Local hero Olli Tuominen made it through to the semi-finals of the Savcor Finnish Open as expected - but the top seed from Helsinki was taken the full distance before overcoming Amr Khaled Khalifa in the PSA World Tour Challenger 15 squash event at Raviradantie in Mikkeli.
Tuominen had a good start and dominated in the first game. The Egyptian came back in the second and took the game after saving one game ball. The Finn had his chances in the third but did not manage to exploit a 9-6 lead and went down 12-10.
Tuominen fought back and took control in fourth game, then overwhelmed Khalifa in the decider to record his 11-4, 11-13, 10-12, 11-3, 11-4 win in 62 minutes.
The organisers were denied the all-Finnish semi-final predicted by the draw when New Zealander Campbell Grayson upset fourth-seeded Finn Henrik Mustonen 11-6, 8-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-7 in a 70-minute marathon.
The other semi will be an all-Egyptian affair between third seed Karim Abdel Gawad and unseeded Omar Abdel Meguid.
RESULTS: PSA Challenger 15 Savcor Finnish Open, Mikkeli, Finland
Quarter-finals:
[1] Olli Tuominen (FIN) bt Amr Khaled Khalifa (EGY) 11-4, 11-13, 10-12, 11-3, 11-4 (62m)
Campbell Grayson (NZL) bt [4] Henrik Mustonen (FIN) 11-6, 8-11, 8-11, 11-8, 11-7 (70m)
[3] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) bt [Q] Kashif Shuja (NZL) 11-8, 11-8, 11-7 (41m)
Omar Abdel Meguid (EGY) bt [Q] Amr Ramsy Swelim (ITA) 11-9, 19-17, 11-8 (52m)
Semi-final line-up:
[1] Olli Tuominen (FIN) v Campbell Grayson (NZL)
Omar Abdel Meguid (EGY) v [3] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY)
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