Gohar & ElSherbini Set Up Egyptian Open Pyramids Showdown

Long-time rivals Nouran Gohar and Nour ElSherbini set up a tantalising quarter-final showdown at the Great Pyramids of Giza after the Egyptian duo claimed four-game victories at the CIB Egyptian Open in Cairo.

Former world No.1 Gohar, who recently returned to competitive action following the birth of her first child, battled past teenage qualifier Ruqayya Salem to book her spot in the last eight.

Salem more than held her own throughout the 59-minute contest, saving three match balls in a fiercely-contested third game. However, the experienced No.6 seed ultimately proved too strong in the fourth, moving through to seal a 14-12, 11-8, 14-16, 11-6 victory at the O West Sporting Club.

Gohar and ElSherbini's quarter-final contest will mark their 42nd meeting on the PSA Squash Tour.

"I'm super excited," Gohar said after the match. "I haven't been that excited for some time about playing a quarter-final. I felt like a junior the last couple of days, wanting to win my matches here on the traditional courts to be able to play in front of an amazing venue.

"I'm not sure if Nour misses me, but I have missed these matches. So I'm really looking forward to it."

Eight-time World Champion ElSherbini, meanwhile, had to be on her mettle to overcome an impressive showing from world No.14 Marina Stefanoni.

The world No.3 arrived in Cairo looking to put her shock Qatar Classic exit behind her, where defeat to Rachel Arnold saw her fail to reach a major quarter-final for the first time on the PSA Squash Tour in almost 12 years.

Following a comprehensive opening round win over Kenzy Ayman, the 30-year-old's 11-8, 7-11, 11-3, 11-9 victory over her younger US opponent offered a glimpse of the form that has seen her lift the iconic Egyptian Open title three times during her career.

Reflecting on her start to the season, ElSherbini said: "Qatar was a bad decision for me. I wasn't ready, I had an injury, and sometimes you take decisions and regret them afterwards. I went back home and trained for a good three or four weeks, and I'm feeling much better now than before. I'm very excited for this one.

"I've made it to the quarters now and I'm going to the Pyramids, so it's getting even more exciting."

Elsewhere, men's No.8 seed Marwan ElShorbagy and women's No.7 seed Fayrouz Aboelkheir battled through back-and-forth five-game duels against Leonel Cardenas and Jasmine Hutton to punch their tickets to the last eight.

Mostafa Asal and Hania El Hammamy also continued their title defences with respective wins over Mohamed Abouelghar and Amanda Sobhy.