Amr Shabana and Azlan Iskandar delivered a feast of exciting, attacking squash in the first quarter-final. Throw some unbelievable retrieving into the mix and you can see how the crowd at the Westwood Club were entertained.
Both players had a similar game plan, searching for a tight width on a court where the ball glues itself to the side walls, and attacking anything half an inch looser than perfection.
Shabana just kept in front during the opening game but Iskandar responded solidly in the second. Having built up a lead of 6-1, he advanced to 9-4 then shut out the game 11-6.
Then it was Shabana's turn to dominate. He led 6-2 but Iskandar produced a sustained spell of accurate attacking to turn the tables with six points in a row to lead 8-6. He was first to game ball at 10-9 but Shabana forced the tiebreak and won it 12-10.
The fourth game followed a similar pattern, with Shabana leading 5-1 before Iskandar rallied. And boy, did he rally. He stunned the crowd with some incredible diving gets, and clawed his way back to 9-9. Shabana had match ball at 10-9 but the Egyptian tinned a few shots in his eagerness to get the match over and another tiebreak arrived.
Again Shabana finished in masterful fashion to clinch the tiebreak and become the first player into the semi-finals.
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