International Squash Magazine – March 2019

AJ BELL BRITISH NATIONAL
CHAMPIONSHIPS – NOTTINGHAM 2019
JAMESWILLSTROP&TESNIEVANS
CROWNEDBRITISHNATIONALCHAMPIONS
James Willstrop and Tesni Evans prevailed on finals day at the
AJ Bell British National Championships after overcoming spirited
challenges from Daryl Selby and Emily Whitlock respectively to lift the
prestigious titles at the David Ross Sports Village at the University of
Nottingham.
Willstrop, the 35-year-old top seed,
enjoyed a rich vein of form throughout
the championships, with the route to his
tenth final including one-sided straight
game victories over Harry Falconer and
Nathan Lake before edging-out Scottish
No.1 Greg Lobban 9-11 12-10 11-6 11-3 in
a tightly-contested and at times feisty
56-minute semi-final.
In contrast, Selby battled to reach his
third national final by recovering from
losing the opening two games in each
of his matches – overcoming Rory
Stewart of Scotland 9-11 12-14 11-6 11-9
11-8 in an enthralling 87-minute 1st round
encounter before edging past Chris
Simpson and Adrian Waller in five games
in the quarter-finals and semi-finals
respectively.
Willstrop showed immediate intent in an
eagerly anticipated final with a stunning
pick-up at the front of the court to win
a mammoth opening point before Selby
responded in fine fashion moments
later with a shot through his legs which
brought the admiration of crowd and
opponent alike. The English pair traded
points before Willstrop eventually closed-
out the game 11-5.
The former World No. 1 seized control of
the second game, racing into a 6-0 lead
but Selby fought back with the grit and
determination which had characterised
his tournament to level the score at 7-7
and took the momentum to level the
match with his first game ball.
The third game was equally tense and
closely fought until a let decision in
Willstrop’s favour at 7-5 allowed him
to regain the momentum and take the
game 11-5.
08 | March 2019 INTERNATIONALSQUASHMAGAZINE
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