World Champion Gregory Gaultier and World No.1 Mohamed ElShorbagy both crashed out of the 2016 Cathay Pacific Sun Hung Kai Financial Hong Kong Open during a whirlwind day of second round action that saw all but one of the men's seeded players sent packing.
In a repeat of last year's title decider ElShorbagy - who claimed the trophy in both 2014 and 2015 - went up against hard-hitting Cameron Pilley but it was the 33-year-old Australian who enthralled the crowd, saving match ball in the fourth game before sealing an impressive victory 11-9, 8-11, 9-11, 14-12, 11-9 after a punishing 91 minutes of action.
"I have a decent record again Mohamed so I know how to play him," said Pilley, who stunned World Champion Gregory Gaultier and then World No.2 Nick Matthew to reach the Hong Kong Open final last year.
"There are days, like the final last year, where players can just completely out play you, so I knew I had to make sure I was sharp from the first point and that I stuck to my game plan today.
"I didn't want him coming on and blasting me off court so I had to stick in there and make it known that I was in for the long haul. Getting that mental side right is huge, and I've managed to do that pretty well over the past year.
"I had a great run here last year and when you have a run like that you try and replicate the same things you did the year before - so I've been trying to eat the same things, get on the same schedule and get those same feeling and vibes. Hopefully I can get back into that routine and leave it all out there tomorrow."
Pilley will now face World No.8 Karim Abdel Gawad, the only remaining seed in the competition, for a place in the semi-finals while 21-year-old Fares Dessouky pulled off a huge upset against World Champion Gregory Gaultier, coming from 2-1 down to knock the 32-year-old out of a PSA World Series event at the second round stage for the first time since 2009.
Dessouki played a relentless attacking game from the off as he tested Gaultier's traditionally impeccable movement and it was a tactic that paid off, as sumptuous winner after sumptuous winner delivered the victory after 83-minutes.
"To beat Greg feels amazing," said Dessouky.
"Most of the times we have played he has beaten me 3-0, but last time, in El Gouna, it was much closer so I knew I could get to him. I trained really hard in the summer for these kind of tough battles and I think I played one of my best matches today.
"The pressure was all on his shoulders so I used that as an advantage. I have worked hard on trying to kill the ball more and improve my short game and it worked. It's great to be in the quarters so I'll try and recover as best I can and come back for another big match."
Dessouki will now take on local favourite Max Lee after the World No.18 played with precision and confidence to outmanoeuvre World No.9 Ali Farag and reach the last eight of his home event for the first time in his career.
"I'm so happy," said Lee. "I was getting very excited towards the end of the fourth game because I wanted to win here in front of my home crowd - to be in the quarters is great."
In the women's draw Egyptian Nour El Tayeb stole the headlines as she kept alive hopes of reaching a second consecutive Hong Kong Open final by defeating best friend and number three seed Raneem El Welily - the former World No.1.
The 23-year-old reached the title-decider on her last appearance in Hong Kong in 2014 and she produced a performance of note to upset the seedings and beat El Welily 3-1 in a replica of their last meeting during the 2015 U.S. Open, when a thrilling encounter saw El Tayeb triumph in five-games albeit at the expense of a shoulder injury that ruled her out for the rest of the season.
"I can't really believe that I have won," said El Tayeb. "It just feels great to be playing pain-free and winning again.
"When I was 8-2 up in the fourth I couldn't really b
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