Joelle King reaches her first ever British Open semi-final

Photo / Supplied

Ngāti Porou squash player Joelle King has created a little bit of personal history by reaching the semi-finals of the British Open.

King, 33, was in the quarter-finals of the tournament for the seventh time having never progressed beyond the last eight.

However, in today’s encounter with fourth seed England's Sarah-Jane Perry it was all on from the start of the match.

King took a crucial first game after 13 minutes of cat and mouse squash. Perry earned herself three game balls after playing some very accurate squash but King fought back to save those three game balls and take the next two points to win 12-10.

King continued this momentum in the next game and capitalised on loose drives from Perry to deliver some quick boasts which Perry was nowhere near. King led 7-4 in the mid-stage of the game and kept a lead throughout and took the game 11-9.

The end came quickly for Perry as King motored through the third game and booked her place in the semi-finals, winning 11-5 in the third and securing a place in her first British Open semi-final at the seventh attempt.

Photo / Supplied

King was thrilled with her performance despite beating a good friend on the court

“SJ and her partner have just had a little baby a few weeks ago, so I know they have been going through so many emotions, so I'm just so glad they've finally got their little boy. But it's so hard to come out and play a friend, you have to set all emotions aside and it's my seventh quarter-final and I just want to go further in these tournaments, King said.

“It helps when you're built the same way, we're both tall players. So it was kind of thinking about how people like to play me and flicking the switch. I've got so many people here today, it's been so long since I’ve seen anyone and I've got all my New Zealand teammates here with me."

King seeded fifth for the tournament will take on second seed Egyptian Hania El Hammamy in the semi-final this Sunday at 2am (NZ time). The 22-year-old Egyptian has a 5-3 winning record against King.