KINGSTON UPON HULL, United Kingdom: Raneem El Welily, who needed to rebuild her confidence after losing the world number one spot last year, fought back to book her spot in the quarter-finals of the British Open on Thursday.

The brilliant but sometimes enigmatic Egyptian also revealed a steelier mentality as she came from behind in all three games to win 11-9, 14-12, 11-6 against Sarah-Jane Perry, the tenth-seeded Englishwoman.

Perry, forceful, ambitious and good in the air, led 9-6 in the first game, 9-7 in the second, and 4-1 in the third, but each time was pegged back by the world number three, who added some great retrieves to her flair for stroke-making combinations.

El Welily also saved two game points in the important second game. These recoveries as well as her alert court coverage indicated something of the extent of El Welily’s mental rehabilitation.

“I didn’t realize it when I was in it,” she said of the pressure placed upon her when she became number one. “Now I am out of it I look back and I see it! It was a lot of pressure — I just wasn’t enjoying it any more.”

She responded with hard work and improvements in her movement and her triumph at the Windy City Open in Chicago last month suggested she was putting these darker moods behind her, as well as her encouraging progress here.

The first game El Welily rescued with two drop shots tight on the wall, a fine volley to a perfect length, and an error-inducing lob on game point.

The second saw her produce a spate of delicate volley drops, and some fine control with volleys and drives at the business end of the game.

And the third showed her developing capacity for sharp anticipation and explosive movement — a vital improvement with the lowering of the tin in the women’s game six months ago.

Perry too produced some fine winners, as well as some spectacular dives, but she was breathing hard well before the end, a result of the constant work her opponent had loaded upon her.

El Welily next plays her compatriot Nouran Gohar, the 18-year-old world junior champion whom she beat in Chicago, but whose 11-7, 11-3, 11-8 win over Annie Au, the top ten player from Hong Kong, showed how physically strong she is and how heavily she strikes the ball.

“I’m trying to concentrate on the British Open, and I’m pleased to win this in this way,” Gohar said. “But it will be hard to play against Raneem, because we know each other so well.

“She’s a very good friend and a role model for me, and she’s been awesome for the sport. And I can’t say to her ‘come and coach me’ in this match now.”

Later the possibility of two brothers meeting in the semifinals came closer when Marwan El Shorbagy, the twice former world junior champion, progressed after only two games, with his opponent Saurav Ghosal retiring with a damaged ankle.

His elder brother Mohamed El Shorbagy, the British Open titleholder, was due to make his attempt on a quarter-final place with a match against James Willstrop, the former wold number one from England.

The winner will play Miguel Angel Rodriguez, who was disciplined, fast, and consistent as he came back from second and third game deficits in an 11-3, 11-8, 11-8 win over Mohamed Abouelghar, a talented Egyptian qualifier.