Kennedy & Makin Claim British Nationals Titles
19 Aug 2024
In a spectacular conclusion to a week of exciting squash action at St George's Hill Lawn Tennis Club in Weybridge, No.1 seed Georgina Kennedy won the first British National title of her career after defeating former world No.5 Sarah-Jane Perry, while No.2 seed Joel Makin dethroned two-time champion Mohamed ElShorbagy in a five-game, 85-minute epic.
In the women's final, British No.1 Kennedy looked to overcome the three-time champion Perry, who bested the 27-year-old in the 2021 final.
In a great start for the favourite, Kennedy managed to nullify her opponent's threat with effective use of boasts, ultimately claiming the first game 11-9. Kennedy rallied back from an early lead from the 34-year-old and found parity at 7-7 before going on to earn a 2/0 advantage.
The third game saw a battle between Perry's pin-point accuracy and Kennedy's athletic retrievals, with the England No.1 earning more points to an 8-4 lead as she found a metronomic rhythm to her play. The three-time champion showed her mettle and responded to the early deficit with five consecutive points, before winning the game to take the match into a fourth game.
Perry looked more relaxed on the court as she pushed to 8-3, but Kennedy showed character as she fought back to 8-9, and pushed on from there to claim the title.
"It's such an honour to win this title for the first time," Kennedy said after the match. "I've never won it before, and I really wanted to win it this year, especially being the No.1 seed for a second year in a row. That was such a tough test against SJ, she's such a good person on and off the court, and she did so well to come back and take the third. She was completely dominating me in the fourth, but I managed to turn it around and got that lucky shank on match ball.
"I could feel the momentum was swinging, so I thought it was essential that I took it in three. I knew she would get better and better, I've watched her play for so many years and I've seen her go down 2/0 and then she gets better. I was aware of that, but I couldn't stop her and then I was outplayed in the fourth and couldn't get her off the middle. If that went to a fifth it would have been worrying, so I'm really happy to win."
In the men's final, Wales No.1 Makin upset defending champion and top seed ElShorbagy to claim his first British Nationals title since 2021.
ElShorbagy stormed to a 5-0 lead in game one and despite Makin rallying back to 8-10, the two-time champion kept composed and took the first game.
In the second game, both competitors traded points in attritional rallies to a tie-break. ElShorbagy had the first four attempts to convert the game, but Makin dug in and saved four game balls before taking the game on the first time of asking at 15-13.
Makin quickly put pressure on the 33-year-old in the third game as he pulled away on the scoreboard from 3-3 to 11-3, to go a game away from the title.
The former world No.1 began game four with an intensity that Makin struggled to match as he took a quick 8-2 lead. The Welshman lengthened the rallies and battled back to 8-10, but ElShorbagy held on to take the match to a decisive fifth game.
The Englishman looked more fatigued that his Welsh counterpart as the clash continued past 80 minutes, and Makin dominated the fifth game to win the dramatic final and claim the second Nationals title of his career.
"It wasn't looking good for the first half hour," said Makin after the longest men's final in 18 years. "I had to bite my tongue a bit and dig in. He nullified me and controlled the pace. He was clinical and I had to wait for him to deviate and me to find my spots.
"For the past two years he's put on unbelievable performances. I've taken those losses and come back. It was a massive one to win and I'm so happy to get over the line.
"It was massive to win the first one, but this is almost a new era now. We have Mohamed and Marwan [ElShorbagy] both in the draw and to come through a week where you've got to beat both of them back-to-back... It's something I'm very pleased with because these are world-class players and have been for years."