Canadian Men’s Open Quarter Final: Makin Wins All-British Battle

No.2 seed Joel Makin came out on top in the all-British battle with surprise quarter finalist Nick Wall to open the quarter finals of the Oxford Properties Canadian Men’s Open 2023 Presented By Airsprint Private Aviation.

The rallies started off in very attritional style, much to Makin’s delight in the opening exchanges as both players looked to get a feel for the way the ball was moving on the all-glass court. Makin took control of the game in the middle stages with tight accurate hitting to all four corner and despite a strong comeback from Wall, the Welshman took the lead, winning 11-9.

Tightly contested rallies continued in game two as Wall started to look more confident on court and started to step up on the T and both take the ball short and take time away from the No.2 seed. Wall earned himself a 9-5 lead and looked sure to convert the game and draw level. Makin had other ideas however and reverted back to his fast paced attritional style and started to squeeze Wall in all areas. He came back to force a tiebreak and snatch the game 14-12.

After losing that second game, the resistance was fading from Wall as the mountain to climb was too great. Makin continued to push the pace and went from strength to strength to take the game 11-1 and move into the semi-finals.

“It might have been a little bit boring but I knew what I had to do tonight,” said Makin.

“Nick is a good player, I rate what he’s trying to do and where his game is. I think he will definitely cause some of the top guys problems with the way he’s playing and how he goes about things, but I’ve trained with him and played him a few times so I knew what to expect and knew how to play today.

“As I said yesterday, my game hasn’t been where i’ve wanted it to be. That was a step closer tonight but I know that I’m not at the levels that I want to be at yet. Both the guys [Leonel Cardenas & Nicolas Mueller] are good players but my expectation is to come here and try and win the event.”

Result:

[2] Joel Makin (WAL) bt Nick Wall (ENG) 3-0: 11-9, 14-12, 11-1 (51m)