
RESULTS: PSA Challenger 10 Egyptian Circuit No2, Alexandria, Egypt
Quarter-finals:
Mazen Gamal (EGY) bt [1] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) 11-4, 7-11, 15-17, 11-1, 12-10 (106m)
[4] Andrew Wagih Shoukry (EGY) bt [Q] Mazen Hesham Ga Sabry (EGY) 11-6, 9-11, 11-4, 12-14, 12-10 (65m)
Olivier Pett (ENG) bt Wael Farag (EGY) 13-11, 11-4, 11-7 (36m)
Amr Khaled Khalifa (EGY) bt Fares Dessouki (EGY) 11-4, 14-12, 11-9 (45m)
Semi-final line-up:
Mazen Gamal (EGY) v [4] Andrew Wagih Shoukry (EGY)
Amr Khaled Khalifa (EGY) v Olivier Pett (ENG)