(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Kingston upon Hull, United Kingdom--France's Gregory Gaultier and Camille Serme made history with their semi-finals wins at the British Open and could yet make more of it in one of the most surprising editions in the tournament's 93-year existence.
It is the first time France has provided finalists in both the men's and women's events, and the first time any Frenchwoman has ever made the British Open final - but players from England and Columbia also altered the record books in the north English coastal town of Hull on Saturday.
The most notable was Laura Massaro, whose 5-11, 9-11, 11-9, 12-10, 11-8 triumph from match-point down against the legendary titleholder from Malaysia, Nicol David, made her the first Englishwoman to reach three British Open finals since 1967 - long before the professional era.
But defending champion Gaultier's 11-9, 11-3, 11-9 victory was also a landmark occasion, coming as it did against the first South American ever to reach a major squash semi-final, Miguel Rodrigues of Columbia.
If Gaultier and Serme both win again on Sunday it will be a massive French breakthrough in a sport which may gain Olympic acceptance next year.
However, Gaultier faces world number one Mohamed El Shorbagy, whose 11-7, 11-7, 11-5 win over Nick Matthew ended the 34-year-old Englishman's hopes of becoming the oldest British Open champion of the professional era, for this year at least.
If El Shorbagy, carrying a hamstring strain, defeats the second-seeded Gaultier he will become the second Egyptian winner of the men's title in three years following 2013 champion Ramy Ashour.
Gaultier may have a fair chance of upsetting the odds, but Serme, a 11-3, 11-7, 11-6 winner over Delia Arnold, the seed-busting qualifier from Malaysia, will need to find another special performance to get past Massaro.
That is because the 31-year-old home hope, just back from a break in which she pondered quitting squash, produced the most startling comeback of her career to end David's British Open title defence.
Massaro, a former world and British Open champion, came from two games and 0-5 down in the third, and then from match point down at 9-10 in the fourth, to overcome David 5-11, 9-11, 11-9, 12-10,11-8.
"I have been two-nil down to Nicol before and won so I knew that I could do it...though at the moment I'm not quite sure how," said Massaro.
David had a suggestion. "Maybe I stepped back a little (after leading in the third game) and didn't enforce my game as well as I might," she said. "But it was a great match and I really enjoyed playing it."
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