Gaultier, third seed, ousted Shabana, the top seed and World's number 1, 11-9, 5-11, 11-5, 11-9 in 62 minutes to reach the final.

"I was just not sharp,” he admitted after the match. “Greg is a player who will chase the ball down and spread it about. I need to be at my sharpest to beat him, to make the winners that can cut him off. Today I was almost there but not quite," said Shabana.

The 28-year-old Egyptian followed his fellow country men Wael Hatem, Karim Darwish and Mohamed Abbas who were forced out in the second round.

Gaultier will face on Monday, in the final, the winner from Thierry Lincou and David Palmer who play later on today.