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New Zealand Open
2022
presented by Robertson Lodges
Men's Draw
08 - 13 Nov
Tauranga, New Zealand, $77k |
ROUND TWO
09 Nov |
QUARTERS
10-11 Nov |
SEMIS
12 Nov |
FINAL
13 Nov |
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[1] Paul Coll (NZL)
11-6, 11-9, 11-3 (42m)
Timothy Brownell (USA) |
Paul Coll
11-7, 11-6, 11-9
Adrian Waller |
Paul Coll
11-9, 11-8, 11-4 (37m)
Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi
|
Paul Coll
9-11, 11-8, 11-4, 11-7 (62m)
Mohamed ElShorbagy |
Greg Lobban (SCO)
11-8, 6-11, 11-3, 11-7 (43m)
[6] Adrian Waller (ENG) |
[7] Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi (QAT)
11-8, 11-2, 11-6 (27m)
Balazs Farkas (HUN) |
Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi
11-5, 11-5, 11-5 (29m)
David Baillargeon |
David Baillargeon (CAN)
16-14, 12-10, 16-14 (63m)
[4] Miguel Rodriguez (COL) |
[3] Victor Crouin (FRA)
11-2, 11-2, 11-4 (28m)
Henry Leung (HKG) |
Victor Crouin
11-2, 11-7, 13-11 (36m)
Andrew Douglas |
Victor Crouin
11-9, 11-8, 11-4 (40m)
Mohamed ElShorbagy |
Andrew Douglas (FRA)
11-9, 11-4, 11-3 (39m)
[8] Sebastien Bonmalais (FRA) |
[5] Saurav Ghosal (IND)
11-7, 11-4, 8-11, 7-11, 11-7 (67m)
Leandro Romiglio (ARG) |
Leandro Romiglio
11-4, 11-9, 11-5 (29m)
Mohamed ElShorbagy |
Charlie Lee (ENG)
11-7, 11-3, 12-10 (36m)
[2] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) |
[1] Paul Coll (NZL) bye
[9/16] Timothy Brownell (USA) bt Christopher Gordon (USA) 11-6, 8-11,
11-3, 11-3 (41m)
[9/16] Greg Lobban (SCO) bt Rex Hedrick (AUS) 11-6, 11-7, 11-6 (45m)
[6] Adrian Waller (ENG) bye
[7] Abdulla Al-Tamimi (QAT) bye
[9/16] Balázs Farkas (HUN) v Syed Azlan Amjad (QAT)
[9/16] David Baillargeon (CAN) v [WC] Lwamba Chileshe (NZL)
[4] Miguel Rodriguez (COL) bye
[3] Victor Crouin (FRA) bye
[9/16] Henry Leung (HKG) bt Spencer Lovejoy (USA) 5-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-6
(43m)
Andrew Douglas (USA) bt [9/16] Tsz Kwan Lau (HKG) 11-4, 12-10, 11-8
(33m)
[8] Sébastien Bonmalais (FRA) bye
[5] Saurav Ghosal (IND) bye
[9/16] Leandro Romiglio (ARG) bt Martin Svec (CZE) 11-7, 14-12, 11-6
(35m)
[9/16] Charlie Lee (ENG) bt Addeen Idrakie (MAS) 11-3, 11-3, 11-3 (28m)
[2] Mohamed ElShorbagy (ENG) bye |
|
New Zealand Open 2022
presented by Barfoot & Thompson
Women's Draw
08 - 13 Nov
Tauranga, New Zealand, $77k |
ROUND TWO
09-10 Nov |
QUARTERS
11 Nov |
SEMIS
12 Nov |
FINAL
13 Nov |
[1] Joelle King (NZL)
11-3, 11-9, 11-6 (28m)
Jessica Turnbull (AUS) |
Joelle King
11-2, 11-6, 11-6 (29m)
Sabrina Sobhy |
Joelle King
8-11, 11-4, 11-5, 11-3 (52m)
Tinne Gilis |
Joelle King
11-4, 11-6, 11-5 (37m)
Tesni Evans |
[8] Sabrina Sobhy (USA)
8-11, 13-15, 11-2, 11-8, 11-7 (49m)
[9/16] Ka Yi Lee (HKG) |
[5] Tinne Gilis (BEL)
11-5, 12-10, 11-5 (23m)
[9/16] Olivia Clyne (USA) |
Tinne Gilis
12-10, 6-11, 11-5, 11-9 (58m)
Satomi Watanabe |
[9/16] Satomi Watanabe (JPN)
11-4, 9-11, 12-10, 11-9 (48m)
[3] Salma Hany (EGY) |
[4] Nele Gilis (BEL)
11-6, 11-3, 11-7 (27m)
[9/16] Tsz-Wing Tong (HKG) |
Nele Gilis
11-3, 14-12, 11-7 (42m)
Hollie Naughton |
Nele Gilis
11-6, 11-5, 11-4 (36m)
Tesni Evans |
[7] Hollie Naughton (CAN)
11-9, 8-11, 11-6, 11-4 (37m)
Malak Khafagy (EGY) |
[6] Tesni Evans (WAL)
11-2, 11-2, 11-5 (28m)
[WC] Kaitlyn Watts (NZL) |
Tesni Evans
11-9, 14-12, 7-11, 11-5 (59m)
Sarah-Jane Perry |
[9/16] Tomato Ho (HKG)
11-9, 11-5, 11-6 (27m)
[2] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) |
[1] Joelle King (NZL) bye
Jessica Turnbull (AUS) bt [9/16] Salma Eltayeb (EGY) 2-11, 11-9, 11-7,
11-8 (33m)
[9/16] Ka Yi Lee (HKG) bt Rana Ismail (EGY) 11-4, 11-7, 10-12, 11-9
(33m)
[8] Sabrina Sobhy (USA) bye
[5] Tinne Gilis (BEL) bye
[9/16] Olivia Clyne (USA) v Sarah Cardwell (AUS)
[9/16] Satomi Watanabe (JPN) v Nadia Pfister (SUI)
[3] Salma Hany (EGY) bye
[4] Nele Gilis (BEL) bye
[9/16] Tsz-Wing Tong (HKG) bt Alicia Mead (ENG) 11-7, 11-4, 11-8 (29m)
Malak Khafagy (EGY) bt [9/16] Jasmine Hutton (ENG) 9-11, 11-3, 10-12,
14-12, 16-14 (70m)
[7] Hollie Naughton (CAN) bye
[6] Tesni Evans (WAL) bye
[WC] Kaitlyn Watts (NZL) bt [9/16] Lisa Aitken (SCO) w/o
[9/16] Tomato Ho (HKG) bt Saskia Beinhard (GER) 11-6, 11-4, 11-4 (25m)
[2] Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG) bye |
Finals
King and ElShorbagy Lift New Zealand Open Titles
Top seed Joelle King and No.2 seed Mohamed ElShorbagy are the 2022 New
Zealand Open champions after they beat No.6 seed Tesni Evans and men’s
No.1 seed Paul Coll earlier today at the Trustpower Baypark Arena in
Tauranga.
World No.5 King has captured the 15th PSA title of her career - and her
first on home soil since 2008 - after a dominant 11-4, 11-6, 11-5
victory over World No.14 Evans saw her capture the women’s PSA World
Tour Silver title.
It’s King’s first PSA title since April’s Manchester Open and her first
of the 2022-23 season. King becomes the first women’s New Zealand Open
champion since 2009 and the first Kiwi to take the title since the
legendary four-time World Champion Dame Susan Devoy in 1993.
“We get asked a lot, what’s your favourite tournament to play, and I
haven’t had the chance to say New Zealand because we haven’t had a
tournament for so long, but it’s 100 per cent playing here at home,”
said King afterwards.
“I’ve been sort of nervous during the day all week, but once I arrive
and I see the court and I see everyone here who I know and they’re
supporting me, it just kind of goes away as soon as I step on the court.
It hasn’t kind of sunk in yet. Obviously, a bit later on I’ll be able to
enjoy it.
“I’m super pleased with how I’ve played all week.”
In the men’s event, World No.4 ElShorbagy won the 47th PSA title of his
career as he came back from a game behind to end Coll’s hopes of lifting
the trophy in front of his home crowd.
Greymouth-born Coll made a fabulous start to the match as he fed on the
energy from the crowd to sneak the opening game, but a fired-up
ElShorbagy came out all guns blazing in the second game. The Englishman
won the next three games without reply to become the first men’s New
Zealand Open champion since Paul Steel in 1993.
ElShorbagy’s victory also sees him become the youngest man ever to reach
500 PSA wins at the age of 31 years and 10 months, while he is only the
third man to achieve that milestone after his coach Gregory Gaultier
(587) and Nick Matthew (518).
“Paul is a great rival and we’ve had amazing matches over the years,”
said ElShorbagy.
“When it comes to rivals, you don’t win every time and you don’t lose
every time, we’re going to play probably next week and the week after,
he’s probably going to get another win over me and I’ll get another win
over him, that’s how it is between rivals.
“Both families [Coll’s and King’s], you have raised two great human
beings. We love having them on the tour.”
The next stop on the PSA World Tour will be the MARIGOLD Singapore
Squash Open, which takes place between November 15-20.
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Semi Finals Top Half
Evans to Face Top Seed King in New Zealand Open Final
Welsh World No.14 Tesni Evans has reached her first PSA final in over
three years after she upset No.3 seed Nele Gilis earlier today at the
Trustpower Baypark Arena in Tauranga to set up a mouthwatering final
clash with top seed Joelle King at the New Zealand Open.
Gilis, who is ranked a place above Evans in the PSA World Rankings, was
in red-hot form in the opening game as she displayed a clinical edge to
put Evans to the sword.
However, the remaining three games were a masterclass from Evans as the
30-year-old controlled the match and made very few errors en route to an
8-11, 11-4, 11-5, 11-3 victory in 52 minutes. Evans will now compete in
her first final since the Manchester Open in May, 2019, where she also
played King in the final, losing in straight games. A win for Evans
would see her lift her second PSA title and her first since 2015.
“I was thinking this morning when I was coming down to practice, the
last time I was in a final was in Manchester, which is sort of home for
me and how cool it would be to replicate that and play in her [Joelle
King] home now,” said Evans after reaching the eighth PSA final of her
career.
“She absolutely thrashed me that day. I’m hoping for something a bit
better tomorrow, but I know it’ll be a great final and honestly it’s an
honour to share a final with her in New Zealand.
“I think it’ll be pretty special.”
Meanwhile, King will appear in the title decider in front of her home
fans after she overcame Gilis’s younger sister, Tinne, 11-6, 11-5, 11-4
in 36 minutes.
King will now feature in her 28th PSA final - her first on home soil in
a decade - and the World No.5 will look to claim her 15th PSA title when
she takes on Evans, an opponent she has beaten in four of the seven
matches the pair have played.
“Who knows how many more times I’ll get to play at home?” said King.
“I just want to make the most of it and be here at the end of the week.
This is where I grew up. Everyone loves a party here, they love and
appreciate good sport, but they come to have a good time and that’s
always how I’ve kind of approached squash.”
The men’s final will see another Kiwi favourite - No.1 seed Paul Coll -
lock horns with No.2 seed Mohamed ElShorbagy in a repeat of last week’s
Carrus Nations Cup final, which ElShorbagy won to bring home the title
for England.
Greymouth-born Coll, the World No.2, overcame Qatar’s No.7 seed Abdulla
Mohd Al Tamimi by an 11-9, 11-8, 11-4 scoreline. That win sees Coll
avenge his shock defeat to the World No.28 in the second round of
September’s QTerminals Qatar Classic and he will now appear in his 35th
PSA final, and his first in New Zealand for six years.
“There are so many people [in the crowd] that have helped my career from
a junior, when I was pretty average, until now.
“Coaches, friends, competitors, family, definitely everyone in the crowd
[that’s been involved] at a stage in my career this week, it is a bit of
a celebration with them for me, we’ve achieved a lot in the last 12
months. To be home and to be able to celebrate with them, it’s pretty
special. I’m enjoying the week just for that reason.”
World No.4 Mohamed ElShorbagy has reached his 75th PSA final after
defeating Frenchman Victor Crouin 11-9, 11-8, 11-4. That means
ElShorbagy will go joint-fifth with England’s Nick Matthew on the list
of all-time men’s PSA final appearances.
ElShorbagy - who is aiming to capture his 47th PSA title - will be the
youngest man to reach 500 wins on the PSA Tour if he gets the better of
Coll in the final. It will be their 17th meeting on the PSA Tour, with
ElShorbagy winning 11 of them so far, including their most recent match
in the U.S. Open quarter-finals last month.
“He [Coll] has done amazingly playing us in our home countries all these
years,” said ElShorbagy.
“Tomorrow, for me, it’s just going to be another Silver final. He
definitely has more than me to lose tomorrow, but I do think that we are
the final that everyone wanted to see, and I hope that we give a good
final for everyone tomorrow.”
The finals of the New Zealand Open take place tomorrow (November 13).
Play begins at 14:00 (GMT+13) and all of the action will be shown live
on
SQUASHTV.
For more information on the event, Where available see the
PSA Live Scores page, or
follow on
PSAChallengerTourLivestreams,
Facebook,
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&
TikTok.
|
Semi Finals Bottom Half
Evans Takes Out No.2 Seed Perry to Reach New Zealand
Open Semis
Welsh World No.14 Tesni Evans made it back-to-back wins over World No.8
Sarah-Jane Perry earlier today as she sent the No.2 seed out of the
quarter-finals of the women’s Barfoot & Thompson New Zealand Open taking
place at Tauranga’s Trustpower Baypark Arena.
Evans had beaten Perry over a best-of-three games scoring format at the
Grasshopper Cup last month, but hadn’t defeated the Englishwoman over a
best-of-five format since May 2019.
However, the 30-year-old, who beat wildcard Kaitlyn Watts in the
previous round, produced a superb performance to nullify Perry, running
out an 11-9, 14-12, 7-11, 11-5 winner after 59 minutes. She will face
Belgium’s Nele Gilis next.
“I'm really looking forward to that,” said Evans afterwards.
“It's going to be very tough, she’s in very good form. She played great
last week and great this week already. I played her in Nantes in
September, so at least I've played her pretty recently, but it's going
to be very tough. It's a completely different game style to today, but
I'm well up for it and I'm going to give everything I've got for
tomorrow.”
Gilis will take on Evans for a place in the final of the PSA World Tour
Silver event after she defeated Canada’s Hollie Naughton 11-3, 14-12,
11-7 in 42 minutes.
“I’m basically playing in front of my home crowd because Paul’s [Coll,
Gilis’s partner] entire family is here and I love them as much as I do
my own,” Gilis said.
“It kind of added an extra pressure and I was actually very nervous at
the start. It means a lot to me to play in front of them. I spend most
of my day with them, just hanging around them, and I feel the love and
it really helps my game on court. I just feel so relaxed and happy at
the moment with them around.”
In the men’s Robertson Lodges New Zealand Open, World No.4 Mohamed
ElShorbagy booked his spot in the last four for a third successive PSA
event after he dispatched training partner Leandro Romiglio.
Romiglio, the Argentinian No.1, was coming off the back of a superb win
over No.5 seed Saurav Ghosal in the previous round and more than played
his part in an entertaining match, which went the way of Englishman by
an 11-4, 11-9, 11-5 margin.
“It can be a good thing or a bad thing [playing a training partner]
because a lot of the players, when you play them for the first time on
tour, I would have enough experience to know how to play them because of
the stage, but it’s the first time he’s on a really big stage on the PSA
World Tour,” ElShorbagy explained.
“I'm super happy for him. He's one of the nicest guys I've met and I'm
really happy to see him having a big win and playing that big stage.
Hopefully that'll inspire more Argentinian players to come through the
rankings at some point. He's leading the way for them right now.”
ElShorbagy will lock horns with World No.10 Victor Crouin in the next
round in what will be a repeat of the Qatar Classic final, which
ElShorbagy won to take the first Platinum title of the season.
Crouin went up against USA’s Andrew Douglas in his semi-final fixture
and, while he took the first two games in comfortable style, he was up
against it in the third as some attacking play from Douglas saw him
break the Frenchman’s rhythm.
However, Crouin was able to recover to wrap up an 11-2, 11-7, 13-11
victory to reach his fifth semi-final of the season.
“I’m very happy, though it’s quite late, I’m usually already in bed by
9pm,” said Crouin.
“I’m going to go back and get a good night’s sleep, then tomorrow I will
do some video analysis. We [Crouin and ElShorbagy] have played a few
times, but I’ve watched him thousands of times on SQUASHTV. I need to
remind myself of my strengths instead of playing on his weaknesses
because he doesn’t have many of them.”
The semi-finals of the New Zealand Open take place tomorrow (November
12). Play begins at 18:00 (GMT+13) and all of the action will be shown
live on
SQUASHTV.
For more information on the event, Where available see the
PSA Live Scores page, or
follow on
PSAChallengerTourLivestreams,
Facebook,
Twitter,
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&
TikTok.
|
Quarter FInals
Top Seeds Coll and King Progress to New Zealand Open
Semis
Top seeds and home favourites Paul Coll and Joelle King have progressed
to the semi-finals of the New Zealand Open, PSA World Tour Silver event
after they beat England’s Adrian Waller and USA’s Sabrina Sobhy earlier
today at the Trustpower Baypark Arena in Tauranga.
Coll, the World No.2 from Greymouth, recorded an 11-7, 11-6, 11-9
victory over World No.31 Waller to send the home crowds into raptures.
His opponent in the men's Robertson Lodges New Zealand Open semi-finals
will be Qatar’s No.7 seed Abdulla Mohd Al Tamimi.
The Kiwi will be out for revenge after falling to a shock second round
defeat to Al Tamimi during September’s QTerminals Qatar Classic.
“I wanted to go out there and sort of get my game face on, and I felt
good out there mentally,” Coll explained afterwards.
“It was good finding my targets a bit earlier tonight. The atmosphere is
crazy, so I’m loving every second out there and I’ve obviously got a
rest day tomorrow. I might hit some golf balls and then come out
Saturday looking good.
“I just want to build on that performance and work for the semis.
There’s more family coming tomorrow, so it’s great to see, I haven’t
seen some of these guys in 10 years. We were just speaking before about
how long it’s been, and I can’t remember the last time I saw them, so it
was really cool to see them. I’ll try and put on a good performance for
them.”
Al Tamimi got the better of Canada’s David Baillargeon. Baillargeon, the
World No.69 scored a huge upset against former British Open champion
Miguel Rodriguez in the previous round, but Al Tamimi’s racket skills
and speed around court were key as he claimed an 11-5, 11-5, 11-5
victory.
“I'm moving well, hitting the ball well, I got my tactics right before
each match and I'm happy to keep my focus throughout the whole match,”
said Al Tamimi, who will appear in his first PSA Silver semi-final.
“I'm looking forward to playing Paul Coll here in New Zealand in his
hometown. I think it's going to be a good match and I’m going to enjoy
my rest day tomorrow and get ready for after tomorrow. Since I'm young,
I really like to play when there's a crowd and it shows in both matches
that I'm focused.”
In the women’s Barfoot & Thompson New Zealand Open, World No.5 King made
short work of her opponent - World No.18 Sabrina Sobhy - as she stormed
to an 11-2, 11-6, 11-6 win in just 29 minutes.
“It’s funny, I turned on SQUASHTV and I saw there was such a huge amount
of people,” said King.
“I decided to come a bit early and just get a feel for how many people
are actually in here and sort of let myself settle down a little bit. So
I think that that was good to do. I can’t wait to get back out there on
Saturday.”
Belgium’s Tinne Gilis will be King’s semi-final opponent after she
overcame Japan’s Satomi Watanabe in an entertaining four-game battle.
After conceding the opening game on a tie-break, Watanabe came back
strongly to level up in the second, despite requiring an injury break
after Gilis hit her wrist in the final point of the game. However, Gilis
rediscovered her consistency to take the third, before coming back from
7-0 down to earn victory in the fourth game too.
“Satomi has been playing unreal squash the last couple of tournaments,
so I knew I had to be there and stay focused throughout the whole match
because she was just firing it in as soon as she got the opportunity,”
Gilis said
“She beat the World No.10 [Salma Hany] yesterday. I think the game she
won, she literally outplayed me. I didn’t really know what to do. As
soon as I gave her something on her racket, like she was just firing it
in, so I had to change my game plan and make sure everything was deep
enough and just to get her out of the middle.”
The quarter-finals of the New Zealand Open continue tomorrow (November
11). Play begins at 18:00 (GMT+13) and all of the action will be shown
live on
SQUASHTV.
For more information on the event, Where available see the
PSA Live Scores page, or follow
on
PSAChallengerTourLivestreams,
Facebook,
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|
Round 2
Watanabe and Baillargeon Score Upsets in Round Two of
New Zealand Open
Japan’s World No.48 Satomi Watanabe claimed the biggest win of her
career earlier today in Tauranga as she sent No.3 seed and World No.10
Salma Hany crashing out of the Barfoot & Thompson New Zealand Open in
the second round stage.
It was just yesterday in her post-match interview that Watanabe said she
had fallen just short of beating the top 20 players recently, but the
23-year-old claimed a statement win over Hany today, completing an 11-4,
9-11, 12-10, 11-9 victory to beat her first top 10 player.
“I still can’t believe that I’ve just done that,” said Watanabe
afterwards.
“I’m just really happy with my performance today. At the end, I was just
trying to play the longest rally I could ever play because when I tried
to win the points, I usually made mistakes. Next, I need the consistency
of winning at this level.
“I’m really happy with my result today, but I don’t want to be overly
happy about it. I want to keep training and focus on the next match.”
Watanabe - who is the only unseeded player to reach the last eight of
the women’s draw, will now appear in the quarter-finals of a PSA World
Tour Silver event for the first time and will take on No.5 seed Tinne
Gilis after the Belgian dispatched USA’s Olivia Clyne in straight games.
Top seed and World No.5 Joelle King got her tournament off to a winning
start as she got the better of Australia’s Jessica Turnbull, winning
11-3, 11-9, 11-6 in 28 minutes to set up a last eight meeting with USA’s
Sabrina Sobhy. Sobhy came back from two games down to avoid an upset
against Hong Kong’s Ka Yi Lee.
“There are so many people in here that follow myself and Paul [Coll]
very closely,” said King, discussing the home support at Trustpower
Baypark Arena.
“We’re a very proud nation, and to see faces that only get to see us
online, you don’t get a true sense of how fast and athletic the players
are until you see it in real life. I’ve been really impressed, I’ve seen
lots of juniors and schools here too, when they see it they can
hopefully aspire to be like the players here.”
In the men’s Robertson Lodges New Zealand Open, Canada’s World No.69
David Baillargeon claimed the biggest win of his career as he overcame
World No.13 and No.4 seed Miguel Rodriguez.
It was a sublime performance from Baillargeon, who was able to showcase
his fighting spirit as well as his skills with the racket, overturning
four games balls in the first and third games to complete the win in
straight games, winning 16-14, 12-10, 16-14.
“I trained super hard for that over the years,” said Baillargeon.
“Especially this year, it hasn’t gone my way at at the beginning of this
season, but I’m so happy I got a huge win like this. The win was 3-0,
but I think it was close to 65 minutes, it was a super long with a few
tie-breaks.”
Over at the Devoy Squash & Fitness Centre, which hosted some of the
fixtures today and yesterday, Argentina’s Leandro Romiglio caused a big
upset against No.5 seed Saurav Ghosal, winning 11-7, 11-4, 8-11, 7-11,
11-7 to set up a last eight fixture against No.2 seed Mohamed ElShorbagy.
“I knew from that the beginning it would be tough, Saurav is so
talented, a legend of the game,” Romiglio said.
“It is going be tough with ‘The Beast’ [ElShorbagy]. We have been
training in Prague a bit since he has been training with Greg [Gaultier].
We have been hitting a lot and we all know that Mohamed is Mohamed, so I
look forward to spending time with him on court and I am going to go for
the win, why not?”
ElShorbagy got the better of fellow Englishman Charlie Lee, while top
seed Paul Coll overcame USA’s Timothy Brownell, also in straight games.
The New Zealand Open moves into the quarter-final stage tomorrow
(November 10). All of the action will be shown live on
SQUASHTV.
For more information on the event, Where available see the
PSA Live Scores page, or follow
on
PSAChallengerTourLivestreams,
Facebook,
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|
Round 1
Baillargeon Beats Home Player Chileshe as New Zealand
Open Begins
Canada’s David Baillargeon ended the hopes of home player Lwamba
Chileshe as the men’s Robertson Lodges New Zealand Open and the women’s
Barfoot & Thompson New Zealand Open got under way today at Tauranga’s
Trustpower Baypark Arena.
Men’s World No.97 Chileshe was the only Kiwi in action today - his
compatriot Kaitlyn Watts received a walkover due to an injury to
Scotland’s Lisa Aitken - but fell victim to a clinical performance from
World No.69 Baillargeon, who completed an 11-7, 11-4, 8-11, 11-1 victory
to reach the second round of a PSA World Tour Silver event for the first
time.
“I took my foot off the pedal in the third,” said Baillargeon, who will
take on No.4 seed Miguel Rodriguez in the next round.
“I was up 4-1 or 4-2 and then I relaxed and he got the lead and kept it
until the end. You can’t do that at this level, I’ve got to learn from
that.
“I’m looking forward to playing Miguel, I’ll do a cool down and stretch
tonight, then I’ll be back at it tomorrow. It will be the first time
I’ve played him and it should be a good battle. It’s going to be my
sixth match in seven days on this court. I like it, sometimes it goes my
way, sometimes it doesn’t, so hopefully it will go my way tomorrow.”
Elsewhere, Scotland’s Greg Lobban has also booked his spot in the last
16 courtesy of an 11-6, 11-7, 11-6 victory over World No.81 Rex Hedrick,
who was playing his first PSA event outside of his native Australia
since September 2019.
Lobban will now face World No.31 Adrian Waller, just two weeks after
beating the Englishman in the semi-finals of the City Tattersalls Club
Australian Open.
“Rex is a great player,” said Lobban.
“He’s a former top 50 and you know you have to beat Rex, he is never
going to beat himself. You know what standard he is going to bring, and
I needed to make sure I was up for that match because I know he has been
getting into the habit of winning these Challenger 5s and 10s in
Australia and New Zealand. He is a hard man to beat and I am glad to get
through today.”
There were also wins for the likes of USA’s Timothy Brownell - who beat
fellow American Christopher Gordon to set up a second round clash with
home favourite and top seed Paul Coll - and England’s Charlie Lee, who
dispatched Malaysia’s Addeen Idrakie to ensure he will compete with No.2
seed Mohamed ElShorbagy in the next round.
In the women’s event, 18-year-old Egyptian Malak Khafagy scored the
biggest upset of the day as she conjured up a surprise victory over
England’s World No.26 Jasmine Hutton over at the Devoy Squash & Fitness
Centre, which is hosting some of the matches across the first two days
of the event.
At 70 minutes, the match was the longest fixture of day one and went
deep into a fifth-game tie-break. Both women saved multiple match balls,
and it was World No.93 Khafagy who held her nerve to claim the biggest
win of her career.
“I was so nervous, I didn’t imagine I could win but I am so happy to get
the win,” Khafagy said.
“I have had a tough time with tie-breaks and being 10-8 up, it is my
fear. I am so glad I won the last game. She is so good… I am so over the
moon right now. I don’t know what to say, I was shaking after the match,
I am so happy.”
Khafagy will go up against No.7 seed Hollie Naughton for a place in the
quarter-finals. Back at the Trustpower Arena, Australia’s Jessica
Turnbull earned a second round berth after coming back from a game down
to beat 9/16 seed Salma Eltayeb.
Turnbull’s reward is a fixture against top seed and World No.5 Joelle
King. The pair met in the Nations Cup last week, and Turnbull is looking
forward to testing herself against the crowd favourite once again.
“Playing Joelle last week was a great experience, she’s a world-class
player and I love the way she plays,” Turnbull said.
“She’s another tall girl, so it’s lovely to see and learn from someone
like her. Unfortunately, I didn’t pick up too much that would help me
beat her, but I’m so excited to get on court with her again and to make
the second round of my first ever Silver event.”
The New Zealand Open continues tomorrow (November 9) as the second round
begins. Action from the glass court at the Trustpower Arena will be
shown live on SQUASHTV.
For more information on the event, Where available see the
PSA Live Scores page, or
follow on
PSAChallengerTourLivestreams,
Facebook,
Twitter,
Instagram
&
TikTok. Selected
Challenger Tour Events will also be shown live on
SQUASHTV.
|
Preview
For more information on the event, Where available see the
PSA Live Scores page, or
follow on
PSAChallengerTourLivestreams,
Facebook,
Twitter,
Instagram
&
TikTok. Selected
Challenger Tour Events will also be shown live on
SQUASHTV.
|
|
