England squash star Jenny Duncalf failed to get the 23rd birthday present she was hoping for in Monaco when she was defeated by lower-ranked England team-mate Alison Waters in an hour-long quarter-final battle in the Women's Monte Carlo Classic.

Seventh seed Waters, who moved up to a career-high 13 in the WISPA world rankings this month - just four places behind Duncalf - romped to a two-game lead before her Yorkshire opponent fought back to reduce the deficit. In the fourth game, the Londoner led 5-3 - but Duncalf came back to draw level at 7-7.

In the dramatic final stages of the encounter, Duncalf saved a match ball before securing her own game ball at 9-8. But it was to no avail, as underdog Waters moved on to clinch victory 9-7 9-1 6-9 10-9 in 56 minutes - and a place in the semi-finals for the first time in three years.

Waters, 21, will meet fourth seed Madeline Perry for a place in the final. The Irish champion was made to toil for 75 minutes before beating England's eighth seed Laura-Jane Lengthorn 9-3 5-9 9-5 9-6.

There will also be English interest in the other semi-final when third seed Tania Bailey takes on top seed Vanessa Atkinson, from the Netherlands. Bailey, the 26-year-old from Lincolnshire, reached her fourth successive WISPA World Tour semi-final after a 9-0 9-3 4-9 9-1 victory over fifth seed Annelize Naude. Atkinson, the world champion from The Hague, took just 24 minutes to despatch France's sixth seed Isabelle Stoehr 9-2 9-0 9-2.

Quarter-finals:
[1] Vanessa Atkinson (NED) bt [6] Isabelle Stoehr (FRA) 9-2, 9-0, 9-2 (24m)
[3] Tania Bailey (ENG) bt [5] Annelize Naude (NED) 9-0, 9-3, 4-9, 9-1 (41m)
[4] Madeline Perry (IRL) bt [8] Laura-Jane Lengthorn (ENG) 9-3, 5-9, 9-5, 9-6 (75m)
[7] Alison Waters (ENG) bt [2] Jenny Duncalf (ENG) 9-7, 9-1, 6-9, 10-9 (56m)