2021 Quarter-Finals

It was a day of upsets in Inverness as six of the eight quarter-finals went against the seedings – Georgia Adderley kept Scottish hopes alive as she took out the women’s top seed, and Malik siblings Torrie and Curtis weighed in with massive upsets of their own!

2021 Springfield Scottish Squash Open QUARTER-FINALS

Women’s Quarters :
[6] Georgia Adderley (Sco) 3-1 [1] Julianne Courtice (Eng) 14-12, 11-6, 4-11, 11-7 (49m)
[4] Georgina Kennedy (Eng) 3-0 [5] Alison Thomson (Sco)        11-5, 11-2, 11-5 (28m)

[8] Grace Gear
 (Eng) 3-2 
[3] Marie Stephan (Fra)    7-11, 11-7, 11-3, 10-12, 11-5 (49m)
Torrie Malik (Eng) 3-2 [7] Alicia Mead (Eng)              11-9, 9-11, 11-7, 9-11, 11-8 (46m)

Men’s Quarters :
[1] Sebastien Bonmalias (Fra) 3-1 [8] Viktor Byrtus (Cze) 11-9, 11-4, 7-11, 11-8 (40m)
Nick Wall (Eng) 3-2 [7] Abhay Singh (Ind)               11-3, 3-11, 4-11, 11-7, 12-10 (55m)

[5] Emyr Evans
(Wal) 3-1 [4] Jakub Solnicky (Cze)           11-4, 10-12, 11-5, 11-5 (52m)
Curtis Malik (Eng) 3-2 [2] Rui Soares (Por)                11-8, 8-11, 8-11, 11-6, 11-9 (77m)

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Four upsets in a row to start the quarters

The first quarter-final proved to be a real nailbiter as Grace Gear produced a big upset to take out third seed Marie Stephan in five. The Frenchwoman overpowered Gear in the first, but the Englishwoman seemed to work it out, took the next two games and at 6-2 in the fourth victory looked in the bag.

Stephan fought back well, levelling in extra points with a big roar, but Gear took the initiative from the start of the decider to complete the upset.

“That was tough,” admitted Grace. “She started really well, I managed to turn it round but let it go alittle bit in the fourth. I managed to refocus for the fifth, really pleased to get through that.”

A second seeding upset – [5] over [4] – followed as Welshman Emyr Evans got the better of Czech Jakub Solnicky in four games. Evans dominated the first and had game ball in the second before Solnicky levelled, but Evans asserted to take the next two for a 11-4, 10-12, 11-5, 11-5 win in 52 minutes.

“I had a good performance yesterday, and wanted to bring that again. This is my first tournament since COVID where I’ve won two in a row, so very happy with that.”

The upsets continued as unseeded siblings Torrie and Curtis Malik advanced to their first ever PSA Challenger 10 semi-finals, both in five game thrillers that swung both ways until the death.

Torrie shared the first four games with seventh seed Alicia Mead, then saw five match balls disappear before finally clinching the win.

“I’m absolutely over the moon, I’m still shaking! The training is finally paying off, but it’s another tough match tomorrow.”

Curtis took the first against second seed Rui Soares, but the Portuguese took the next two before Curtis levelled. Soares let a 6-1 lead in the decider slip to 6-all, then from 9-all Curtis took the final two points to complete the quarter of upsets.

“I’m proud of how I dug in there at the end, that’s probably the hardest I’ve ever had to work to do that, I just told myself to stick to the game plan.  I had goosebumps before the start, I told myself that if Torrie could do it, then so could I …”

The evening session started with the first match to go to seeding – England’s in-form Gina Kennedy, typically speedy and committed, dispatching Scotland’s Alison Thomson in straight games.

“Alison is such a tough competitor, as soon as I lose concentration she’s in there. I felt I was hitting the ball well and moving well, so happy to win in three.”

Normal service – for today – was resumed when England’s Nick Wall became the latest unseeded player to reach the semis, coming through another nailbiting five-setter to take out India’s seventh seed Abhay Singh.

Wall started strongly, Singh fought back to take the lead, and was close to the win in the fourth before a string of points went Wall’s way. Singh led the decider all the way, had one match ball but the Englishman saved that and then took the next two points for the win.

“Thrilled to come through in five again, I was 2-0 down yesterday, 2-1 today. I feel like I’m finding a bit of form, I just need to keep the concentration up.”

Adderley squeezed home in a tight first game against top seed Julianne Courtice, then doubled her lead. Although the Englishwoman levelled, the home crowd helped Adderley through a tense fourth to clinch yet another big upset.

“I’m over the moon! It’s my biggest win to date on PSA, and to do it on home soil makes it even better. I’ve spent the summer mainly playing in England with the crowd against me, so this makes a really nice change!”

The day concluded with a four game victory for top seeded Frenchman Sebastien Bonmalais over Czech Viktor Byrtus.