2024 British Nationals Day Two Roundup – Malik Survives Bryant Test as All Seeds Progress

The first round of the 2024 British National Squash Championships saw all 16 favourites reach the quarter-finals as Curtis Malik battled it out with Jonah Bryant, defending champion Jasmine Hutton took down Amelie Haworth and Marwan ElShorbagy claimed a win on his tournament debut at St George’s Hill Lawn Tennis Club, streaming live on SquashTV.

In a sensational display of squash on the traditional courts, Curtis Malik took down English Junior U19 champion Jonah Bryant 3-1.

The pair were inseparable throughout the first game as the Englishmen went to a tie-break. The match drew the largest crowd that court one had seen so far in the competition, and the players lived up to the crowd’s expectations as they battled for 24 minutes, with Bryant eventually taking the 1-0 advantage after two successive mistakes from Malik.

Malik looked composed as he returned to court, and his experience shone through as the 25-year-old took the next two games in 22 minutes. The No.5 seed took a quick lead in the fourth game. Bryant fought back to two points behind, but Malik saw out the match to earn his place in the next round.

After the match, Malik said, “I’m feeling pretty good, I put in a hard summer’s training with a lot of physical work and it’s nice to see that come through in that match there. It was a long, physical game where we played for over 70 minutes for a 3-1.

“We had such a long game – the first one was 24 minutes and I made two, silly errors at the backend of the game to give him the game. I wasn’t too disheartened as I put a lot of work into his legs and it paid off in the end.

Defending champion Jasmine Hutton beat British Junior U19 champion Amelie Haworth to claim her place in tomorrow’s quarter-finals. Haworth tried to cause issues for the two-time champion, but Hutton’s quality shone through as she won the match in straight games.

Hutton spoke about her opponent after the match: “It’s a bit of a catch 22. She’s [Amelie Haworth] is up and coming and I’ve never played her before. I’ve watched her very closely since she was a young junior so I know how good she is. It’s a mix of the pressure of playing someone you don’t know and it’s my first event of the season so I’ve put a lot of work in. You have pressure of proving how hard you’ve worked. I’m happy to be through.”

Tournament debutant Marwan ElShorbagy claimed his maiden quarter-final spot after defeating Perry Malik in the final men’s first-round match. Malik was playing positive squash, earning the first game ball for his efforts, but ElShorbagy started to disrupt the 23-year-old’s game, and quickly flipped the script to take a 1-0 lead.

The former World No.3 found his footing in the match and won the second and third games 11-6 to take his spot in the quarter-finals. ElShorbagy spoke about his thoughts on the event after the match.

“I’ve always followed the British Nationals and I’ve lived in England for a very long time so I know how big it is here. I know the likes of Nick [Matthew], James [Willstrop], Daryl Selby – all the previous generation I was following them because I was a fan of them so I knew how important this is. I’m happy to be here and I’ll try and win.”

No.2 seeds Joel Makin and Sarah-Jane Perry followed top seeds Mohamed ElShorbagy and Gina Kennedy into the Quarter Finals after the four players won their matches in straight games.

The quarter-finals of the British Nationals will take place at 13:00 (GMT+1) tomorrow. Action from the glass court will be shown live on SQUASHTV, while matches from Court One will be shown live on the Nationals website.

For updates on the British Nationals, follow England Squash on X, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

Results – Round One: 2024 British National Squash Championships

[1] Gina Kennedy (Eng) bt [Q] Olivia Besant (Eng) 3-0: 11-2, 11-5, 11-1 (16m)
[5/8] Patrick Rooney (Eng) bt Ben Smith (Eng) 3-0: 11-6, 11-6, 11-7 (37m)
[1] Mohamed ElShorbagy (Eng) bt [Q] Will Salter (Eng) 3-0: 11-7, 11-7, 11-4 (29m)
[5/8] Katie Malliff (Eng) bt Millie Tomlinson (Eng) 3-0: 11-6, 11-9, 11-1 (29m)
[3/4] Tesni Murphy (Wal) bt [Q] Polly Clark (Eng) 3-0: 11-5, 11-4, 11-2 (21m)
[5/8] Curtis Malik (Eng) bt Jonah Bryant (Eng) 3-1: 12-14, 11-7, 11-9, 11-8 (68m)
[3/4] Greg Lobban (Sco) bt [Q] Sam Osborne-Wylde (Eng) 3-1: 11-8, 12-10, 8-11, 11-7 (54m)
[5/8] Lucy Turmel (Eng) bt Alison Thomson (Sco) 3-0: 11-1, 11-3, 11-5 (26m)

[2] Sarah-Jane Perry (Eng) bt [Q] Isabelle McCullough (Eng) 3-0: 11-8, 11-3, 11-8 (29m)
[5/8] Rory Stewart (Sco) bt Simon Herbert (Eng) 3-1: 8-11, 11-6, 11-7, 11-7 (48m)
[2] Joel Makin (Wal) bt [Q] Emyr Evans (Wal) 3-0: 11-2, 11-7, 11-5 (41m)
[5/8] Georgia Adderley (Eng) bt Torrie Malik (Eng) 3-1: 3-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-8 (38m)
[3/4] Jasmine Hutton (Eng) bt [Q] Amelie Haworth (Eng) 3-0: 11-5, 11-3, 11-8 (25m)
[5/8] Declan James (Eng) bt Tom Walsh (Eng) 3-0: 13-11, 11-5, 11-7 (43m)
[3/4] Marwan ElShorbagy (Eng) bt [Q] Perry Malik (Eng) 3-0: 13-11, 11-6, 11-6 (38m)
[5/8] Emily Whitlock (Wal) bt Alicia Mead (Eng) 3-1: 11-5, 5-11, 11-8, 11-4 (40m)

Schedule – Quarter-Finals: 2024 British National Squash Championships

13.00 – [1] Gina Kennedy (Eng) v [5/8] Katie Malliff (Eng)
14.00 – [1] Mohamed ElShorbagy (Eng) v [5/8] Patrick Rooney (Eng)
15.00 – [3/4] Tesni Murphy (Wal) v [5/8] Lucy Turmel (Eng)
16.00 – [3/4] Greg Lobban (Sco) v [5/8] Curtis Malik (Eng)

18.00 – [3/4] Jasmine Hutton (Eng) v [5/8] Emily Whitlock (Wal)
19.00 – [3/4] Marwan ElShorbagy (Eng) v [5/8] Declan James (Eng)
20.00 – [2] Sarah-Jane Perry (Eng) v [5/8] Georgia Adderley (Sco)
21.00 – [2] Joel Makin (Wal) v [5/8] Rory Stewart (Sco)