Australia's Cameron Pilley has stormed into the final four of the prestigious World Series squash final in Dubai, an event reserved for only the best eight international players in the past 12 months.
Pilley beat German Simon Rosner 11-2 11-7 to set up a semi-final clash against world number one, Mohamed Elshorbagy, and to become the first Australian since David Palmer in 2008 to make it into the final four of a world series.
"It's an understatement to say I'm feeling pretty good - considering that I just scraped in to get here and it's my first World Series Finals, I am over the moon to reach the semis," said Pilley.
"The likes of Palmer and Ricketts have done well in this event and I'm thrilled to follow in their footsteps, to a certain extent, and I'd be over the moon to get a win tomorrow."
Yamba-born Pilley opened the World Series with a stunning win over world number four Omar Mosaad, but then suffered an 11-3 11-1 defeat at the hands of current world champion, Frenchman Gregory Gaultier.
Pilley, ranked 13th in the world, then had to beat world number 11 Rosner to progress out of the pool stage.
"I felt a little flat yesterday but Greg was as sharp as I have ever seen him, and I think that helped me and gave me a wake-up call and made me realise you can't cruise in this tournament," he said.
"I feel like I'm playing the best squash of my career and physically I feel good. Mentally I'm still keen which is a big thing when you've been on tour as much as me so I'm just looking forward to enjoying the match tomorrow."
The 33-year-old recently credited his turnaround in form, which included finishing runner up to Elshorbagy at December's lucrative Hong Kong Open, to a change in the way he grips his racquet and a different training approach.
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