Iker Pajares Bernabeu reaches British Open last 16 in Birmingham

Spanish No.1 Iker Pajares Bernabeu was denied a quarter-final place at the PSA British Open by former World Champion Tarek Momen who produced an accomplished performance on the all-glass show court housed at the spectacular Rep Theatre in the heart of Birmingham.

The World No.7 from Egypt overcame a determined start by the 3-time Spanish Champion, & the distraction of a new ball midway through the second game, to close-out an 11-7 11-6 11-3 victory.

PSA British Open Squash Championships, The Birmingham Rep Theatre, Birmingham
3rd Round:
[6] Tarek Momen (EGY) bt Iker Pajares Bernabeu (ESP) 11-7, 11-6, 11-3

Spanish No.1 Iker Pajares Bernabeu produced a sublime performance to pull-off an enthralling 76-minute 12-10 6-11 11-6 8-11 11-5 victory over England’s World No.20 Patrick Rooney on the 2nd day of the PSA British Open at the Edgbaston Priory Club in Birmingham.

“Very happy! Over the moon to have made it to the last 16 of the British Open. Obviously, after the World Championships, it is one of the biggest tournaments on the PSA World Tour, it is something very big for me!” said Iker after his hard-fought victory.

“I couldn’t play the tournaments in the last month because I couldn’t get in the draws, so I have been training hard with my coaches in Barcelona. I am so happy to see that all the work I have been doing in the last two months has paid off today.

“I am playing Tarek Momen in the last 16. I have never played Tarek being fresh, I always play him after brutal matches. I have 24 hours to recover now, I am on the glass court so we will see!”

Nick Wall was denied a place in the last 16 of the PSA British Open & the opportunity to compete on the all-glass court at the spectacular Birmingham Rep Theatre by fellow Englishman Nathan Lake who prevailed in a closely fought 51-minute 11-7 11-3 11-13 11-7 victory.

PSA British Open Squash Championships, The Edgbaston Priory Club, Birmingham
2nd Round:
Iker Pajares Bernabeu (ESP) bt Patrick Rooney (ENG) 12-10, 6-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-5 (76m)
Nathan Lake (ENG) bt Nick Wall (ENG) 11-7, 11-3, 11-13, 11-7 (51m)

The opening day of the PSA British Open Squash Championships played at the Edgbaston Priory Club in Birmingham proved to be one of mixed fortunes for #teamunsquashable.

The afternoon session saw Spanish No.1 Iker Pajares Bernabeu overcome Henry Leung of Hong Kong 11-7 12-10 6-11 11-7 whilst in the evening session Nick Wall of England showed all his battling qualities to progress to the 2nd round with a 62-minute 6-11 11-5 11-6 7-11 11-6 victory over Auguste Dussourd of France.

Iker Pajares Bernabeu will face Patrick Rooney in the 2nd round after the Englishman beat UNSQUASHABLE player Todd Harrity on the opening day, whilst Nick Wall will play compatriot Nathan Lake.

3-time British Open finalist James Willstrop was beaten 9-11 11-3 11-7 7-11 11-8 in a nail-biting 54 minutes by Baptiste Masotti in arguably the standout match on day one.

George Parker, playing his first competitive match of the year following an extended period away from the PSA World Tour due to injury, was beaten 11-5 11-7 8-11 4-11 11-4 in 74 minutes in any equally tense 1st round contest.

Lucas Serme battled hard in his 1st round match against Dimitri Steinmann but was eventually denied by the Swiss Champion in straight games.

PSA British Open Squash Championships, The Edgbaston Priory Club, Birmingham.
1st Round:
Iker Pajares Bernabeu (ESP) bt Henry Leung (HKG) 11-7, 12-10, 6-11, 11-7 (60m)
Nick Wall (ENG) bt Auguste Dussourd (FRA) 6-11, 11-5, 11-6, 7-11, 11-6 (62m)
Patrick Rooney (ENG) bt Todd Harrity (USA) 11-5, 11-8, 11-6 (33m)
Dimitri Steinmann (SUI) bt Lucas Serme (FRA) 11-6, 11-6, 12-10 (48m)
Greg Lobban (SCO) bt George Parker (ENG) 11-5, 11-7, 8-11, 4-11, 11-4 (74m)

The British Open, the world’s most prestigious squash championships, starts today in Birmingham & will feature all the world’s leading players including UNSQUASHABLE players James Willstrop, Iker Pajares Bernabeu, George Parker, Lucas Serme, Todd Harrity & Nick Wall.

The championships which are affectionately known as the ‘Wimbledon of Squash’ returns to Birmingham for the first time since 2001 with the opening rounds played at the Edgbaston Priory Club before the moving the spectacular Birmingham Rep Theatre in the heart of the city.

Shop exclusive products & offers throughout the championships from our dedicated British Open Online Store.

Iker Pajares Bernabeu vs. Henry Leung
James Willstrop vs. Baptiste Masotti
Todd Harrity vs Patrick Rooney
Lucas Serme vs. Dimitri Steinmann
Nick Wall vs. Auguste Dussourd
George Parker vs. Greg Lobban

James Willstrop, Iker Pajares Bernabeu, Nick Wall, George Parker, Lucas Serme & Todd Harrity will all compete at the British Open Squash Championships which will be staged in Birmingham, England from the 9th to 16th April.

The championships, which are affectionately known as the ‘Wimbledon of Squash’, will be staged in Birmingham for the first time since 2001 with the opening rounds played at the Edgbaston Priory Club before the moving the spectacular Birmingham Rep Theatre in the heart of the city.

The prestigious Professional Squash Association (PSA) World Tour Platinum event will offer a record $358,000 prize fund which will be split equally between the male & female draws.

Three-time finalist James Willstrop of England will face Baptiste Masotti of France in his opening match, three-time Spanish Champion Iker Pajares Bernabeu will be up against Shahjahan Khan of the USA, three-time US Champion Todd Harrity will play Patrick Rooney of England, two-time French Champion Lucas Serme will face Dimitri Steinmann of Switzerland, whilst Englishmen Nick Wall & George Parker will face Auguste Dussourd of France & Scotland Greg Lobban respectively.

2023 PSA British Squash Open:
Men’s Draw:
[1] Mostafa Asal (EGY) [Bye]
Karim El Hammamy (EGY) v [17/32] Omar Mosaad (EGY)
[17/32] Shahjahan Khan (USA) v Iker Pajares Bernabeu (ESP)
Adrian Waller (ENG) v [17/32] Mohamed ElSherbini (EGY)
[17/32] Patrick Rooney (ENG) v Todd Harrity (USA)
Henry Leung (HKG) v [17/32] Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi (QAT)
[17/32] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) v Cesar Salazar (MEX)
[7] Tarek Momen (EGY) [Bye]
[8] Mazen Hesham (EGY) [Bye]
Ramit Tandon (IND) v [17/32] Sebastien Bonmalais (FRA)
[17/32] Baptiste Masotti (FRA) v James Willstrop (ENG)
[9/16] Gregoire Marche (FRA) [Bye]
[9/16] Victor Crouin (FRA) [Bye]
[9/16] Miguel Rodriguez (COL) [Bye]
[17/32] Leonel Cardenas (MEX) v Balazs Farkas (HUN)
[3] Ali Farag (EGY) [Bye]
[4] Paul Coll (NZL) v [Bye]
[WC] Curtis Malik (ENG) v [17/32] Eain Yow Ng (MAS)
17/32] Saurav Ghosal (IND) v Yahya Elnawasany (EGY)
[9/16] Fares Dessouky (EGY) [Bye]
[9/16] Youssef Soliman (EGY) [Bye]
George Parker (ENG) v [17/32] Greg Lobban (SCO)
[17/32] Dimitri Steinmann (SUI) v Lucas Serme (FRA)
[6] Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY) [Bye]
[5] Mohamed ElShorbagy (ENG) [Bye]
[WC] Sam Todd (ENG) v [17/32] Raphael Kandra (GER)
[9/16] Nicolas Mueller (SUI) [Bye]
[9/16] Youssef Ibrahim (EGY) [Bye]
[17/32] Aly Abou Eleinen (EGY) v Nathan Lake (ENG)
Nick Wall (ENG) v [17/32] Auguste Dussourd (FRA)
[9/16] Joel Makin (WAL) [Bye]
[2] Diego Elias (PER) [Bye]

Women’s Draw:
[1] Nouran Gohar (EGY) [Bye]
Cindy Merlo (SUI) v [17/32] Melissa Alves (FRA)
[17/32] Mariam Metwally (EGY) v Ka Yi Lee (HKG)
[9/16] Nele Gilis (BEL) [Bye]
[17/32] Nada Abbas (EGY) v Tsz-Wing Tong (HKG)
Nour Aboulmakarim (EGY) v [17/32] Lucy Turmel (ENG)
[17/32] Sivasangari Subramaniam (MAS) v Chan Sin Yuk (HKG)
[8] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) [Bye]
[7] Rowan Elaraby (EGY) v [Bye]
Lucy Beecroft (ENG) v [17/32] Farida Mohamed (EGY)
[17/32] Jasmine Hutton (ENG) v Fayrouz Aboelkheir (EGY)
Hana Moataz (EGY) v [17/32] Tomato Ho (HKG)
[9/16] Olivia Fiechter (USA) [Bye]
Enora Villard (FRA) v [17/32] Hollie Naughton (CAN)
[17/32] Rachel Arnold (MAS) v [WC] Katie Malliff (ENG)
[4] Joelle King (NZL) [Bye]
[3] Hania El Hammamy (EGY) v [Bye]
Danielle Letourneau (CAN) v [17/32] Alexandra Fuller (RSA)
[9/16] Georgina Kennedy (ENG) [Bye]
Joshna Chinappa (IND) v [17/32] Emily Whitlock (WAL)
[17/32] Aifa Azman (MAS) v Yathreb Adel (EGY)
[9/16] Salma Hany (EGY) [Bye]
[9/16] Olivia Clyne (USA) [Bye]
[5] Amanda Sobhy (USA) [Bye]
[6] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) [Bye]
Zeina Mickawy (EGY) v [17/32] Hana Ramadan (EGY)
[9/16] Tinne Gilis (BEL) [Bye]
[9/16] Tesni Evans (WAL) [Bye]
[17/32] Nadine Shahin (EGY) v Sana Ibrahim (EGY)
[9/16] Sabrina Sobhy (USA) [Bye]
[17/32] Satomi Watanabe (JPN) v [WC] Torrie Malik (ENG)
[2] Nour El Sherbini (EGY) [Bye]