The tournament moves out into the main arena today, with matches played on the ASB glass court with glass court, with space for 500+ spectators, retail village and more There’s still plenty of home interest, with English representation in seven of the eight quarter-finals.
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Women’s Quarters :
[5] Jasmine Hutton (Eng) 3-1 [2] Nele Gilis-Coll (Bel) 11-5, 6-11, 11-6, 11-7 (43m)
[3] Salma Hany (Egy) 3-0 [6] Sarah-Jane Perry (Eng) 11-5, 11-9, 11-5 (24m)
[1] Gina Kennedy (Eng) 3-0 [9/16] Grace Gear (Eng) 11-4, 11-8, 11-5 (24m)
[7] Katie Malliff (Eng) 3-2 [4] Farida Mohamed (Egy) 11-6, 11-9, 6-11, 8-11, 12-10 (55m)
Men’s Quarters :
[7] Jonah Bryant (Eng) 3-0 [9/16] Nick Wall (Eng) 11-8, 13-11, 11-4 (43m)
[1] Aly Abou Eleinen (Egy) 3-0 [6] Juan Camilo Vargas (Col) 11-6, 11-4, 11-8 (35m)
[2] Leonel Cardenas (Mex) 3-0 [8] George Parker (Eng) 13-11, 11-5, 11-6 (46m)
[4] Declan James (Eng) 3-0 [9/16] Abhay Singh (Ind) 11-4, 11-9, 11-2 (35m)
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Evening Matches
Defending Champ Gina cruises into semis
[1] Gina Kennedy (Eng) 3-0 [9/16] Grace Gear (Eng) 11-4, 11-8, 11-5 (24m)
In the second all-English clash of the day top seed Gina Kennedy wasted no time in dispatching compatriot Grace Gear to take her place in tomorrow’s semi-finals.
Kennedy’s relentless hitting and superb accuracy was too much for Gear to deal with from the very start of the match. The World No.7 was hitting with supreme pace and always kept the ball moving away from Gear, who was unable to establish any foot hold in the match whatsoever.
Kennedy took the opener 11-4 before having to battle hard to win the second game 11-8. At 2-0 up, Kennedy would have been forgiven for taking her foot off the gas but no such scenario occurred. The England No.1 kept pushing on and closed the third 11-5 in 24 minutes.
Katie holds off Farida comeback
[7] Katie Malliff (Eng) 3-2 [4] Farida Mohamed (Egy) 11-6, 11-9, 6-11, 8-11, 12-10 (55m)
England’s Katie Malliff was involved in one of the most dramatic matches of the tournament so far as she came through an intense five set clash with Egypt’s eighth seed Farida Mohamed to set up an all-English semi-final with Gina Kennedy.
Malliff looked sharp and focused in the opening game and did a superb job of tidying up several loose situations in the middle of the court and knew exactly what she needed to do in order to move Mohamed around the court. The seventh seed took the opening game 11-6 before doubling her lead, winning 11-9 in the second game in front of a packed crowd in Manchester.
The third game started to get slightly scrappy in the mid stage and that continued throughout. Mohamed was guilty of talking too much to the central referee and seemed to dip in and out of concentration. Despite this, the Egyptian managed to score the third game 11-6 to breathe more life in the contest.
The referee interactions continued in the following games and despite receiving a conduct stroke, Mohamed levelled the tie at 2-2. Mohamed led 10-7 in the fifth game and looked to be completing the impressive comeback. Malliff had other ideas however and with the backing of the home crowd, rattled off five points in a row to defeat the fourth seed and set up a semi-final clash with compatriot Georgina Kennedy.
Cardenas holds off Parker’s strong start
[2] Leonel Cardenas (Mex) 3-0 [8] George Parker (Eng) 13-11, 11-5, 11-6 (46m)
In the penultimate match of the day men’s second seed Leonel Cardenas produced a professional performance to beat England’s eighth seed George Parker in straight games.
Parker started the better of the two in the opening game and found Cardenas flat footed as he attacked the front two corners. Parker gained two game balls at 10-8 but the Mexican fought back to steal the game 13-11, taking the wind out of the Parker sails.
The Mexican used his momentum from winning the first game to dominate the second, using his superb weight of shot to move Parker into the back corners before unleashing short.
After establishing a 2-0 lead Cardenas was unrelenting in his pursuit of a spot in the last four. He pressed Parker into making unforced errors which frustrated the Englishman and ultimately led to him spiralling downwards to lose the game 11-6. Cardenas advanced to his third semi-final in his last four events.
James completes the semis lineups
[4] Declan James (Eng) 3-0 [9/16] Abhay Singh (Ind) 11-4, 11-9, 11-2 (35m)
England’s Declan James ensured that there would be an English player in all four of tomorrow’s semi-finals as he closed out quarter finals day with a professional win over India’s Abhay Singh.
James’ accuracy and severity was working wonders on the all-glass court in Manchester as he controlled all aspects of the match to finish the day’s play. ‘The Dark Knight’, under the tutelage of 3x World Champion Nick Matthew was squeezing Singh on the side walls and tidying up the loose returns with ease.
After scoring the opening game 11-4, James continued to control proceedings as he eyed a spot in the semi-finals. He ran through to a 10-8 lead and converted at the second time of asking to double his lead. James came shooting out the blocks in the third game to lead 6-0 and showed no signs of slowing down as he moved through the gears. James won 11-2 in the final game to ensure a spot in the semis.
Afternoon Matches
Big win for Jazz
[5] Jasmine Hutton (Eng) 3-1 [2] Nele Gilis-Coll (Bel) 11-5, 6-11, 11-6, 11-7 (43m)
The knowledgable Manchester crowd were treated to a home upset in the opening match of the day as Jasmine Hutton scored a first ever win over No.2 seed Nele Gilis-Coll.
Hutton stormed the opening game, firing the ball in short at every opportunity and making use of the slightly slow start of the Belgian. After losing the opener 11-5, Gilis-Coll started to settle into her metronomic rhythm and levelled the match after a flurry of errors from the Englishwoman.
After a strong talking to from Nick Matthew, Hutton returned to the court with a fire in her belly. She battened down the hatches and made life difficult for the No.2 seed, who was struggling to get in front of the left hander. Hutton won 11-6, 11-7 in the last two games to move into the semi-finals, a second World Events semi-final for the World No.18.
“It’s nice to do it here at one of my favourite events.” on scoring a first win over Gilis-Coll.
“I felt like it’s been coming. I got really close to her the last time we played and I think I’ve improved a bit so I just wanted to go out there and see how far I could go.
“I think confidence is the most important thing you can have. If you don’t believe you can win then you wont win, it’s as simple as that. That’s something that I’ve tried to work on and I think that’s coming through now. I’m craving a lot of big scalps now so just really happy.
“I had to stay composed, you know what you’re going to get with Nele. She never gives up and that’s a huge asset of hers and everyone respects it so much. So for me, I had to just stay composed and I got a little edgy at the end but I needed to get my depth back and I’m just happy that I won.”
Salma storms into semis
[3] Salma Hany (Egy) 3-0 [6] Sarah-Jane Perry (Eng) 11-5, 11-9, 11-5 (24m)
In the second match of the day, Egypt’s Salma Hany booked her spot in the last four after showing no mercy against former England No.1 Sarah-Jane Perry.
Hany hit the four corners immediately in the opening game and started to stretch Perry into all areas of the court and test the movement of the tall No.8 seed. After winning the opening game 11-5, Hany sat back slightly which allowed Perry to move forward and start to showcase her front court skill.
Despite the slight shift in momentum, Hany managed to stay close to Perry and stole the game 11-9 to take a crucial 2-0 lead.
Hany was determined to not give Perry any angle back into the match in the third game and got back to hitting strongly to the back corners to pin Perry behind her before working her short. This worked a treat for the Egyptian who ran through to 10-5 and won 11-5. She’ll face Hutton in the semi-finals.
Jonah Wins all-English quarter
[7] Jonah Bryant (Eng) 3-0 [9/16] Nick Wall (Eng) 11-8, 13-11, 11-4 (43m)
19-year-old Jonah Bryant booked his place in the semi-finals of the Manchester Open after a comprehensive 3-0 win over compatriot Nick Wall.
Nick Wall scored an impressive win over third seed Miguel Rodriguez in the previous round but faced an in-form Bryant as he looked to celebrate his England call up with a win on day three in Manchester.
Wall started the better of the two in the opening game and led 5-2. Bryant found his way back into the game and started to frustrate the Yorkshireman, who made costly errors to give Bryant a 1-0 lead. The rallies started to hot up in the second game and both players started to get involved in more discussions with the referee. The interruptions seemed to affect the concentration of both players but it was again Bryant who prevailed 13-11.
Wall’s concentration was visibly knocked in the third game as errors again started to flow from the racket of the 25-year-old. This was music to Bryant’s ears as he motored through the points to win 11-4 and earn a spot in the last four.
[1] Aly Abou Eleinen (Egy) 3-0 [6] Juan Camilo Vargas (Col) 11-6, 11-4, 11-8 (35m)
Top seed Eleinen safely through to semis
The top seed in the men’s event, Aly Abou Eleinen, showed his quality in his quarter final clash with Colombia’s Juan Vargas as he secured a victory in straight games to move through to the last four.
The Egyptian used his busy style of play to control the middle of the court and pin Vargas in the back corners before showcasing his front court abilities. The World #12 made no errors as he soared to a first game victory, winning 11-6. More of the same followed in the second game, as the Egyptian showed his resilience to keep finding space on the court and weather the storm of Vargas. After leading 9-2, the top seed closed the game out 11-4 to take a 2-0 lead.
Eleinen ran out to an 8-4 lead in the third game and despite a strong finish from the Colombian, the Egyptian closed the game out 11-8 to win in 35 minutes. He’s set up a mouth watering clash with Jonah Bryant in tomorrow’s semi-finals.
