London Open: Harris & Mead Upset Top Seeds, Taylor Beats Khan

Asia Harris and Alicia Mead knocked out the top two women’s seeds on quarter-finals day at the London Open, while Owain Taylor ended the run of world junior champion Hamza Khan. 

18-year-old Harris had already beaten No.6 seed Nadia Pfister to reach the last eight, and continued her fine form in her matchup with top seed Enora Villard, taking game one on a tie break. 

Villard responded by winning the second 11-4, but Harris moved back in front upon reversing that score in the third. 

Game four, much like the first, was a back-and-forth affair, with Harris saving two game balls at 10-8 down, winning four points on the bounce to secure a semi-final spot. 

“I’m delighted to get through that match,” Harris said after her win. 

“I knew it wasn’t going to be pleasant, especially dealing with a bit of an injury at the minute, but I stuck with it to get through in four. 

“I’ve not really looked at seedings much, going through a tournament. Whether I’m playing the one seed or a wild card, I’m just going to take every match as it comes.” 

Harris will now play fellow teenager Malak Khafagy, who is the highest remaining seed left in the women’s competition after Mead’s win over second seed Grace Gear in the day’s penultimate match. 

Gear cruised through the opening game, winning it 11-3, and had a 7-1 lead in the second, but Mead won the next five points to close the gap, before eventually taking game two 14-12. 

Games three and four both went to a tie break as well, going 12-10, 15-13 in Mead’s favour, handing her victory in 49 minutes. 

“I didn’t get very good starts in any of the games to be honest,” Mead said. 

“But I train really hard physically, so I knew that if I could just hang on and tidy my squash up a little bit, I felt good throughout that match. 

“I was giving her too many angles, she’s very good across the middle on the volley, she’s got a very good short game, so I was in trouble quite a lot if I left it on her racket, so it was just about straightening up. 

“I was trying to be aggressive and volley more and at times just hang on. If you can get that one extra ball back it makes it harder for them. 

“I really enjoyed that actually. We haven’t played for a few years and she’s a very good friend so it was nice to share the court with her today.” 

Mead’s win over Gear preceded the standout match in the men’s draw, which saw Taylor and Khan go toe-to-toe across 75 tension-filled minutes. 

Taylor won the first two games and had a match ball in the third, but not before Khan had taken an injury break after a nasty fall following a coming together.

That stoppage only added to the drama as the crowd held its breath throughout game four, with two distinct, but equally vocal sets of supporters in either player’s corner creating a good atmosphere.

Having saved the match ball he faced in game three, Khan looked as though he might have swung the momentum in his favour when he was 10-7 up in the fourth, with three game balls to force a decider. 

Taylor, though, showed his experience when it mattered most, winning the next three rallies to force a tie break, which he eventually won 14-12. 

Speaking after the match, the Welshman was pleased with the way he played against such an impressive young opponent. 

“He’s such a talented player, he’s got weapons from everywhere on the court,” he said. 

“I knew from the off, I had to be on my toes, moving well, draining his options and keeping him as far back as possible, which I think I managed to do really well. 

“I thought I played some good, tight squash, managed to get my length really well, and happy to close it out in the fourth. 

“There were some tight games there, nip and tuck in the tie breaks, and I think just a bit of experience on my part shone through.” 

Taylor’s reward for his victory is a semi-final meeting with top seed Adrian Waller, who beat Ben Coleman 3-0, while Simon Herbert and Rui Soares will face off after beating Emyr Evans and Mohammad Syafiq Kamal respectively. 

Results: Men’s Quarter-Finals 

[2] Rui Soares (POR) bt [8] Mohammad Syafiq Kamal (MAS) 3-0: 13-11, 15-13, 11-8 (47m) 
[4] Simon Herbert (ENG) bt Emyr Evans (WAL) 3-0: 16-14, 15-13, 11-6 (55m) 
[1] Adrian Waller (ENG) bt [7] Ben Coleman (ENG) 3-0: 11-7, 11-7, 11-5 (37m) 
Owain Taylor (WAL) bt [WC] Hamza Khan (PAK) 3-1: 11-4, 12-10, 11-13, 14-12 (75m) 

Results: Women’s Quarter-Finals 

[4] Malak Khafagy (EGY) bt [7] Torrie Malik (ENG) 3-2: 13-11, 7-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-8 (60m) 
Rana Ismail (EGY) bt [8] Kaitlyn Watts (NZL)3-0: 11-3, 12-10, 11-6 (26m) 
Asia Harris (ENG) bt [1] Enora Villard (FRA) 3-1: 13-11, 4-11, 11-4, 12-10 (39m) 
[5] Alicia Mead (ENG) bt [2] Grace Gear (ENG) 3-1: 3-11, 14-12, 12-10, 15-13 (49m)