Seeds Safely Through In Hurghada

The top four seeds safely negotiated the quarter-finals of the Hurghada International - leaving Australia's favourite Rachael Grinham as the sole 'foreigner' amongst three Egyptians contesting the semi-finals of the WISPA World Tour Silver event staged on all-glass court on The Plaza in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Hurghada.

On course for a fifth successive appearance in the final of the established Tour event in Hurghada, Grinham beat England's unseeded Lauren Siddall 9-2, 9-3, 9-3.

When asked about the chances of recapturing the title she lost to Egyptian Omneya Abdel Kawy last year, Grinham grinned enigmatically: "It is still a long way away. For now it is about dealing with the heat. It breaks your concentration as you stop and think how hot it is," said the Queenslander who is based in Cairo.

The Australian world No3 will face third seed Engy Kheirallah, who ruined the 24th birthday celebrations of Sarah Kippax by beating the sixth seed from England 5-9, 9-5, 9-5, 9-7 in 64 minutes.

"I could have played a bit better but she played really well," said Kheirallah of her opponent. "Her game has improved a lot. I needed to be 100% focused, but got nervous in patches and lost concentration. It was hot and not easy and I am really happy to have got away with it."

The birthday girl from Chester had been pleased with her performance despite losing: "It is the best I have played on glass. And the crowd were great. They really got involved even though they were not for me!"

The other semi-final will see title-holder Omneya Abdel Kawy, the second seed, take on fourth seed Raneem El Weleily. Both players despatched Hong Kong opponents, El Weleily beating Elise Ng 9-0, 9-1, 9-2 in just 21 minutes and Kawy needing a further minute to defeat No7 seed Christina Mak 9-0, 9-2, 9-1.

"Raneem and I have tough matches," said Kawy after hearing who she'll meet in the semis. "She is so talented and fast and plays shots like me. On a hot court there will be lots and lots of running!"

Quarter-finals:
[1] Rachael Grinham (AUS) bt Lauren Siddall (ENG) 9-2, 9-3, 9-3 (32m)
[3] Engy Kheirallah (EGY) bt [6] Sarah Kippax (ENG) 5-9, 9-5, 9-5, 9-7 (64m)
[4] Raneem El Weleily (EGY) bt Elise Ng (HKG) 9-0, 9-1, 9-2 (21m)
[2] Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY) bt [7] Christina Mak (HKG) 9-0, 9-2, 9-1 (22m)