Both the men’s and women’s draws for the AJ Bell British National Squash Championships have now been announced with some mouthwatering matches in store at the tournament, which will take place from February 12-17.
The tournament will be shown live on SQUASHTV for free to digital subscribers and also on the PSA World Tour Facebook page, for all countries, when the main draw takes place February 14-17.
Commonwealth Games gold medallist James Willstrop and former national champion Daryl Selby, ranked 16 and 17 in the world, respectively, are seeded to meet in the men's final.
Former World.No.1 and two-time champion Willstrop kicks off his campaign against a qualifier, with a potential semi-final clash against local favourite Declan James, the World No.20. Willstrop will first have to overcome the powerful George Parker in the quarter-finals whilst James will need to navigate past Scottish number one Greg Lobban.
25-year-old James will be looking to replicate his performance at the season-opening Open International de Squash de Nantes, which saw him sensationally edge top seed Willstrop in a five-game final.
On the opposite side of the draw, 2011 champion Selby gets his tournament under way against a qualifier and is predicted to meet Guernsey's Chris Simpson in the quarters before going head-to-head with long-time rival and friend Tom Richards, seeded 3/4 in the semis.
Meanwhile, England’s No.1 Sarah-Jane Perry has pulled out of the women’s event due to injury.
Perry's withdrawal means Laura Massaro becomes top seed with Alison Waters moving to number two seed, setting up the prospect of a mouth-watering final between the four-time champions. Julianne Courtice moves up as 5/8 seed and Kace Bartley is granted a main draw berth.
Sarah-Jane said: “Whilst my recovery is going well, it was always going to be tight on time to be match fit. Unfortunately, I’m not quite where I would want to be so won’t be able to play. However, I am expecting to be fit for the World Champs onwards and look forward to being back next year.”
Qualifying round takes place between 12th and 13th February at Nottingham Squash Rackets Club (NSRC). Round one commences on Thursday 14th February at NSRC and the University of Nottingham.
AJ Bell British National Squash Championships 2019: Men’s First Round
[1] James Willstrop (Eng) v Qualifier
[6] George Parker (Eng) v Nathan Lake (Eng)
[5] Greg Lobban (Sco) v Qualifier
[3] Declan James (Eng) v Richie Fallows (Eng)
[4] Tom Richards (Eng) v Charlie Lee (Eng)
[8] Adrian Waller (Eng) v Qualifier
[7] Chris Simpson (Eng) v Josh Masters (Eng)
[2] Daryl Selby (Eng) v Qualifier
Revised main draw – AJ Bell British National Squash Championships 2019: Women's 1st Round
[1] Laura Massaro (Eng) v Alison Thomson (Sco)
[5/8] Millie Tomlinson (Eng) v Qualifier
[5/8] Julianne Courtice (Eng) v Sarah Campion (Eng)
¾ Victoria Lust (Eng) v Qualifier
¾ Tesni Evans (Wal) v Qualifier
[5/8] Emily Whitlock (Eng) v Kace Bartley (Eng)
[5/8] Fiona Moverley (Eng) v Lucy Turmel (Eng)
[2] Alison Waters (Eng) v Qualifier
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