England’s Georgina Kennedy was beaten by world champion Nour El Sherbini in the quarter-finals of the British Open.
Kennedy, ranked 10th in the world, saw her title bid end in a narrow 3-2 defeat at the Birmingham Rep Theatre.
The 26-year-old took the lead, winning her first ever game against El Sherbini, before going on to force a decider in front of her home crowd.
But Egypt’s six-time world champion closed out a 9-11, 11-5, 11-4, 9-11, 11-4 victory to reach the last four.
“I’m glad I won it in the end. Gina is playing incredibly well this season and this was totally different to the last two meetings,” El Sherbini said of her opponent.
The three-time British Open winner added: “Everyone is improving and watching their other opponents, she did well today, kept pushing and didn’t want to let go.
“I’m happy I took a huge leap in each game I won and this is what made the difference at the end.”
American Amanda Sobhy awaits in the semi-finals after she stunned defending champion Hania El Hammamy in straight games, prevailing 11-8, 13-11, 11-4.
In the men’s draw, Peru’s Diego Elias – set to become world number one on Monday – came back impressively from two games down to beat France’s Victor Crouin 4-11, 9-11, 11-7, 11-6, 11-9.
He will play New Zealand’s Paul Coll in the last four after the defending champion also progressed in five games, winning 8-11, 11-8, 11-6, 7-11, 11-1 against Egypt’s Marwan ElShorbagy.
The semi-finals take place on Saturday.
They will also see Egyptian second seed Ali Farag face compatriot Mazen Hesham in the men’s competition, plus Egypt’s Nouran Gohar versus New Zealand’s Joelle King in the women’s.
