Top seeds Joel Makin and Tesni Murphy opened up their accounts for third British National titles with comprehensive victories in the afternoon session of day two at St George’s Hill Lawn Tennis Club in Weybridge.
World No.4 Makin, who last year defeated Mohamed ElShorbagy in a thrilling title decider to lift his second title, picked up where he left off 12 months ago as he eased past dangerous strokemaker Ben Smith by an 11-6, 11-5, 11-2 scoreline.
“Ben’s a really skilful player,” Makin said after the match. “He’s a tall guy and is big across the forehand side. He’s got a short backswing and is a dangerous guy in that area. Tight squash helps, because technique breaks down more on the side walls than it does in the middle, and you can’t give these guys time.
“I’m happy with that performance in the first round here.”
Women’s top seed Tesni Murphy, meanwhile, opened her account in dominant fashion as she raced past first-time qualifier Isabel McCullough in just 21 minutes.
Returning to the glass court on which she sustained tournament-ending injuries at the last two editions of the British Nationals, two-time champion Murphy settled well in the opening game before moving through to the quarter-finals by an 11-4, 11-4, 11-2 scoreline.
After the match, Murphy said: “It’s nice to get competing again. You just want to try and express yourself on court. My main thing this season is to just enjoy my squash again. I say it every season and every match I play – that’s what I’m about. When I relax on court, it’s so much fun.
“I said last year that my goal was to not get injured here, and that didn’t go too well! I’ve actually felt like I have played really well here over the last couple of years, but my body just gave up both times.”
Murphy’s opponent in the last eight will be No.8 seed Millie Tomlinson, who defeated compatriot Kiera Marshall in straight games.
Meanwhile, No.4 seed Grace Gear and No.6 seed Emily Whitlock will contest the other quarter-final in the top half of the draw, following their three-game wins over Emily Coulcher-Porter and Ellie Breach.
Elsewhere, No.3 seed Jonah Bryant was made to sweat in his opening round match against Noah Meredith, having to hold off a barrage of attacking play from the 24-year-old on the all-glass court in Weybridge.
Bryant, who took the PSA Squash Tour by storm last year and is currently ranked at a career-high World No.26, held off a third-game comeback from Meredith before eventually sealing an 11-6, 11-6, 8-11, 11-4 win.
“Me and Noah go back a while, since when I started playing, so I must have been on court with him thousands of times,” Bryant said after the match. “It was enjoyable to get out here with him today. He was going for his shots a lot, so I think it was a fun game to watch.”
No.7 seed Adrian Waller and No.6 seed Patrick Rooney were the other two players to seal their spots in the quarter-finals in the men’s draw after they claimed wins over Wales’ Emyr Evans and England’s Bailey Malik, respectively.
The evening session gets underway at 18:00 (GMT+1) today. Action from both courts will be shown live on SQUASHTV.
For updates on the British National Squash Championships, visit the official tournament website or follow England Squash on Facebook and Instagram.
Results – Men’s First Round Afternoon Session:
[1] Joel Makin (WAL) bt Ben Smith (ENG) 3-0: 3-0: 11-6, 11-5, 11-2 (27m)
Results – Women’s First Round Afternoon Session:
[1] Tesni Murphy (WAL) bt Isabel McCullough (ENG) 3-0: 11-4, 11-4, 11-2 (21m)[8] Millie Tomlinson (ENG) bt Kiera Marshall (ENG) 3-0: 11-8, 11-3, 11-3 (30m)
[4] Grace Gear (ENG) bt Emily Coulcher-Porter (ENG) 3-0: 11-3, 11-0, 11-6 (18m)
[6] Emily Whitlock (WAL) bt Ellie Breach (WAL) 3-0: 11-5, 11-3, 11-8 (34m)
