After an intense opening two games, Serme, of France, prevailed against the New Zealander, winning 12-10, 9-11, 11-5, 11-4 at the National Squash Centre.

King squandered three game balls in the opening game as Serme won five points unopposed to take an early lead.

Serme then let slip a 7-3 lead in the second as King drew level, but the Frenchwoman dropped just nine points in the next two games to secure a quarter-final victory.

"I’m very happy to have won, it was a big match and I expected it to be," said Serme.

"It seemed like there were long rallies and we were both running a lot trying to find our targets at the back and she did really well with her lobbing and having me in the back.

"She had a bit of a low in the fourth after serving out and I thought that was my chance and I was happy to win it quite comfortably."

Fourth seed Hania El Hammamy will take on Serme in the semi-finals after the Egyptian produced an impressive display to beat compatriot Salma Hany in straight sets.

El Hammamy won the first game in just seven minutes before completing an 11-3, 11-5, 11-3 triumph in less than half an hour.

El Hammamy will play England's third seed Sarah-Jane Perry in the last four, after Perry won in straight games 11-7, 11-4, 11-8 against Wales' Tesni Evans, the seventh seed. 

Second seed Nour El Tayeb of Egypt also advanced in straight games, seeing off American Amanda Sobhy 11-7, 11-6, 12-10.

Men’s world number one Mohamed El Shorbagy continued his quest for glory with a quarter-final victory over Wales’ Joel Makin.

The Egyptian dropped a game for the first time in this year’s tournament but still had too much for Makin, clinching an 11-4, 11-7, 8-11, 11-7 win.

El Shorbagy will meet Paul Coll in the last four after the New Zealander came through a five-game battle against reigning world champion Tarek Momen.

Coll recovered from losing the first game to win 4-11, 11-3, 11-9, 9-11, 11-7 in more than an hour.

Marwan El Shorbagy of Egypt also came out on top in a punishing 88-minute clash as he withstood a fightback from his fellow countryman Ali Farag.

After losing the first two games, Farag battled back to take it to a decider but El Shorbagy held his nerve to take the match 14-12, 11-7, 6-11, 6-11, 11-8.

In the other quarter-final, third seed Karim Abdel Gawad of Egypt beat Simon Rosner, the German seventh seed, in four games 6-11, 11-4, 11-7, 11-6.