English Duo Battle Into Seoul Semis

England team-mates Alison Waters and Laura Lengthorn-Massaro claimed unexpected places in the semi-finals of the Women's Seoul Open - but it was at the expense of unseeded opponents in the quarter-finals of the $60,000 WISPA World Tour squash event in the South Korean capital Seoul.

Waters, the No7 seed from London, faced Kasey Brown, the unseeded Australian who stunned New Zealand's fourth seed Shelley Kitchen in the opening round. The British National champion led 2/1 and 7-5 in the fourth game - but Brown battled to take the game and force a decider.

But Waters kept her focus and clinched a 6-9, 9-6, 9-5, 7-9, 9-4 victory after 67 minutes to move into her second WISPA Gold semi-final this year.

Eighth seed Laura Lengthorn-Massaro faced determined Irish star Madeline Perry, the surprise winner over third seed Omneya Abdel Kawy in the first round. The fast-improving Englishwoman was taken the full distance in each of the three games - Perry having game balls in two - before prevailing 10-9, 10-8, 10-8 in 45 minutes.

"I had a game plan and when I stuck to it, it worked well - but I was a bit patchy," explained the 24-year-old from Lancashire. "In the second and third when I was down, I was pretty pleased to come back. I stopped going short too soon to try and finish rallies. Against Madeline I knew I should keep her back, wait for my opportunities and not hit the ball too hard as that is how she likes it."

Waters will now face favourite Nicol David, the world number one from Malaysia who dropped a game before beating England's fifth seed Jenny Duncalf 9-5, 8-10, 9-5, 9-5 in 50 minutes - in a repeat of last month's British Open final.

Lengthorn-Massaro's opponent for a place in the final will be Australia's second seed Rachael Grinham, who defeated a lacklustre Vanessa Atkinson, the sixth seed from the Netherlands, 9-6, 9-0, 9-6 in just 26 minutes.

Quarter-finals:
[1] Nicol David (MAS) bt [5] Jenny Duncalf (ENG) 9-5, 8-10, 9-5, 9-5 (50m)
[7] Alison Waters (ENG) bt Kasey Brown (AUS) 6-9, 9-6, 9-5, 7-9, 9-4 (67m)
[8] Laura Lengthorn-Massaro (ENG) bt Madeline Perry (IRL) 10-9, 10-8, 10-8 (45m)
[2] Rachael Grinham (AUS) bt [6] Vanessa Atkinson (NED) 9-6, 9-0, 9-6 (26m)