21 October, 2023
Samuel Jones led the way for the English contingent at the 2023 Czech Open.
Jones reached the round of 16 in both the men’s and mixed doubles events in Prague, putting in some impressive performances alongside respective teammates Koon Fung Kelvin Ho and Sian Kelly.
In the men’s doubles, Jones and Ho battled through the round of 32 against the Netherland’s Dennis Koppen and Bulgaria’s Alex Vlaar.
The English pair were pushed hard, winning the opener 22-20 before sealing their progress with a 21-17 win in the second game.
Victory sealed a difficult draw in the round of 16, coming up against home favourites and top seeds Ondrej Kral and Adam Mendrek from the host nation.
Jones and Ho were up for the challenge and narrowly lost out in a match of fine margins, losing both games 22-20.
In the mixed doubles, Jones was back in action alongside Kelly.
Having beaten Baptiste Labarthe and Camille Pognante 23-21, 21-14 earlier in the competition, the pair were then up against German second seeds Malik Bourakkadi and Leona Michalski.
Jones and Ho made a strong start, taking the opening game 22-20, but lost the second by the same scoreline to set up a decider which went the way of Bourakkadi and Michalski 21-14.
