Qualifier Kandra Continues Giant-Killing British Open Run

German qualifier Raphael Kandra continued his giant-killing run at the Allam British Open by following up his second round victory over three-time champion Nick Matthew with a stunning 3/2 quarter-final win over world No.3 Marwan Elshorbagy.

The victory at the Airco Arena in Hull not only saw the left-hander become the first German in history to reach the semi-finals of the iconic PSA World Series tournament, but also the first qualifier in 17 years.

The world No.37 from Paderborn had never before reached the semi-finals of a World Series tournament but put in a display full of grit and endeavour to claim an impressive 11-7, 11-13, 6-11, 13-11, 11-6 victory.

"I definitely enjoyed the crowd," said the 27-year-old after the biggest win of his career.

"I was just trying to enjoy my squash out there and the support of the crowd was amazing. It was a spectacular match, it's hard to say but for me it probably wasn't the best of Marwan's squash today, but you need those days.

"I'm fighting through, whoever comes, I don't mind. Whoever it is - if it's Gregory Gaultier or Mohamed Elshorbagy - I don't mind. These guys are just so impressive at the moment and they play so well."

Kandra will line up against former world No.4 Miguel Angel Rodriguez after the unseeded Colombian upset world No.2 Ali Farag to reach the semi-finals of the event for the first time since 2015. The result sees Bogota man leapfrog Matthew into eighth place on the PSA World Series Standings - leaving the Englishman unable to qualify for next month's season-ending ATCO PSA Dubai World Series Finals.

Matthew's loss to Kandra means that the 37-year-old three-time World Champion has now officially began his retirement after a glittering 20-year career - and his place in Dubai will now be contested by Rodriguez and Kandra, with the latter only able to qualify if he goes on and wins the title.

"What a way to do it!" said Rodriguez.

"The last few seasons have been tough for me with injuries but I'm back and I'm happy to be reaching semis again. I'm over the moon, I've been working so hard since last year and today was difficult because I'm sometimes too emotional, but I tried to be disciplined today and it worked."

The other men's semi-final will see defending champion Gregory Gaultier and world No.1 Mohamed Elshorbagy lock horns for the 23rd time on the PSA World Tour. Gaultier defeated Kandra's compatriot Simon Rösner, the world No.6, while Elshorbagy overcame New Zealand's world No.10 Paul Coll.

In the women's event, defending champion Laura Massaro took a step closer to retaining her title after a hugely impressive 3/0 win over the in-form Egyptian Nour El Tayeb.

Massaro is now the only English player left in the tournament after compatriots Sarah-Jane Perry - the 2017 runner-up to Massaro - and Alison Waters fell to Egyptian duo Raneem El Welily and Nour El Sherbini, respectively.

The 34-year-old from Preston avenged her defeat to El Tayeb in October's US Open as she put in a masterclass performance to record an 11-9, 11-9, 11-6 victory that will see her take on world No.1 El Sherbini in her sixth British Open semi-final appearance in the past seven years.

"I've done nothing but think about this match since I won the other day and I've had my eye on it since the draw came out, without being disrespectful to my two first round opponents, because you can't take it for granted," said two-time British Open champion Massaro.

"I've seen how Nour has been playing and how she has improved. She is part of the reason that I've been training so hard because of how she's been playing and changing the game and what she's doing to it.

"But, I also didn't like the way she showboated and played so amazing against me in the US Open, it was borderline cocky, and I wanted to get my own back for that, but she is bringing a whole different flair and it is what the squash game needs."

Massaro will aim to end a three-match losing streak to world No.1 El Sherbini in the semi-finals, while El Welily will clash with 2015 British Open champion Camille Serme after the Frenchwoman prevailed in a thrilling five-game battle with Wales' Tesni Evans.

Serme went 2/1 down after some sublime squash from the Welsh player but the physicality eventually took its toll as the French star ground out an 16-14, 7-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-6 victory to bring an end to an entertaining 72-minute clash.

"She has had an amazing season," said 29-year-old Serme, who will face World Champion Raneem El Welily in the next round.

"It was a big battle today and I was enjoying it while we were both working really hard. It's amazing to have all my staff and team behind me. Greg had already played but stayed to watch me and I'm very lucky."