The 18-year-old qualifier from Nottingham, who knocked out fourth seed Andrew McDougall in the first round, went on to defeat a further Canadian in the quarter-finals.

His 11-7, 11-6, 12-10 victory over Matthew Serediak, a 27-year-old from Toronto, takes James to a clash with Julian Illingworth.

Top seed Illingworth, the record seven-time US champion, leads home hopes in the championship - and despatched Canada's David Letourneau 11-3, 11-6, 11-6 to make the last four.

It was marathon day in the other half of the draw where it took more than three hours to decide the second semi-final line-up.

Third seed Christopher Gordon, the US number three from New York, battled for 90 minutes to overcome Mexican Erik Tepos Valtierra, winning 11-8, 3-11, 11-6, 5-11, 11-9.

But second-seeded Canadian Shawn Delierre took 95 minutes to get the better of his opponent, also a Mexican.

In only four games, the 29-year-old from Montreal beat unseeded Avila, ranked almost 40 places lower in the world, 11-9, 7-11, 11-9, 11-7.

RESULTS: PSA Challenger 10 Squashworks Salt Lake City Open, Salt Lake City, USA

Quarter-finals:
[1] Julian Illingworth (USA) bt David Letourneau (CAN) 11-3, 11-6, 11-6 (40m)
[Q] Declan James (ENG) bt Matthew Serediak (CAN) 11-7, 11-6, 12-10 (31m)
[3] Christopher Gordon (USA) bt Erik Tepos Valtierra (MEX) 11-8, 3-11, 11-6, 5-11, 11-9 (90m)
[2] Shawn Delierre (CAN) bt Alfredo Avila (MEX) 11-9, 7-11, 11-9, 11-7 (95m)

Semi-final line-up:
[1] Julian Illingworth (USA) v [Q] Declan James (ENG)
[2] Shawn Delierre (CAN) v [3] Christopher Gordon (USA)