Home Hero Bryant Forces World Champion Asal British Open Fightback

World No.1 and newly-crowned World Champion Mostafa Asal came back from the brink to avoid a shock defeat against England's 19-year-old Jonah Bryant in round two of the GillenMarkets British Open at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre.

There was consolation for the home fans, though, as six English and two Welsh players booked their places in the next round, including 35-year-old local hero Sarah-Jane Perry, who is aiming to end her professional career with a fairytale win after announcing that she will retire after the event.

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

Asal, who in May became the first man since Jahangir Khan in 1988 to win the PSA World Championships without losing a single game, was pushed to the brink by the world No.30, who is playing his first full professional season.

Bryant spoke before the match about how he wouldn't show too much respect for Asal and would instead look to attack him - and was true to his word as the teenager stunned the world No.1 by taking the opening game 12-10.

Asal fired back 11-6 in game two only for Bryant to dominate the third game 11-3.

The crowd sensed an historic upset was potentially on the cards when Bryant, with the momentum firmly behind him, took a 9-8 lead in game four to move within two points of victory.

Asal, however, managed to cling on, breaking home hearts with an 11-9 win and then securing victory with an 11-5 victory in game five.

Afterwards, Asal heaped praise upon his young opponent: "Full credit to Jonah, what an amazing player! He's coming up the rankings so quickly and reminds me of myself when I was young.

"It's amazing to be honest, the future for sure is bright for him. He almost got me today!

"I managed to sneak it out, I think I was a bit lucky!"