Top Seed Makin Fights Through Pain To Defeat Brownell

In an thrilling German Open quarter-final encounter, Wales’ Joel Makin beat USA’s Timothy Brownell after an injury scare saw the top seed seek a physio after the second game

The American started the game with confidence as he avoided being sucked into playing the attritional style of squash that Makin is known for Brownell controlled the tempo of the opening phase and won 11-3.

The top seed seemed more alive in the second game, and covered the court in typical Joel Makin style. Makin dominated the second game, but looked uneasy near the end, and Brownell battled back to 9-9. The Welshman showed his class in spite of his discomfort and saw out the game to restore parity at 1-1

Makin, clearly in some level of pain, requested a physio at the end of the second game to address an issue he was playing through.

The Welshman was stretched across the court on the return from the injury break. Brownell was doing well to put Makin under pressure, but the top seed managed, though grimacing during a lot of the more athletic gets, to take the game 11-8.

Makin looked to be better physically in the fourth game, and the World No.11 performed well, retrieving balls from every corner of the court to stop Brownell getting into the game. In a dramatic end to the match, that saw the Welshman get rewarded with a let after a double dive at 5-2, the No.1 seed pushed on to take the game 11-4, and the match 3-1.

“Squash is unlike a lot of sports with the fact that we compete flat out 100/120 times these matches we play. If we were in other sports it’d be far less than that and we’re expected to push,” said Makin after the match.

“You need to be in great shape and the training requirements to be able to play these matches is heavy as well so the wear and tear adds up. I’ve been out for a lot of the season but I’ve been in good form.

“Timothy [Brownell] was causing me a lot of problems – I like his brand of squash, he’s exciting, he keeps everyone involved, he’s destructive, he’s deceptive, he’s got his own brand and he’s got his own thing going on which I rate highly. He’s a good player and he’s going to be pushing on.

“He’s had a couple of good wins and you don’t beat someone like Fares [Dessouky] if you’re not a serious squash player so I was well aware of that. He was causing me some problems early on, but I really had to grind and call on a lot of reserves to get back on track and push myself mentally.”

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Results: German Open 2024 – Presented by Sportwerk Men’s Quarter-Finals
[1] Joel Makin (WAL) bt [7] Timothy Brownell (USA) 3-1: 3-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-4 (54m)