RESULTS: Rotary Heliopolis Open, Cairo, Egypt
Semi-finals:
[3] Omar Mosaad (EGY) bt [1] Karim Darwish (EGY) 12-10, 1-11, 11-4, 7-11, 12-10
[2] Gregory Gaultier (FRA) bt [4] Hisham Mohd Ashour (EGY) 7-11, 11-2, 11-4, 11-4
Egypt's Omar Mosaad celebrated the best win of his career in his home city Cairo when he beat top-seeded compatriot Karim Darwish in five games in the semi-finals of the Rotary Heliopolis Open to claim an unexpected place in the final of the $42,500 PSA World Tour squash event at Heliopolis Sporting Club in the Egyptian capital.
The 22-year-old's sensational victory marks Mosaad's first win over one his country's 'big three' - Ramy Ashour, Amr Shabana and Karim Darwish, the illustrious Egyptian trio which currently occupies three of the top four places in the world rankings.
Twice third seed Mosaad took the lead over the former world number one, and twice Darwish dug deep to draw level. And the all-Cairo clash went the full distance in the decider. But it was underdog Mosaad who ultimately prevailed, winning 12-10, 1-11, 11-4, 7-11, 12-10 to reach the tenth - and biggest, by far - PSA Tour title of his career.
Mosaad will face second-seeded Frenchman Gregory Gaultier in the final. The only non-Egyptian in the last four, Gaultier had to fight back from a game down to overcome fourth seed Hisham Mohd Ashour 7-11, 11-2, 11-4, 11-4.
The 27-year-old from Aix-en-Provence is celebrating his second Tour final appearance in a row after making the climax of the ISS Canary Wharf Classic in London last month.
Gaultier, who topped the world rankings for the first time last November, is marking the 38th Tour final of his career - but is looking for his first ranking title success since winning the Tournament of Champions in January 2009.