James Willstrop and Nick Matthew lose epic semi-finals at the World Championships However, he had to counter everything that Matthew threw his way. Two games up and gliding his way to a third final, Matthew fought back with trademark Yorkshire grit to send the match into a fourth. And, despite Ashour being warned for "excessive running into his opponent" in the closing stages, the Egyptian edged over the line to win 11-9, 5-11, 11-9, 11-8. Ashour said of his rival: "He has been on top of the world for a few years now. His dedication and attitude were taken to a new level and it is something we have had to try and beat. Ashour will now play compatriot El Shorbagy, who admitted that he had never called upon such levels of endurance in securing his first ever major final appearance. It followed an epic two-hour win over Willstrop, who now relinquishes his world No 1 spot to Ashour in January's rankings. During one rally, Shorbagy was sent scampering front to back at least half a dozen times as Willstrop levelled the match. It was little wonder that a jubilant Shorbagy was slumped in his chair afterwards as he spoke how Jonah Barrington, Britain's most successful player, was behind the Egyptian's push to the final. The six-time British Open champion has mentored Shorbagy since the Alexandrian first studied at Millfield School in Somerset - he is currently studying business at Bristol's West of England University - and following a phone call after his quarter-final win, said to his charge "that it is not good enough, you have your next match to win." "The way Jonah coaches is to be like a champion," added Shorbagy, at 22 the youngest player in the world's top 25. So I closed my phone and told myself I needed to focus. This win is definitely down to what he told me. Nothing separated the two for 80 minutes until Shorbagy took a tight third 14-12. However, Willstrop rallied to win nine points in a row to take it to a decider before the Egyptian landed the final blow. An upbeat Willstrop, who was 6-3 to the good in the decider, said: "I am as strong as anyone in the world but I felt like there was a slight drop. I haven't had a session like that for a while. And nor had those who witnessed these two classics.