Mohamed ElShorbagy maintained his winning streak against Simon Rosner ©PSA

Mohamed ElShorbagy preserved his unbeaten record against Germany’s Simon Rösner as the Egyptian won a tense contest to reach the semi-final of the Professional Squash Association (PSA) Qatar Classic at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex here.

The defending champion had beaten Rösner in their previous eight meetings but lost the opening game of the match 11-5, putting the Egyptian’s run under threat.

ElShorbagy won a tight second game 14-12 but was left staring defeat in the face when he was narrowly beaten 11-9 in the third.

The 25-year-old was forced to dig deep to remain on track for a third straight Qatar Classic title,.

The world number one drew level once again and completed a thrilling comeback to triumph 5-11, 14-12, 9-11, 11-5, 11-9.

"Every player has a quality that is different from other players," said ElShorbagy.

"Maybe my quality is that I’m a fighter, I just keep fighting and that’s maybe the thing that kept me alive in this match and got me a win at the end.

"At times, I was playing at my best and I thought that he was the better player at times.

"Some of the shots he was hitting on the back-hand side were unbelievable."

England's Nick Matthew came from two games down to earn a dramatic victory against France's Gregoire Marche at the PSA Qatar Classic in Doha ©PSA
England's Nick Matthew came from two games down to earn a dramatic victory against France's Gregoire Marche at the PSA Qatar Classic in Doha ©PSA

ElShorbagy is now due to meet England’s Nick Matthew, after the fourth seed came from two games down to beat France’s Gregoire Marche 8-11, 9-11, 12-10, 11-8, 11-3.

Australia’s Cameron Pilley was beaten 11-9, 11-1, 8-11, 12-10 by Daryl Selby, which saw the Englishman reach his first World Series semi-final for four years.

Selby will face world champion Karim Abdel Gawad, who beat his Egyptian counterpart Marwan ElShorbagy 11-6, 9-11, 11-6, 11-4.