Five English players through to quarter-finals at Birmingham 2022

England enjoyed a largely positive round of 16 at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, with five members of the six-strong team reaching the quarter-finals.

5/8 seed Lucy Turmel began the charge in the first match of the day on Court 2. The 22-year-old, who made her Commonwealth Games debut in yesterday’s 3-0 win over Amity Alarcos, was up against 9/16 seed Jess Turnbull for a place in the last eight.

Whereas yesterday Turmel made a watchful start in game one before accelerating away in games two and three, today she began at furious pace, blasting her way to an 11-1 win in the first game.

The inevitable Turnbull response came in the second game, with Turmel pushed hard in a tight 13-11 win for the Englishwoman.

The Australian continued to threaten in the third and, after taking the game 11-9, had a foothold in the match and all of the momentum.

Turmel, however, reacted calmly, taking a flurry of unanswered points to throttle Turnbull’s progress and seal the match with an 11-4 win in the fourth game.

Turmel will play top seed and defending champion Joelle King in the quarter-finals tomorrow.

Afterwards, Turmel said:

"I'm happy to be through and I'm already thinking about playing on that amazing glass court tomorrow, it's going to be special. Today was tough, I knew it would be - there were a couple of moments I took my foot off the gas and Jess is a fighter and a great player.”

Joining Turmel in the women’s quarter-finals are No.2 seed Sarah-Jane Perry and 3/4 seed Georgina Kennedy after they produced assured displays to dispatch Canada’s Nicole Bunyan 3-0 in 22 minutes and Malaysia’s Yiwen Chan 3-0 in 28 minutes.

Afterwards, Kennedy said: “It’s crazy, I've said a few times that it’s been a dream since I was a girl to compete with Team England and just to be here is a life goal achieved.

“But now, after the successful year I’ve had, my perspective has changed. I don’t want to just show up. I want to reach the podium.

“I’m so lucky to play on this glass in front of an amazing crowd, I just tried to enjoy it and I had an amazing match with Nicole, I’m pleased with that one.”

In the men’s draw, defending champion and 5/8 seed James Willstrop marked collecting his 200th England cap with a routine 11-6, 11-4, 11-7 victory over Pakistan’s Nasir Iqbal, while fellow 5/8 seed Adrian Waller added to the England wins with another 3-0, with the 32-year-old overcoming Jamaica’s Christopher Binnie in 25 minutes to earn a crack at top seed Paul Coll.

“All the superlatives have been said,” Willstrop said after his win.

“I can't say amazing many more times. It’s great to be here. The atmosphere, it’s hard to put finger on, but it’s very unique and you don’t get it at tournaments on the tour. I’ve played at five Commonwealth Games now, but nothing quite like this.”

The sole English defeat today was a nailbiter, as 3/4 seed Patrick Rooney suffered a shock exit at the hands of Scotland’s 9/16 seed Rory Stewart.

The World No.24 went into the match ranked 42 places above Stewart and having beaten him 3-0 in the PSL Cup just two months ago.

Rooney initially appeared to have recovered from a challenging start when he went 2-1 up after losing the first game. The Englishman was flying with a 7-0 lead in game four, only for Stewart to launch a brilliant recovery. The 26-year-old Scot took the game 13-11 after saving four match balls before finishing Rooney with an 11-5 win in the fifth game.

Stewart will play Willstrop in the quarter-final.

Watch the quarter-finals live on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website from 12pm. Visit England Squash’s dedicated site for news, results and reaction.

Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Round Three Women’s Results:

[5/8] Lucy Turmel (ENG) bt [9/16] Jess Turnbull (AUS) 3-1: 11-1, 13-11, 9-11, 11-4 (40m)
[3/4] Georgina Kennedy (ENG) bt [9/16] Nicole Bunyan (CAN) 3-0: 11-3, 11-1, 11-3 (22m)
[2] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) bt [9/16] Chan Yiwen (MAS) 3-0: 11-6, 11-8, 13-11 (28m)

Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Round Three Men’s Results:

[5/8] James Willstrop (ENG) bt Nasir Iqbal (PAK) 3-0: 11-6, 11-4, 11-7 (33m)
[9/16] Rory Stewart (SCO) bt [3/4] Patrick Rooney (ENG) 3-2: 12-10, 7-11, 10-12, 13-11, 11-5 (74m)
[5/8] Adrian Waller (ENG) bt Christopher Binnie (JAM) 3-0: 11-7, 11-4, 11-4 (35m)

Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Quarter-Final Women’s Draw:

[5/8] Lucy Turmel (ENG) v [1] Joelle King (NZL)
[3/4] Georgina Kennedy (ENG) v [9/16] Rachel Arnold (MAS)
[2] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) v [5/8] Emily Whitlock (WAL)