FRANCE’S Johan Bouquet became the only unseeded player to reach the semi-finals of the Betty F Griffin Florida State Open Squash Championship when he beat Englishman Reuben Phillips in Boca Raton, Florida.
The 29-year-old from Toulouse (pictured above) despatched wildcard Phillips 6-11, 11-9, 11-3, 11-5 and will bid for a place in the final when he takes on Pakistan’s Farhan Zaman.
The 20-year-old number two seed from Peshawar survived the loss of the first game to beat experienced Mexican Eric Galvez 8-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-6.
Egypt’s Hisham Mohd Ashour, the flamboyant older brother of world number one Ramy Ashour who is making his Tour comeback in Florida after a seven-month break, continued his fine run with a straight games win over Canadian qualifier Graeme Schnell.
The former world number 11 from Cairo now faces top seed Alfredo Avila, the world number 62 from Mexico who was severely tested by Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi before overcoming the Qatari teenager 12-10, 12-10, 11-13, 11-2.
Semi-Final Draw:
[1] Alfredo Avila (Mex) v [4] Hisham Mohd Ashour (Egy)
[2] Farhan Zaman (Pak) v Johan Bouquet (Fra)
Quarter-Finals Results:
[1] Alfredo Avila (Mex) 3-1 Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi (Qat) 12-10, 12-10, 11-13, 11-2
[4] Hisham Mohd Ashour (Egy) 3-0 Graeme Schnell (Can) 11-5, 13-11, 11-4
Johan Bouquet (Fra) 3-1 Reuben Phillips (Eng) 6-11, 11-9, 11-3, 11-5
[2] Farhan Zaman (Pak) 3-1 Eric Galvez (Mex) 8-11, 11-8, 11-5, 11-6