British Open Battles For Welsh Players Joel And Tesni

Welshman Joel Makin produced a battling display against Egyptian opposition at the Allam British Open squash championships in Hull.

Makin, the first player from Wales to reach the Open main draw in a decade, went down 9-11, 10-12, 9-11 in 47 minutes, a fiercely competitive match in which Mohamed Abouelghar won points at crucial moments.

Former World number three David Evans, from Griffithstown near Pontypool, won the British Open title ion 2000, Australian Paul Price 15-11, 15-6, 15-10 in 54 minutes to be crowned champion.

Evans, now aged 43 and currently senior high performance coach for Squash Wales, became only the third British player to win the World’s oldest title, joining Jonah Barrington and Peter Nicol.

Makin, from Pembrokeshire, swept through the qualifying rounds to earn his place in the main draw.

Cardiff-born Tesni Evans, now based in Rhyl, was placed straight into the women’s main draw and won 11-8, 11-9, 11-4 against qualifier Alexandra Fuller in 37 minutes.

Welsh player Tesni Evans, a first round winner at the Open. Pic: Getty Images.

Evans, 25, plays Joelle King in the second round on Thursday.

King, the world number four from New Zealand, defeated fellow Kiwi Amanda Landers-Murphy 3-0 in her first round match, producing a commanding performance in a straight-games victory.

It was a quick-fire match between the two Kiwi players, who won gold together at the Commonwealth Games in the women’s doubles event.

British women’s squash champion Tesni Evans.

King,  though, was in complete control as she dominated the court to win 11-3, 11-6, 11-7 defeat in 23 minutes.

“It’s a far cry from last year when I lost first round!” said King.

“It’s tough playing one of my best friends on tour and someone from my home country, but you have to put that to one side and go out there and both try and play your best squash.

“We have just stayed together for two weeks in Bristol training with a group there, spent a lot of time together.

“Now I play Tesni, another one of my close friends.

“For New Zealanders the British Open is one of the most prestigious events that they know of because of Dame Susan (Devoy, former World number one and four-times Open champion).”