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08/08/2021
British National Championship 2021
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British National Championship 2021
Men's Draw
03 - 06 Aug
Manchester, England |
Final:
[1] Joel Makin (WAL) bt [3] Adrian Waller (ENG) 11-7, 11-2, 11-1
(40m)
Semi-finals:
[1] Joel Makin (WAL) bt Declan James (ENG) 12-10, 13-11, 11-3 (70m)
[3] Adrian Waller (ENG) bt George Parker (ENG) 11-9, 9-11, 11-7, 9-11,
11-9 (83m)
Quarter-finals:
[1] Joel Makin (WAL) bt Nathan Lake (ENG) 11-6, 11-5, 11-7 (45m)
Declan James (ENG) bt [4] Greg Lobban (SCO) 11-6, 8-11, 11-7, 11-7 (73m)
[3] Adrian Waller (ENG) bt Patrick Rooney (ENG) 11-6, 12-14, 6-11,
12-10, 12-10 (76m)
George Parker (ENG) bt [2] James Willstrop (ENG) 13-11, 11-9, 3-11,
10-12, 11-7 (80m)
1st round:
[1] Joel Makin (WAL) bt Rory Stewart (SCO) 11-4, 11-8, 11-7 (51m)
Nathan Lake (ENG) bt Richie Fallows (ENG) 11-9, 11-5, 12-10 (35m)
Declan James (ENG) bt Sean Conroy (IRL) 11-9, 11-7, 11-4 (42m)
[4] Greg Lobban (SCO) bt Sam Todd (ENG) 11-8, 4-11, 11-8, 8-11, 11-3
(61m)
[3] Adrian Waller (ENG) bt Connor Sheen (ENG) 12-10, 11-6, 11-6 (33m)
Patrick Rooney (ENG) bt Emyr Evans (WAL) 11-4, 9-11, 11-2, 11-7 (47m)
George Parker (ENG) bt Ben Coleman (ENG) 11-4, 7-11, 11-2, 11-6 (62m)
[2] James Willstrop (ENG) bt Miles Jenkins (ENG) 8-11, 11-5, 11-2, 11-7
(52m)
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British National Championship 2021
Women's Draw
03 - 06 Aug
Manchester, England |
|
Final:
[1] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) bt Georgina Kennedy (ENG) 9-11, 11-4,
11-8, 11-6 (39m)
Semi-finals:
[1] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) bt [3] Emily Whitlock (WAL) 7-11, 18-16,
13-11, 11-8 (62m)
Georgina Kennedy (ENG) bt [2] Tesni Evans (WAL) 14-12, 10-12, 11-5, 11-9
(55m)
Quarter-finals:
[1] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) bt Rachael Chadwick (ENG) 11-1, 11-6,
11-7 (20m)
[3] Emily Whitlock (WAL) bt Alicia Mead (ENG) 8-11, 11-6, 11-2, 11-4
(37m)
Georgina Kennedy (ENG) bt [4] Lucy Turmel (ENG) 10-12, 14-12, 11-4, 11-5
(54m)
[2] Tesni Evans (WAL) bt Jasmine Hutton (ENG) 11-8, 11-8, 11-6 (34m)
1st round:
[1] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) bt Jasmin Kalar (ENG) 11-6, 11-4, 11-4
(18m)
Rachael Chadwick (ENG) bt Nia Davies (WAL) 11-4, 11-9, 11-2 (20m)
Alicia Mead (ENG) bt Anna Kimberley (ENG) 11-9, 6-11, 7-11, 6-4 ret.
(43m)
[3] Emily Whitlock (WAL) bt Margot Prow (ENG) 11-4, 11-1, 11-3 (21m)
[4] Lucy Turmel (ENG) bt Katie Malliff (ENG) 18-16, 11-8, 11-6 (46m)
Georgina Kennedy (ENG) bt Lisa Aitken (SCO) 13-11, 11-8, 11-4 (41m)
Jasmine Hutton (ENG) bt Ali Loke (WAL) 11-4, 11-3, 11-8 (25m)
[2] Tesni Evans (WAL) bt Saran Nghiem (ENG) 11-3, 11-5, 11-5 (22m) |
Top Seeds Perry and Makin Claim British National
Championship Titles
 England’s
Sarah-Jane Perry and Welshman Joel Makin were victorious on finals night
at the National Squash Centre in Manchester, with the pair claiming the
2021 British National Championships titles.
Perry, the World No.6, defended the British National crown she claimed
last year, with her third victory overall in the tournament, six years
after she took her first back in 2015.
She came up against the in-form Georgina Kennedy, who was featuring in
her first Nationals final, but had lost just one of her last 28 matches
on the PSA World Tour, winning five titles in the process.
It was the Harvard-grad that took the first game, which was played at a
frenetic pace, and it suited Kennedy, as she won the last few points to
secure an 11-9 scoreline and take the lead.
 From
there, though, Perry’s experience shone through. She moved slightly
further up towards the ’T’ and that was key, as she was able to get in
front of Kennedy and that saw her hold the advantage. She won the next
three games quite comfortably to secure her third Nationals title,
putting her alongside Martine Le Moignan, who also won this event three
times during her career.
“I had to give myself a team talk every rally today. The one beforehand
clearly didn’t give me a kick up the bum enough, she started like a
rocket as you’d expect and she caught me out with so many short balls in
that first game, where I hit ok shots but she was fearless in attacking
it,” the now three-time champion said.
“She’s playing really well, I had to really force myself up the court
today and it’s not something I’ve done amazingly well over my whole
career but I know it’s better when I do. I felt a bit sluggish and a bit
tired today but I knew I had to do that and I’m really pleased I managed
to cover the short balls and get on the volley more.
“It’s not too much of a secret that I almost didn’t play this week. I
was struggling a bit with a niggle in my knee, not the one that was a
problem yesterday, the other one! But it cleared up just in time and
it’s a special title, so I really wanted to come and defend it and I’m
glad I did. Some of my family have come today, my mum is a little unwell
so she couldn’t make it, but my dad, my partner and my god-kids are all
here, so they were my coaches in between games. If you add their IQs
together then you get about double Rob’s [Owen]!
“Last few points, I was just saying ‘push, push’. If I can inspire any
of these kids that are watching, I’ve got to leave everything out there,
so that’s what I was thinking about towards the end.”
Kennedy said: “It’s been a really good week for me. Always disappointed
to lose but I have to give credit to SJ because she made me really
uncomfortable on the court today and I didn’t really have an answer for
how she was playing, so it’s thoroughly deserved.
“I can’t have any complaints about my week, it’s the first time I’ve
played Nationals since 2016 before I went off to Uni, so if you had of
told me a few months ago, I would’ve been standing here in the final –
I’d have taken that all day long. Thank you to everyone for putting this
event on.”
 The
men’s event was always destined to have a first-time winner etched into
its history, as both Joel Makin and Adrian Waller were aiming to win
their maiden British Nationals crown.
The Welshman had come through the tournament without dropping a game,
while Waller had had to battle his way through two brutal five-gamers to
make this stage, against Patrick Rooney and George Parker.
That freshness helped Makin in his bid for the title, and once he had
claimed the first game 11-7, it was plain sailing for the World No.10,
as he restricted Waller to just three points over the next two games, to
complete a dominant and history-making performance.
“The last time I got through to the final it was a tough loss for me. It
gave me a lot to go away with and work on, so I wanted to come into this
week and put that right. It was before lockdown and COVID, so I had a
lot of time to think about it and turn things around. I really wanted to
come here, play well and put in a solid and professional performance and
3-0 – I was happy with that for sure,” the Welshman said.
“I like to out-position people, that’s the part of the sport I like.
Taking a lot of pace through the middle, volleying and taking early and
working people – that’s what I enjoy about it and that’s how I like to
play. I got that right this week.
“You could look at last year as being the first final that I’d made, but
I wasn’t looking at it like that, I wasn’t happy with it. James [Willstrop]
put together a brilliant performance and you have to take that on the
chin, he played quality and he exposed some of my qualities but it gave
me time to go away and work on it and that’s what you need sometimes.
“It’s exciting having squash back in the UK, especially with a proper
crowd and hopefully it grows over the next few weeks. We enjoy it as
professional players, it’s been a tough year for everyone and we’ve
spent a lot of time in Egypt but we enjoy playing the UK events, so I’m
looking forward to it and I should be sharp for next week.”
Waller said: “I’m quite proud with how I battled through this week. The
last two matches were really long and really hard, finished late last
night, so I’m pretty proud to come through those first three matches but
today was probably one match too far and Joel was too strong. Otherwise,
happy to be back playing and feeling stronger and just going to try and
kick on from here in the next few weeks. Try to work forward from here.” |
Kennedy Downs Two-Time Champ Evans To Reach First British
Nationals Final
 Georgina
Kennedy is through to the final of the British National Championships
for the first time after she took down two-time champion Tesni Evans in
the semi-finals at the National Squash Centre in Manchester, becoming
the first woman ranked outside the top 50 to make the final in the
tournament’s 46-year history.
The in-form Kennedy has now lost just one of her last 28 matches, having
claimed five titles on the PSA Challenger Tour over the course of the
last three months, and she has continued that momentum into the British
Nationals.
In a battle of playing styles, it was Kennedy that took the first game
on a lengthy tie-break 14-12, and she had her chances to double that
lead, but Evans fought back, levelling up the match with a tie-break
victory of her own.
It was the World No.74, who is playing well above her ranking right now,
who came to the fore over the last couple of games, and although Evans
saved a couple of match balls, it was the Englishwoman that succeeded,
booking her place in the final for the first time.
“I honestly can’t believe it. I came into this tournament with full
confidence that I could potentially get to the final but also with full
confidence that I could get knocked out in the first round. I just want
to say well played to Tesni, she’s had a really tough year with her
injuries and stuff, so it’s great to see her playing to a good level
again,” Kennedy said.
“The games were so close, they could have gone either way, and I’m
literally just risking everything with those shots at the end, they
could have gone up or down, so it was just lucky in the end, but I’m so
happy to be in the final tomorrow.
“I like to go into a tie-break with the mentality where if they beat
you, then fair enough, but don’t go in and lose it for yourself. I try
and do that but sometimes make silly decisions. You have to make
yourself hard to beat and make every single point really difficult.
“It’s massive having someone to talk to between games and Camps [David
Campion] is really helpful calming me down and making sure I stick to
the plan. He reminded me not to go for silly shots, which I did, so
sorry about that, Camps, but it paid off.
“I just want to see how far I can go and climb up the rankings. I love
competing, I love training, and I feel lucky that this is my job. I’m
really excited to keep going and seeing what happens.”
 Kennedy
will play fellow Englishwoman, and reigning British Nationals champion,
Sarah-Jane Perry, in the final on Friday evening, after the World No.6
overcame a tough challenge from Welshwoman Emily Whitlock.
The event’s top seed has cruised through her opening two rounds, but
came up against Whitlock who was near her best. The Welshwoman took the
first game, and had several game balls in both the second and third
games, but was unable to capitalise, with Perry taking both, before
securing a 3-1 victory to reach her fifth Nationals final.
“I don’t feel like I played my best squash but some of that is credit to
Emily for playing squash and not letting me get away with anything that
wasn’t really good,” Perry said.
“She played some great stuff and I said that to her at the end. I’m just
pleased to get through really, and we’ll see if I improve tomorrow.”
 Men’s
top seed Joel Makin is through to a second consecutive British National
Championships final after he got the better of England’s Declan James in
an attritional, 70-minute battle.
The World No.10, who lost out to England’s James Willstrop in the final
of the 2020 edition, will contest the final for a second time, thanks to
putting work into the legs of James over the course of their lengthy
three-game affair.
It took an hour for the first two games, as Makin continued to lengthen
rallies, and it paid off for him in the end, after winning both on
tie-breaks. He then won the third game 11-3 to secure his place in the
final, where he will aim to become the first Welshman to win the title.
“30-minute games are perfect. He was getting in front of me and hitting
his kills, and I had to get my width because he’s so big through the
middle. The middle of the second game was messy… but you’ve got to adapt
to that, find a way around him, and use that to your advantage, and
that’s what I started to do at the start of the third,” he explained.
“I always want to back myself as soon as it goes long. It’s something
that has to be there because if your squash isn’t working then that has
to be there to fall back on. It wasn’t at the start of the match, but
you’ve got hit your spots around the back and work your way into it.”
 The
‘Golden Tiger’ will face No.3 seed Adrian Waller in the men’s final on
Friday evening, after the Englishman defeated compatriot George Parker
in the semi-finals in a well-fought five-game battle the end the
evening’s action.
Both men had come through epic battles in the quarter-finals, with
Waller getting the better of Patrick Rooney, while Parker took out
defending champion James Willstrop make the last four.
The World No.21 held the lead twice in the match, after winning both the
first and third games, but twice Parker fought back into it, levelling
up the contest. Waller was able to run clear in the fifth game, and he
had six match balls. The man from Leicester saved five of them, but
Waller held on to take the last of them, booking his place in his first
final at the British Nationals.
“I think the first half of that game [the fifth], George started really
slowly and gave me some errors,” said Waller.
“When he changed his game and stepped back into the pace that we were
playing in the first couple of games, it caught me off guard, and it
took me a long time reset, if at all. I was so close to the finish line,
but he completely changed his game, so I’m just glad to get off really.
“Joel is a really good player, he’s very strong, very fit, and he hits
nice, clean lines. I’m going to have to match that, today’s match wasn’t
the best from me and George, we were both a little off the pace, so I’m
going to need to step it up tomorrow and find more quality, otherwise
Joel will be all over it.”
The semi-finals of the 2021 British National Championships take place
tomorrow (Thursday, August 5) with play starting at 17:30 (GMT+1).
Action from the glass court inside Manchester’s National Squash Centre
will be broadcast live on
SQUASHTV (to users with a free digital subscription), the
England
Squash and
PSA
World Tour Facebook pages, as well as
englandsquash.tv.
For updates on the British National Squash Championships, please visit
the official
tournament website or follow England Squash on
Twitter,
Facebook and
Instagram.
|
Parker Takes Out Defending Champion Willstrop
To Reach British National Championships Semi-Finals
 George
Parker ended James Willstrop’s British National Championships title
defence after beating the former World No.1 in the quarter-finals of
this year’s event at the National Squash Centre in Manchester.
Parker, who lost to Willstrop in the last four in 2020, got revenge for
that defeat, but he had to work hard for it, as he saw the event’s top
seed come back from two games down to send the match into a deciding
game, in the final contest of the evening’s action.
The man from Leicester, ranked twenty places below Willstrop, went out
to a commanding two-game lead in their quarter-final clash, but the
37-year-old fought his way back into the contest, even saving match
balls in the fourth to tie the match at two games apiece.
Parker flew out of the blocks in the deciding game, winning the first
ten points to put himself on the brink of a second consecutive
semi-final at this event. Willstrop saved seven match balls, but the
World No.39 eventually got over the line, taking the win to move into
the last four after 80 minutes.
“With James, it’s difficult because his squash is always so good,”
Parker said.
“You have to be moving so well from the start. I started warming up from
around 6pm because I got here early and it was on late. I felt a bit
sluggish, but when I got into the game I thought it was probably 50/50
all the way through.
“We were both playing attacking squash and it was quite short and sharp.
As it went on I started to break him down physically, but I always had
it in the back of my mind that he was never going to go away. He’s so
tough and I had a bit of doubt in my mind from losing the fourth when I
was up and it was getting edgy in the end.
“I needed that and I think if he won that last point it would have gone
to a tie-break because he is so tough mentally. I struggled a bit during
the lockdown, we were playing in Egypt a lot and I was losing the first
round every time. It knocks your confidence every time because you’re
not playing for six weeks off the back of a bad loss and all you’re
thinking about is how you played last time.
“In the past few weeks I did quite well at the Worlds and I’m playing
more. I’m doing exhibitions with Joel [Makin] and I feel more confident
and match sharp. It’s nice to get to the semi-finals two years in a row
because it’s nice to play home players on home soil.”
Parker will now play No.3 seed Adrian Waller in the semi-finals, after
Waller came through a five-game contest against Patrick Rooney. The
other semi-final will see top seed Joel Makin take on Declan James,
after the Englishman knocked out No.4 seed Greg Lobban in the
quarter-finals.
 In
the women’s event, World No.74 Georgina Kennedy continued her amazing
form as she recorded a 3-1 victory over compatriot Lucy Turmel to
gate-crash the semi-finals at the British Nationals Championships at the
National Squash Centre in Manchester.
Kennedy, who has won five out of her last six events on the Challenger
Tour and is making her first appearance at the British National
Championships since 2016, came up against the tournament’s No.4 seed,
Lucy Turmel, in the quarter-finals on Wednesday evening.
Turmel took the lead after winning a tense first game 12-10 and she then
had her chance to go two games ahead, but Kennedy was able to fight back
and take it 14-12. The Harvard graduate was able to maintain the
momentum and secure victory over the next two games, allowing Turmel
just nine points, as she booked her place in the semi-finals of the
British Nationals for the first time.
“That match was tough. Lucy was giving me nothing today. I had to fight
so hard for every single point and I really struggled today. Well done
to her, that could have gone either way and that second game was
crucial. I feel lucky to be standing here, it could have been either one
of us,” Kennedy said.
“Going 2-0 down would have been a challenge. The first two games were
very physical and I felt in the third that I started to get on top of
her a bit more. And in the first two she had me all over the shop, I was
so lucky to win that.
“If I had gone 2-0 down it would have been a completely different story.
I felt like I had to speed things up a bit and the pace I was playing in
the first two games was just too comfortable for her. She’s so accurate,
and I could barely get it off the wall most of the time.”
She will now face World No.11, and two-time British Nationals Champion,
Tesni Evans, in the last four, after the Welshwoman defeated England’s
Jasmine Hutton, last year’s runner-up, in straight games.
Top seed and reigning champion Sarah-Jane Perry will face 2019 runner-up
Emily Whitlock in the other women's semi-final after the pair came
through their last eight clashes against England’s Rachael Chadwick and
Alicia Mead.
The semi-finals of the 2021 British National Championships take place
tomorrow (Thursday, August 5) with play starting at 17:30 (GMT+1).
Action from the glass court inside Manchester’s National Squash Centre
will be broadcast live on
SQUASHTV (to users with a free digital subscription), the
England
Squash and
PSA
World Tour Facebook pages, as well as
englandsquash.tv.
For updates on the British National Squash Championships, please visit
the official
tournament website or follow England Squash on
Twitter,
Facebook and
Instagram.
Tickets are available for purchase
here. |
Defending Champions Advance On Opening Day Of
British National Championships
Defending British Nationals champions Sarah-Jane Perry and James
Willstrop are through to the quarter-finals of this year’s event, after
both taking wins on the opening day at Manchester’s National Squash
Centre.
The English duo both came through their first round contests on Tuesday
to book their last eight spots, defeating England’s Jasmin Kalar and
Miles Jenkins, respectively, on the glass court.
Perry, a two-time British Nationals champion, having won the event in
2015 and 2020, needed just 18 minutes to win her opening match in
Manchester, getting the better of World No.219 Jasmin Kalar.
The World No.6, who defeated England’s Jasmine Hutton in the final of
this event last year, will now face another compatriot, in Rachael
Chadwick, in the quarter-finals tomorrow.
“I am one of the more experienced players in the draw,” said Perry
following her win.
“I have to try and use that to my advantage in every round. There’s a
lot of players nipping at the heels of the more experienced players,
which is good for British squash. I’ve just got to try and keep them all
at bay, we’ve not actually played before, but I’ve seen her name in a
few tournaments recently and she has been doing alright in those. I
didn’t want to come out here and not give her respect, because she
definitely deserves that. I thought she did well and took the game to me
– I love to see that in the younger players.
“I think one of the parts of that experience is playing on glass courts
and it can be a daunting thing to walk on here. I think for those
younger players they seem to have that sorted, they’re a step ahead of
where I was.”
Four-time British Nationals champion James Willstrop was the only member
of the top two seeds to drop a game in his opening contest of the week,
as he fought from behind to defeat compatriot Miles Jenkins to advance
to the last eight.
Willstrop, who won the event in 2007, 2008, 2019 and 2020, lost the
first game 11-8, but battled back to take the next three, booking his
place in the quarter-finals where he will face George Parker on
Wednesday evening.
“He’s been playing for a month in a lot of tournaments, he’s really
sharp at the moment and I haven’t had as many match sharpeners as he
has, so I was mentally ready for it but he didn’t give me any chances,”
said Willstrop afterwards.
“We just had to keep rallying down the backhand side, not the most
entertaining maybe but the accuracy was great down the left wall. I just
couldn’t find the chances to get in, I wanted to but I couldn’t get
there and it was credit to the build-up and length play of him, he made
it very tough.
“There was a lot of good changes of pace and things, but it was down the
left wall and sometimes you have to stick with it and things start to
happen in the middle of games. I’ve done it enough times and I know how
these things pan out, so I use my experience to try and help that along.
“It the young players’ time very soon, maybe even now. I’ve just been
lucky with COVID keeping the old dogs in it, that’s probably favoured us
because the young guys haven’t had chance to build up the points. I’ll
take it and if I can keep playing like that against someone of that
calibre then I’ll take it.”
Men’s top seed Joel Makin produced a Makin-like performance to get the
better of Scotland’s Rory Stewart, with their three-game battle lasting
over 50 minutes, as the Welshman made the mach attritional from the
get-go.
The World No.10 made the final of the tournament last year, where he
lost out to reigning champion James Willstrop in a high-quality
four-game battle. He will be hoping to go one better this time round,
and he started in the perfect fashion.
Compatriot, and two-time champion Tesni Evans, who won the event in 2018
and 2019, also safely made her way into the quarter-finals, thanks to a
convincing performance against England’s Saran Nghiem, who was making
her debut at the British National Championships.
The young Englishwoman had only played eight matches on the PSA World
Tour prior to this tournament in Manchester, and Evans used her greater
experience to take a 3-0 victory over the 17-year-old. She will now face
last year’s runner-up Jasmine Hutton in the last eight.
Hutton got the better of Wales’ Ali Loke to make it into the
quarter-finals, and elsewhere, there were wins for No.3 seed Emily
Whitlock and No.4 seed Lucy Turmel, along with Georgina Kennedy, who
continued her great form with a victory over Scotland’s Lisa Aitken.
All the action from the British National Squash Championships will be
shown live on
SQUASHTV (to users with a free digital subscription), the
England
Squash and
PSA
World Tour Facebook pages, as well as
englandsquash.tv.
For updates on the British National Squash Championships, please visit
the official
tournament website or follow England Squash on
Twitter,
Facebook and
Instagram.
Tickets are available for purchase
here. |
|
Preview
Perry and Makin Named Top Seeds for 2021 British
National Squash Championships
England’s Sarah-Jane Perry and Welshman Joel Makin have been seeded
first for the 2021 British National Squash Championships which will take
place at Manchester’s National Squash Centre between Tuesday August 3 -
Friday August 6.
The British National Squash Championships feature a 16-man and 16-woman
draw consisting of 15 of the highest-ranked British player in addition
to one wildcard.
Kenilworth-based Perry, a two-time British Nationals champion after wins
in 2015 and 2020, will take on fellow Englishwoman Jasmin Kalar in round
one and is expected to play Wales’ Tesni Evans in the final.
Evans, the World No.10 from St Asaph, will play England’s Saran Nghiem
on the opening day. Evans could play 2020 runner-up Jasmine Hutton in
the quarter-finals, before she is predicted to clash with four-time
winner Alison Waters in the semis. Perry, meanwhile, has the likes of
Rachael Chadwick and Emily Whitlock on her side of the draw.
In the men’s draw, 2020 runner-up Makin and reigning champion James
Willstrop are seeded to meet in a repeat of last year’s final, which
Willstrop won to collect a fourth British Nationals trophy.
Makin is vying to become the first Welshman ever to get his hands on the
coveted trophy, but must first get past a round one encounter with
Scotland’s Rory Stewart as well as predicted matches against England’s
Nathan Lake and Scotland’s Greg Lobban in the quarter-finals and
semi-finals, respectively.
Willstrop, meanwhile, will line up against fellow Englishman Miles
Jenkins in the opening round and the former World No.1 will look forward
to further matches against the likes of George Parker and Adrian Waller
as he bids to reach a 12th British Nationals final.
All the action from the British National Squash Championships will be
shown live on
SQUASHTV (to users with a free digital subscription), the
England
Squash and
PSA
World Tour Facebook pages, as well as
englandsquash.tv.
For updates on the British National Squash Championships, please visit
the official
tournament website or follow England Squash on
Twitter,
Facebook and
Instagram.
Tickets are available for purchase
here. |
|
Visit the official website of the PSA World Tour or follow the event
on
Twitter or Facebook,
Instagram, YouTube and TikTok. |
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