British U23 Open 2022

British Under 23 Open 2022 : Day TWO

Women’s Final :
[2] Saran Nghiem 3-2 [1] Torrie Malik     2/11, 11/7, 11/5, 11/7, 11/4
Men’s Final :
[1] Curtis Malik 3-2 [2] Tom Walsh   11/7, 11/5, 10/12, 8/11, 11/3

Men’s 3rd 4th Play-off:
Finnlay Withington 3-1 Perry Malik          5/11, 11/4, 11/7, 11/9
Women’s 3rd / 4th Play-off:
Asia Harris 3-0 Rana Ismail                                 11/7, 11/9, 11/3

Women’s Semi-finals :
[2] Saran Nghiem 3-1 Rana Ismail  11/2, 11/8, 4/11, 11/7
[1] Torrie Malik 3-0 Asia Harris                11-5, 12/10, 11/7
Men’s Semi-finals :
[1] Curtis Malik 3-0 [3/4] Perry Malik                11/9, 11/3, 11/9
[2] Tom Walsh 3-0 [3/4] Finnlay Withington  11/6, 13/11, 11/2

Saran and Curtis win five game finals

A quick start from Torrie in the women’s final saw her settle in to the match while Saran seemed sluggish and nervy. A 9/0 lead was soon closed out 11/2 with a one-sided final on the cards. Saran seemed more switched on at the start of the second but Torrie had momentum and confidence on her side and from 4/4 Torrie pulled away to 8/5 and even though Saran was now moving and striking the ball better Torrie took the game 11/7 and a 2-0 lead.

A change of tactic for Saran now saw her moving the ball in shorter with every opportunity and it was now Torrie’s turn to seem unsettled. Some unforced errors gave Saran a 5/1 lead and then more pressure with good length gave Saran the third game 11/5.

The fourth was a close game all the way but it was Saran’s focus that gave her the edge and from 7/5 up Torrie was searching for winners but only finding errors by the narrowest of margins to give Saran the games 11/7 and take the match to a decider.

At 2/2 it looked like the title could go either way but once more it was Saran who stayed patience and focus while Torrie made too many mistakes. A 7/2 lead was not going to be given away and Saran did no such thing to win the game 11/4 and the match to claim the 2022 Dunlop u23 women’s British Open title.

The Men’s final started similar to the women’s –  Curtis Malik (Torrie’s brother) went on the attack early as Tom looked tired and to be struggling with his movement. Cutis opened up a 8/4 lead and even though Tom was starting to move quicker around the court Curtis kept to his game plan and took the first game 11/7.

Curtis, as his sister before, was high on confidence and hitting the ball with precision. Tom searched for answered and each rally he was trying to switch defence into attack but could not find success. Curtis took the game 11/5 and 2-0 up. At 7/4 up in the third most the crowd had handed the trophy to Curtis but Tom wasn’t totally out of it. 7/5 was soon 8/8 and now all of a sudden Curtis looked lost at what to do with Tom taking the ball in short to great returns. A missed match ball for Curtis at

10/9 then saw Tom win three points in a row to get the match back to 2-1.

It was de-ja-vu as with the women’s final Curtis was now struggling to find any length or rhythm and a high error count gave Tom a 5/1 lead. Although Curtis got the score back to 6/8 it was Tom who now looked in control but having to work extremely hard for it. 11/8 and Tom had levelled the match 2-2.

The fourth game may have taken its toll physically on Tom as his movement slowed up but what should not be taken away was the near impeccable play from Curtis in the fifth game. Good length and a mix of cross court lob with low boasts and winning drop shots gave Tom no chance. 7/1 to Curtis and he was not going to let this lead slip, he duly won the game and match 11/3 to take the Men’s Dunlop u23 British Open title.

All matches were of the highest quality, showcasing the high standard at u23 level.

The players thanked the referees, hosts Roehampton Club and sponsors Dunlop for putting on the event.

Day ONE : Top seeds through to the semis

A busy opening day at the Roehampton Club saw the top four seeds in the Men’s and Women’s draw progress through two rounds to reach the semi-finals …

Women’s Round One
[2] Saran Nghiem 3-0 Isabel Mccullough  11/7, 11/5, 11/2
Kiera Marshall 3-0 Sofia Aveiro Pita        12/10, 11/8, 11/5
Katie Cox 3-2 Olivia Besant   9/11, 6/11, 11/8, 11/8, 12/10
[3/4] Rana Ismail  Jasmin Kalar                   11/3, 11/2, 11/3
[3/4] Asia Harris bt Demi Galanakis           11/1, 11/2, 11/6
Layla Johnson 3-0 Emma McGugan         13/11, 11/7, 11/7
Amy Royal 3-2 Rosie Kirsch      7/11, 8/11, 11/6, 11/6, 11/9
[1] Torrie Malik 3-0 Amber Copley              11/3, 11/4, 11/3

Women’s Quarter-finals
[2] Saran Nghiem 3-1 Kiera Marshall 11/3, 11/6, 7/11, 11/8
[3/4] Rana Ismail 3-0 Katie Cox                      11/5, 11/3, 11/5
[3/4] Asia Harris 3-0 Layla Johnson               11/3, 11/6, 11/5
[1] Torrie Malik 3-0 Amy Royal                    11/9, 15/13, 11/4

Men’s Round One
[1] Curtis Malik – bye
AbdAllah Eissa 3-0 Alex Broadbridge       11/4, 12/10, 11/8
Noah Meredith 3-0 Fraser Steven               11/5, 11/6, 11/1
[3/4] Perry Malik 3-0 Matt Gregory              11/8, 11/3, 11/4
[3/4] Finnlay Withington 3-0 James Taylor  11/4, 11/7, 11/9
Syed Hasnain 3-0 Mason Smales                 11/7, 11/9, 11/7
Will Salter 3-0 William Henden                     11/5, 11/2, 11/6
[2] Tom Walsh 3-0 Tarquin Sotir                   11/4, 11/3, 11/3

Men’s Quarter-finals
[1] Curtis Malik 3-0 AbdAllah Eissa                11/8, 11/8, 11/5
[3/4] Perry Malik 3-0 Noah Meredith        13/11, 11/8, 13/11
[3/4] Finnlay Withington 3-0 Syed Hasnain  11/3, 11/5, 11/1
[2] Tom Walsh 3-0 Will Salter                         11/1, 11/5, 11/1

Plate/Monrad:
Women’s
Jasmin Kalar bt Demi Galanakis 3-0. 11/0, 11/4, 11/5
Isabel Mccullough bt Sofia Aveiro Pita 3-2. 5/11, 9/11, 11/7, 11/4, 11/7
Olivia Besant bt Rosie Kirsch 5/11, 11/9, 11/8, 11/6
Emma McGugan bt Amber Copley 11/8, 11/9, 11/4

Men’s
Alex Broadbridge bt Fraser Steven 3-0. 11/2, 11/5, 11/6.
Mason Smales bt Tarquin Sotir 3-0. 11/6, 11/9, 11/6.
Matt Gregory bt James Taylor 3-1. 11/76, 2/11, 11/5, 11/7
Fraser Steven bt Will Henden 3-2. 11/8, 8/11, 11/8, 4/11, 11/7.
Mason Smales bt Alex Broadbridge 3-2. 14/12, 9/11, 7/11, 11/9, 11/8.
Matt Gregory bt Tarquin Sotir 3-0. 11/5, 11/3, 11/6.