London Open: Khan Wins Battle of Generations to Reach Last Eight

Hamza Khan came out on top in a battle of the generations at the London Open, beating James Willstrop 3-1 in front of a packed crowd. 

At 18 years old, Khan – the reigning world junior champion – is 22 years Willstrop’s junior, and made his youthful advantage count in the end, edging a match that had the watching audience hooked. 

The Marksman may be 40, but he showed plenty of the skill that has shone in abundance throughout his illustrious career, particularly in game one, which he took 11-9. 

Khan hit back to level the match and moved within one game of victory by taking the third 11-9, and appeared to be cruising towards victory at 9-4 up in the fourth. 

But as he so often has in his storied time on court, Willstrop fought back once more, even joking to the crowd that ‘he was the one that was 40’ as Khan appeared to be tiring while he was eager to up the pace. 

The 18-year-old, however, showed exactly why he’s regarded as one of the best young talents in the world of squash. 

Having dropped five points in a row to make it 9-9, the young Pakistani came up clutch with a deep backhand volley which was out of Willstrop’s reach, bringing up match ball, which he won on a stroke. 

Khan will now play Wales’ Owain Taylor in the quarter-finals, with the Welshman having upset No.6 seed Yannick Wilhelmi in the day’s first match, edging a thriller 3-2. 

Taylor is one of two Welshmen in the last eight, having been joined later in the day by Emyr Evans, who knocked out No.5 seed Ben Smith in another tense match that went the distance. 

There was also a drama-filled, five-game matchup between Noor Zamam and Ben Coleman, in which the Englishman fought back from 4-0 and then 9-6 down in game five, eventually winning it 11-9, much to the disappointment of a partizan crowd in Zamam’s favour. 

In the women’s draw, 18-year-old Asia Harris continued her impressive form, knocking out Swiss No.6 seed Nadia Pfister. 

Harris has reached the final of her last two events, but will have to get past top seed Enora Villard if she’s to get that far again, with Villard having eased through an all-French encounter with Lea Barbeau in the same quarter of the draw. 

No.3 seed Millie Tomlinson was the only other seed to go out, losing 3-0 to Rana Ismail, with Torrie Malik and Grace Gear both recording straight-game wins. 

Malak Khafagy and Alicia Mead found life slightly tougher, each dropping a game to Ambre Allinckx and Savannah Ingledew respectively, but both prevailed in the end to reach the quarter-finals. 

Results: Men’s Round Two 

Owain Taylor (WAL) bt [6] Yannick Wilhelmi (SUI) 3-2: 7-11, 11-8, 6-11, 11-2, 11-5 (65m) 
[2] Rui Soares (POR) bt Dewald van Niekerk (RSA) 3-1: 10-12, 11-4, 11-6, 11-2 (44m) 
Emyr Evans (WAL) bt [5] Ben Smith (ENG) 3-2: 11-5, 9-11, 11-2, 4-11, 11-6 (62m) 
[4] Simon Herbert (ENG) bt James Peach (ENG) 3-1: 11-5, 11-8, 6-11, 11-7 (41m) 
[1] Adrian Waller (ENG) bt Stuart Macgregor (ENG) 3-0: 11-7, 11-2, 11-8 (30m) 
[7] Ben Coleman (ENG) bt Noor Zaman (PAK) 3-2: 14-16, 11-8, 11-8, 6-11, 11-9 (75m) 
[WC] Hamza Khan (PAK) bt [3] James Willstrop (ENG) 3-1: 9-11, 11-3, 11-9, 11-9 (47m) 

Results: Women’s Round Two 

[1] Enora Villard (FRA) bt Lea Barbeau (FRA) 3-0: 11-7, 11-3, 11-7 (31m) 
Asia Harris (ENG) bt [6] Nadia Pfister (SUI) 3-1: 11-7, 10-12, 11-7, 11-7 (48m) 
[7] Torrie Malik (ENG) bt Lowri Roberts (WAL) 3-0: 11-5, 11-5, 11-6 (27m) 
[4] Malak Khafagy (EGY) bt Ambre Allinckx (SUI) 3-1: 8-11, 11-6, 11-3, 11-8 (45m) 
Rana Ismail (EGY) bt [3] Millie Tomlinson (ENG) 11-3, 11-2, 11-0 (17m) 
[8] Kaitlyn Watts (NZL) bt Tessa ter Sluis (NED) 3-0: 11-9, 11-4, 11-5 (25m) 
[5] Alicia Mead (ENG) bt [WC] Savannah Ingledew (RSA) 3-1: 11-5, 9-11, 11-2, 11-6 (40m) 
[2] Grace Gear (ENG) bt Ali Loke (WAL) 3-0: 11-4, 11-3, 11-4 (21m)