Third seed Shawn Delierre carried unexpected domestic interest into the final of the Nash Cup in Canada after upsetting top seed Martin Knight in an 88-minute semi-final marathon in the PSA World Tour Challenger 10 event at London Squash Racquets Club in London, Ontario.
The 29-year-old from Montreal had to be at the top of his game to grind out an 11-9, 11-7, 7-11, 11-6 victory over higher-ranked New Zealander Knight.
"This match had everything and was a battle from start to finish," said event spokesman Dave Morrish. "Delierre is an extraordinary athlete and after taking the sting out of Knight he used his working boast to punishing effect.
"It was a great match which thrilled the crowd and at the end of the day squash was the winner."
Now in his 14th PSA World Tour final, the world No54 will face title-holder Jan Koukal, the second seed from the Czech Republic.
Koukal ended Andrew Wagih Shoukry's run, saving a match-ball against the unseeded Egyptian in the fourth game before going on to clinch a narrow 11-9, 9-11, 7-11, 12-10, 13-11 victory in 79 minutes.
"It was a very intense and aggressive match," said Koukal, who is celebrating his sixth Tour final of the year, and the 29th of his career. "I deserved the first and he definitely deserved the second. I felt I gifted him the third and had a bad start in the fourth but was lucky to hang in there and scrape it.
"The fifth was pretty close all the way and I eventually got a little lead," continued the 28-year-old world No48. "I didn't feel I played better than him today - I was just a little more patient with the big points.
"He has improved a lot in the past few months, especially his fitness. He impressed me."
RESULTS: PSA Challenger 10 Nash Cup, London, Ontario, Canada
Semi-finals:
[3] Shawn Delierre (CAN) bt [1] Martin Knight (NZL) 11-9, 11-7, 7-11, 11-6 (88m)
[2] Jan Koukal (CZE) bt Andrew Wagih Shoukry (EGY) 11-9, 9-11, 7-11, 12-10, 13-11 (79m)