Home Talents Make Stellar Starts At British Open

Home talents enjoyed a flying start to the GillenMarkets British Open on day one in Solihull as eight British players recorded wins to book their place in round two.

The British Open, the oldest and most established tournament on the PSA calendar, is taking place at The Rep Theatre in Birmingham and the Solihull Arden Club as 96 of the world's best squash players battle it out for the two PSA Squash Tour Diamond titles.

On the traditional courts of Solihull Arden Club, an English contingent of Jonah Bryant, Simon Herbert, Torrie Malik, Saran Nghiem, Patrick Rooney, Sam Todd, Lucy Turmel and Scotland's Georgia Adderley moved a step closer to glory with impressive wins.

The wins for Bryant and Herbert proved particularly sweet, with both players local to the area.

Bryant, aged 19 and part of the England team that won the European Team Championship earlier this year, beat India's Velavan Senthilkumar to set up a tantalising clash with reigning World Champion and world No.1 Mostafa Asal, with Bryant set to take on the Egyptian on the stunning glass court in the Rep Theatre on Sunday.

"Asal's great player but he's just another opponent tomorrow. I'm going to be fair, but not give him too much respect. I'll go in, get stuck in and see what he's about," Bryant said afterwards.

Herbert, meanwhile, upset the odds as the world No.58 took out world No.25 Auguste Dussourd of France in straight games to the delight of the home crowd.

The 23-year-old will play British No.1 and tournament No.4 seed Joel Makin of Wales, who received a first round bye.

"I've been here for the last five years and my home's five minutes away! It felt really good to have that home support and play in front of friends and family," Herbert said.

There was also surprise success for two English wildcards Sam Todd and Patrick Rooney, both from Pontefract in Yorkshire. Todd recorded his first ever win over higher-ranked Hungarian Balazs Farkas, while Rooney overcame Egypt's former world No.7 Mohamed Abouelghar.

There were also shock wins for two 'Lucky Losers' - players who were beaten in the final qualifying round, then replaced in the draw after late withdrawals. Egypt's Kareem El Torkey defeated compatriot Yahya Elnawasany in straight games - and, in the women's draw, Canadian Nicole Bunyan recorded a four-game win over Egyptian Menna Hamed.