World No.1 Amr Shabana remained on course to retain his crown after disposing of Australia's Stewart Boswell in a five-game second-round thriller at the Endurance World Open last night.

Despite being far from his best, Shabana wore the 12th ranked seed down to record a 8-11, 11-4, 11-2, 9-11, 11-4 victory over 65 minutes.

But the Egyptian did not have it all his own way, with the conqueror of Bermuda's James Stout in the opening round testing his mettle with a hard-fought first-game win and the Aussie took the fourth one by two points.

Speaking after the match, the 28-year-old, originally from Cairo, admitted it was a tough contest and paid tribute to his Antipodean opponent, who had only recently come back from two years out due to injury.

"The body is fine, but it is not easy," he said. "I have always been 100 percent mentally and everybody is out to get you, so there is a lot of pressure there.

"He (Boswell) is a top player — I have seen him play and he has always been a top player.

"But, I guess with each win you get, you feel more confident.

"I will rest tomorrow (Wednesday) and be stronger for the quarter-final."

Shabana, who has firmly set his sights on joining the all-time greats Jeff Hunt and Jahangir and Jansher Khan after lifting the Saudi, Qatar and Hong Kong championship titles earlier this year, will now face sixth seed Thierry Lincou in the quarter-finals tomorrow.

The Frenchman breezed past his English counterpart Jonathan Kemp inside three games, 12-10, 11-5, 11-5, in the second game at the Fairmont Southampton venue.

The 31-year-old former world number one, who was born in Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean and now lives in Marseille, was rarely in trouble as he put his pre-tournament qualifying competitor to the sword.

"I am glad to keep on playing and stay in good shape," said Lincou.

"There are no easy rounds and this tournament proves it right because so many senior players have to be careful and focused and this is becoming a bit more important now, so we are getting ready for it."

The match of the night saw Bermudian fans' favourite and number three seed David Palmer up against English rival Peter Barker.

The Australian won in three games, but was pushed all the way by his younger challenger in a pulsating 12-10, 11-7, 11-9 match in front of a lively crowd.

After the game, he revealed playing in Bermuda gives him an edge over his opponents. "It is obviously great — I have got a lot of support here," he said. "I don't feel as good as the first round and I am just happy to get through.

"Because there are no squash championships in Australia, this is like my home tournament and I look forward to it every year."

The final match produced the upset of the night with unseeded Welshman Alex Gough, victorious over England's Lee Beachill in the first round, triumphing over number nine seed Wael El Hindi.

Gough clinched victory 11-4, 7-11, 11-4, 11-7 to book his place in the last eight against Palmer.

The pick of today's matches sees number two seed Frenchman Gregory Gaultier against Hisham Mohd of Egypt.