<div><p>Amr Shabana, the world number one from Egypt, looked like an even hotter favourite to become World Open champion for a fourth time as he celebrated reaching the semi-finals by posing with Manchester United's Premier League trophy here Friday.</p><p>The trophy was transported a couple of miles across the city from Old trafford to the SportCity site which was the venue for the 2002 Commonwealth Games and where Shabana now gave a squash lesson to his young compatriot Mohamed El Shorbagy.</p><p>"I used to play football but had to keep going away for squash tournaments," said Shabana, who beat Shorbagy 11-2, 11-3, 11-6 before posing in the shirt of the Premiership joint top scorer, Amr Zaki, another Egyptian compatriot, who plays for nearby Wigan.</p><p>Shabana was ominously comfortable both during and after a match which lasted less than half an hour and in which the top-seeded titleholder produced some masterful moments while overwhelming his 17-year-old opponent.</p><p>"It has happened to me and it happens to everyone," said Shabana generously.</p><p>"I guess I played at the top of my form today, but he has played 15 games in three days and you can't blame him if he's a little bit tired."</p><p>Shabana, who scored heavily with wrong-footing changes of direction and sudden sharp drops, was referring to the fact that his opponent had had to battle through the qualifying competition and had played five matches in five days.</p><p>"I don't think anyone will have an easy time against him in a year or two's time," said Shabana, who next plays Ramy Ashour, the former Super Series champion from Egypt who beat former British Open champion Nick Matthew in four games and is arguably the biggest threat to the champion.</p><p>The odds also shortened on Malaysia's Nicol David regaining the title in the women's event when Natalie Grinham, a runner-up in both the last two World Opens, became the latest in a series of shocks.</p><p>The Australia-raised world number two from The Netherlands - playing her first World Open under Dutch colours since marrying former Dutch international Tommy Berden - was beaten in four games by Jenny Duncalf of England.</p><p>The score was 11-8, 10-12, 5-11, 11-6, 11-7 and it meant that Duncalf followed her career-best run into the British Open final at Liverpool in May by guaranteeing the first home women's finalist for five years.</p><p>That was because the other quarter-final in the same half was an all-English affair in which Vicky Botwright, playing in her last tournament before becoming full-time head coach at this venue, overcame Alison Waters, the British national champion 13-11, 3-11, 13-11, 11-9.</p><p>It is proving a remarkable climax to an unusual career, in which Botwright gained worldwide fame by posing in a thong at the British Open seven years ago, went on to reach the world's top five during 2006-7, and scored a career-best win over defending world champion Rachael Grinham on Wednesday.</p><p>'My dad didn't think I would make it this far because he had a stag do this weekend,' cracked the local heroine, tongue-in-cheek.</p><p>"He's had to cancel that."</p><img src="http://admatch-syndication.mochila.com/images/ad.gif?aid=35164567&bid=informcom" /></div><div id="copyright"><div>

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