Joel Makin beats Dimitri Steinmann to reach British Open quarters

Joel Makin reached his second consecutive British Open quarter-final after outplaying Swiss world number 18 Dimitri Steinmann 11-5 11-4 11-4 at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre.

In the first meeting between the pair, Making – the British number one and world number four – took the initiative early on, spending the majority of the opening game in front of Steinmann and forcing the Swiss number one into long, lung-busting rallies and desperate scrambling recoveries.

After taking the 23-minute first game 11-5, Makin doubled his lead after dominating the second 11-4, with the Welshman looking fully at home in his adopted city where he studied and has lived for the last 12 years.

Steinmann started game three more brightly, upping the tempo and volleying more to get the ball past Makin more consistently.

Makin, though, was soon able to adapt and wore Steinmann down with some typically brutal rallies, complemented by some smart finishes at the front of the court as he brought the contest to a close with another 11-4 win.

“It was great, I love playing here. I’ve been here for 12 years now and it feels like home. People have been coming out and supporting, it’s great and I’ve loved the atmosphere here,” Makin said.

Makin will play France’s Victor Crouin in the quarter-finals, with their match scheduled for Thursday, 5 June at 20:15 BST.

Fellow British players Marwan ElShorbagy and brother Mohamed ElShorbagy are in action on Wednesday bidding to join Makin in the last eight, taking on respectively Youssef Soliman and his Egyptian compatriot Mohamad Zakaria.

In the women’s draw, England’s Sarah-Jane Perry aims to keep British hopes alive against Nour ElSherbini of Egypt.