Top seed Ramy Ashour was in devastating form as he powered into the semi-finals of the Aon US Squash Open in Chicago, leaving organisers to frantically look for extra seating for the business end of the tournament.
The 21 year-old world champion, who will not participate in the British Open next week, produced a dazzling array of spectacular winners to beat fellow Egyptian Wael El Hindi in straight games.
Ashour launched a blistering attack from the start of the match and won the opening two games in quick fashion with a succession of unplayable shots.
El Hindi led for much of the third game but Ashour clinched the tiebreak 13-11 to book a place in the last four against Australia's David Palmer.
Ashour said: "I was very happy with the way I played and I hope it was entertaining for the crowd. I am still learning new ways to play the game and I always enjoy trying new shots."
Palmer, the 2002 US Open champion, also won in straight-games against Olli Tuominen of Finland. It was a repeat of Palmer's semi-final victory over the same opponent as he won last week's Colombian Open in Bogota.
No 7 seed James Willstrop triumphed against fellow Englishman Peter Barker in the longest match of the night in front of a sell-out crowd around the open-air glass court off Michigan Avenue.
Willstrop won a brutal battle 11-8, 13-15, 11-9, 11-13, 11-8 in 85 minutes of high-quality squash against the No.4 seed Barker, who won last year's Sweet Home Chicago Open at the same stunning venue.
The result left Barker still seeking his first win against Willstrop after 15 defeats, but this was one of their closest ever encounters as Barker won two tiebreaks to take the match the full distance.
After closing out the first game, Willstrop wasted four game balls in the second before Barker won the tiebreak 15-13. Willstrop edged the third but Barker hit back again to win the fourth game tiebreak. Willstrop started the fifth game strongly and withstood a spirited recovery by his international team-mate to reach the semi-finals.
Willstrop, who played the game with his right ankle heavily strapped, admitted: "This is such a crazy game. The damage we do to our bodies is ridiculous. We throw ourselves all over court, we wake up the next day with aching bodies, and then we show up the next night and do it all again."
Willstrop faces No.2 seed Amr Shabana in the semi-finals after the three-time world champion from Cairo overcame England's Adrian Grant.
Grant tried to match Shabana's shot-making ability but fell in four games of high-quality squash.
Shabana said: "Adrian looked on fire tonight, He is a very good player and was attacking a lot more than usual. James and I always have crazy matches and it should be a very entertaining semi-final."
With another sell-out guaranteed for the semi-finals, organisers were looking into the possibility of installing more temporary seating before tonight's programme gets under way.
If anything, it is a boost to a sport in need of a lift after the International Olympic Comittee left squash off the 2016 agenda during its executive meeting in Berlin last month.
Aon US Open Semi-finals:
Shabana v Willstrop
Palmer v Ashour
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