Tesni Evans earned the praise of two-time world champion Nour El Sherbini after bowing out at the PSA World Championships in Chicago.
Wales’ Commonwealth Games medallist lost 3-0 to the world No.2 as she attempted to create a huge upset by making the semi-finals in the sport’s first $1m tournament.
But Evans can take much from pushing El Sherbini towards her best form as the Egyptian won through 11-7, 11-5, 11-7 in 31 minutes.
The Welsh Wizards star is also set to move back inside the top 10 ranked players in the world after making the last eight of the sport’s top event.
Evans, currently ranked No.11, went into the match full of confidence after beating England’s Sarah-Jane Perry – ranked five places above her – to make the quarter-finals.
El Sherbini, who won both the 2015 and 2016 World Championships, eliminated United States No.1 Amanda Sobhy in the previous round after a gripping five-game battle.
Result – Women’s QFs@noursherbini books her place in the semis for a fourth successive time after taking out @tesnievans
3-0: 11-7, 11-5, 11-7 (31m)#SquashSupers pic.twitter.com/pXWcExIdQG
— PSA World Championships (@PSAWorldChamps) March 1, 2019
And she was made to work hard again to keep Evans at bay as the Welsh No.1 dug in with a tenacious performance.
El Sherbini said: “Tesni has been playing very good from the start of the season and improving.
“She’s in the top ten now, and even though it was 3-0, it wasn’t easy. I’m happy with the way I played. I had a tough last round against Amanda, but I had a day off yesterday and recovered well to come back again today refreshed.”
It was Evans’ first defeat after a seven-match winning streak that included retaining her British National title in Nottingham.
El Sherbini will now meet France’s Camille Serme in the semi-finals after the French star put in a masterclass to end the run of New Zealand’s Joelle King, upsetting the No.4 seed 11-7, 11-8, 11-4 in just 37 minutes.
Results – Women’s Quarter-Finals (Bottom Half): 2018-2019 PSA World Championships.
[5] Camille Serme (FRA) bt [4] Joelle King (NZL) 3-0: 11-7, 11-8, 11-4 (37m)
[2] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) bt [10] Tesni Evans (WAL) 3-0: 11-7, 11-5, 11-7 (31m)
Draw – Women’s Semi-Finals: To Be Played March 1st
[1] Raneem El Welily (EGY) v [3] Nour El Tayeb (EGY)
[5] Camille Serme (FRA) v [2] Nour El Sherbini (EGY)