[5] Alicia Mead (Eng) 3-2 [4] Malak Khafagy (Egy) 7-11, 11-8, 5-11, 11-9, 11-4 (48m)
[1] Adrian Waller (Eng) 3-1 [4] Simon Herbert (Eng) 11-6, 11-6, 5-11, 11-9 (48m)
Finals : Mead and Waller claim London Open titles
Semis : Three English through to the finals
The men’s London Open final will be an all-English affair after semi-final wins for Adrian Waller and Simon Herbert. Top seed Waller ended the run of Owain Taylor in four games, while Herbert took out second seeded Portuguese Rui Soares in straight games.
Fifth seed Alicia Mead got the better of three close games against unseeded Ran a Ismail and now faces another Egyptian opponent in fourth seed Malak Kagathy, who was two-one ahead against Asia Harris before Harris retired injured.
Quarters : Women’s top seeds beaten as Hamza’s run ends
Quarter-finals at the Cumberland Club saw both women’s top seeds beaten as Asia Harris and Alicia Mead gatecrashed the last four. Harris now meets fourth seed Malak Khagafy who prevailed in a five game thriller over Torrie Malik while Mead also face Egyptian opposition in unseeded Rana Ismail.
In the men’s draw Hamza Khan’s run came to an end at the hands of Wales’ Owain Taylor, who now meets top seed Adrian Waller, while second and fourth seeds Rui Soares and Simon Herbert will contest the other semi-final.
Round Two : Plenty of upsets in London
There were a series of upsets as the seeds joined the fray at the Cumberland Club, notably with wildcard World Junior Champion Hamza Khan beating James Willstrop – who was WJ Champ back on 2004!
Also in the men’s draw Welsh duo Emyr Evans and Owain Taylor gatecrashed the quarters, while in the women’s draw Asia Harris and Rana Ismail upset seeds.
