Three England players through to Allam British Open semi-finals

Laura Massaro, Nick Matthew and Sarah-Jane Perry all booked their places in the Allam British Open semi-finals after an incredible day of squash for England.

Emily Whitlock will unfortunately not join them as she was well beaten by World No.1 Nour El Sherbini, who now faces Massaro [5] for a place in the final.

Wins for Massaro and Perry on Saturday will result in the first all-English women's final since 1991. While Matthew [4] will be looking to make it into his fifth final and win his fourth British Open title.

Scroll down to read about all the day's results and reaction as the action unfolded, beginning with El Sherbini v Whitlock at 12pm.

Sarah-Jane Perry reaches her first Allam British Open semi-final

England’s Sarah-Jane Perry edged a nail-biting five-game quarter final against Donna Urquhart to reach her first Allam British Open semi-final.

She and Laura Massaro are both now just one win away from setting-up an all-English women’s final for the first time in 25 years.

First, though, she will need to battle through the daunting challenge of a clash with five-time British Open champion Nicol David.

English national champion Massaro produced a solid performance to defeat Windy City Open champion Raneem El Welily [3] 11/3, 13/15, 11/6, 11/6 in 47 minutes. Perry was made to work even harder by Australia’s Urquhart [15], who twice came back from a game down to take the game to a decider, with the final score 11/4, 7/11, 13/11, 6/11, 11/4 in 58 minutes.

“This is pretty much the most prestigious tournament and I’ve not made a World Series final before," she said. "I’ve had a lot of ‘firsts’ this season, in the Tournament of Champions I made my first semi-final, so now I want to push on and get through to that final and show everyone that I’m here to try and win these big events.”

The last final involving two English women was between Lisa Opie and Sue Wright in 1991, with Opie winning 6/9, 9/3, 9/3, 9/4. Prior to that, you need to look back to 1961 when Fran Marshall beat Ruth Turner for an all-English final.

What kind of statement would a Massaro v Perry final send out to the rest of the world, does she think?

“I remember when Laura won a few years ago [2013], that year I was just happy to make the second round and play on the glass court,” she said. “I remember all the hype when she won that. I think it would be even more awesome for English squash if we could get an all-English final. I’m going to give it my best to get there and I know on the other side with Nour and Laura they’ve beaten each other numerous times, I’m sure that will be a great match.

“I was pleased to see a lot of women in the audience today, supporting us. I think women’s squash is in a great place I’m glad to be a part of that.”

Perry is set to face Nicol David [6] after the match between Massaro and El Sherbini is concluded. Massaro is due on court at 1pm on Saturday.

Matthew joins Massaro in semi-finals after five-game thriller

Nick Matthew came through a gruelling five-setter against Egyptian Tarek Momen to join Laura Massaro in the Allam British Open semi-finals in Hull.

Momen twice fought back from a game down to level the match but Matthew eventually finished his opponent off with an 11/9, 10/12, 11/6, 7/11, 11/6 scoreline, with the match lasting 82 minutes.

World No.4 Matthew will now face the defending champion Mohamed ElShorbagy [1] in the next round, who trailed Ali Farag [7] 2-1 before winning 3-2 after 82 minutes.

“It was a bit of a rollercoaster, he’s that type of player,” he said. “You know that you have to stay consistent because he’s going to have these periods where he plays incredibly and periods where he makes mistakes, you’ve got to stick at it and keep pushing.”

Matthew, 36, joins England No.1 Laura Massaro, who defeated Raneem El Welily earlier in the day, in the last four. There was no place for Emily Whitlock [13], however, who was knocked out by top seed Nour El Sherbini (Egypt) in the day’s first match.

Matthew has won the tournament three times in his career in 2006, 2009 and 2012 and knows he will have to be on top of his game if he is to add a fourth title to his collection.

“I’ll have to play a hell of a lot better than that if I’m going to beat Mohamed tomorrow. I saw Laura and I was inspired by her getting through, the crowd were great supporting her and likewise with me. I didn’t really give them that much to cheer about in terms of my positive play, so hopefully a bit more of that tomorrow and they’ll get right behind me."

Matthew faces ElShorbagy [1] at the Airco Arena at 3.30pm on Saturday.

Massaro books semi-final place with win against Raneem El Welily

Former champion Laura Massaro is through to the semi-finals of the Allam British Open with a dominant display against Raneem El Welily.

The World No.5 thrived on the home support she received at Hull’s Airco Arena to resist a fightback from the Egyptian and claim the 11/3, 13/15, 11/6, 11/6 victory in 47 minutes.

“It’s a shame it was a quarter final, it felt so much bigger than that,” she said. “You know with Raneem there will be some unbelievable rallies and great shots. I just tried to stay consistent and play a positive game.”

Massaro, the 2013 British Open champion, steamed into a 1-0 lead after just six minutes of play, with El Welily slow to get into the game. Massaro was frustrated at letting a 7/3 lead slip in the second, with both players then failing to take advantage of two game points before the Egyptian took her chance to level the match at 1-1.

That fired the England No.1 up to make amends and she did so emphatically, advancing to the last four with a 3-1 victory. Afterwards, she praised the home crowd for their support.

She said: “It’s so nice to hear them. You felt the atmosphere straight away that there was an English person on court and its really good when you feel that.”

Next up for Massaro [5] is World No.1 Nour El Sherbini, who knocked out Emily Whitlock in the day’s first match. They will step on to the glass court at 1pm on Saturday.

Whitlock knocked out by World No.1 Nour El Sherbini

England’s Emily Whitlock has been knocked out of the Allam British Open at the quarter-final stage.

Top seed Nour El Sherbini needed just 23 minutes to seal the win 11/3, 11/4, 11/4 in the day’s first match.

Whitlock [13] reached the last eight for the first time in her career after beating Alison Waters in a dominant second round performance. She was unable to produce the same intensity against the World No.1 and defending champion El Sherbini (Egypt), who is still just 21 years of age.

World No.15 Whitlock, 23, began her tournament with a 3-1 win against Hong Kong’s Liu Tsz-Ling at the University of Hull. She then beat World No.10 Alison Waters 11/4, 11/7, 11/9 in the second round at the Airco Arena.

Laura Massaro [5], Nick Matthew [4] and Sarah-Jane Perry [7] all play their quarter finals today.