International Squash Magazine – April 2020

AJ BELL BRITISH NATIONAL
CHAMPIONSHIPS
JAMESWILLSTROP&
SARAH-JANEPERRY
CROWNEDBRITISHNATIONALCHAMPIONS
James Willstrop and Sarah-Jane Perry prevailed on finals day at the AJ
Bell British National Championships after overcoming challenges from Joel
Makin and surprise finalist Jasmine Hutton respectively to take the prestigious
titles at the David Ross Sports Village at the University of Nottingham.
Defending champion Willstrop saved
eight game balls to successfully defend
his crown in style by stunning favourite
Joel Makin to claim a fourth title,
whilst women’s top seed Sarah-Jane
Perry secured her second trophy after
squeezing past Jasmine Hutton in
straight games.
Second seed Willstrop battled hard to
overcome Makin 12-10 0-11 12-10 14-12 in a
gripping 76-minute encounter to ensure
a successful title defence. Despite a
losing 3-2 head-to-head record against
his Welsh rival, the 36-year old English
No.1 showed no signs of fatigue after a
challenging route to his 11th final but it
was the 25-year-old top seed who started
the brighter of the two.
Makin raced to a 10-4 lead in the opening
game before Willstrop somehow reeled
off eight straight points to clinch the
tie-break in 19 minutes. The Welshman
responded with faultless precision to
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