A DAY after beating world squash champion Rodney Eyles in the first round of the Kuwait Open Derek Ryan won through to the semifinals of the tournament last night by beating Egyptian Omar Elborolossy 3-1 in an 85-minute match.

Elborolossy fought back from going two sets down to win the third and Ryan was forced to dig deep in a tense fourth game to clinch the match.

Ryan plays Belgium's Stefan Casteleyn in tonight's semi-finals, with the winner likely to meet top seed and world number one Peter Nicol in the final. Casteleyn is ranked just one place below Ryan in the world, at 18, and won their last meeting in the Greenwich Open in January.