LAURA Massaro has one foot in the semi-finals at the World Series Finals after battling to victory over compatriot Sarah Jayne Perry in a feisty affair.

The win means the East Lancashire squash star has two wins from two group games ahead of her final match against France's Camille Serme today.

Massaro and Perry have been England teammates on a number of occasions but that didn't stop the pair exchange heated words at the end of a captivating contest.

The Hoghton ace won the first game 15-13 before Perry levelled in the second.

But it was Massaro who prevailed in the decider, winning 11-8, with Perry showing her frustration with the Lancastrian’s movement as the two walked off court.

On the argument Massaro said: "How you can blame me for trying to back in more when I’m crowded to try and create space is just a joke.

“I’m quite angry to finish that match like that. At the end of the day I won.

“There are a couple of movements maybe where the ref rightly says to give better access, but other than that there’s nothing wrong with my movement and I’m fed up of people saying about it.

“We play for England twice a year and we have the Commonwealth Games every four years. It’s not like we’re teammates week in, week out, but obviously we want each other to do well.

“When we step on court to play each other, and I think she’d agree, it’s just like another opponent, it doesn’t really matter. It’s always nice to win when you’re seeded to win and SJ beat me last time we played, so it’s nice to get a win back.”

Massaro made a blistering start to proceedings in Dubai as she stormed into 10-6 lead in the opening game, hitting all of her targets at the back of the court to prevent Perry from using her short game.

Perry showcased her fighting spirit as she came back to force a tie-break and she held two games balls of her own, but Massaro remained composed under pressure to re-establish her lead and go a game up.

Perry responded and raised the intensity of her squash in the second to level the scores but was unable to get the better of her opponent in game three as World No.7 Massaro edged it 11-8 in 48 minutes.