Australian
Rex Hedrick won his sixth title on the PSA World Tour when he downed
surprise finalist Adam Auckland of England in straight games in today's
final of the NT Open, the PSA Challenger 5 squash event at the
Darwin Squash Centre in Darwin, Australia.
Auckland, a
20-year-old from Lincolnshire ranked outside the world top 200, had upset second
seed Mike Corren, the defending champion from Australia, in the
semi-finals - but couldn't match Hedrick in the decider, the 24-year-old from
Melbourne winning 11-9, 11-8, 11-6.
Hedrick, who
was recently named in the Australian team for the Men's World Team Championships
in France in June, was in great form all tournament, losing only one game all
week.
He will go
into next week's Alice Springs Open as the firm favourite, where he could
face a rematch with Auckland in the second round.
Auckland will
be delighted with his tournament despite the loss. The 20-year-old was playing
his first tournament as a professional and beat the second, third and sixth
seeds on the way to his maiden final.
1st round:
[1] Rex Hedrick (AUS) bt [Q] Aidan Parkes (AUS) 11-2, 11-6, 11-5 Nosherwan Khan (PAK) bt Tim Cowell (AUS) 12-10, 11-5, 11-4
[Q] Kwon Hyeon-Jun (KOR) bt SungYoung Kim (KOR) 11-3, 11-5, 12-14,
11-6
[5] Hon Fung Wong (HKG) bt [Q] Nick Mulvey (ENG) 7-11, 13-11,
11-5, 11-2
[8] Tom de Mulder (BEL) bt [Q] Neal Patrick Brooker (ENG) 11-4,
11-5, 11-4 Addeen Idrakie (MAS) bt Thomas Calvert (AUS) 11-8, 12-14, 11-1,
11-9 Matias Tuomi (FIN) bt Cheuk Yan Tang (HKG) 11-4, 11-8, 11-7
[4] Justin Beard (AUS) bt [Q] Dominic Benacquista (AUS) 11-3,
11-4, 11-4
[3] Evan Williams (NZL) bt Sanjay Singh (MAS) 11-6, 13-11, 11-8 Adam Auckland (ENG) bt [WC] T J Rarere (AUS) 11-4, 11-3, 11-3 Andrew Fraser (AUS) bt [Q] Liam Gutcher (ENG) 11-3, 11-6, 9-11,
11-3
[6] Sunil Seth (AUS) bt James Skiffington (NZL) 11-9, 11-5, 12-10
[7] Arthur Moineau (FRA) bt [Q] Rohan Toole (AUS) 11-2, 11-6, 11-3
[Q] Adrian Leanza (AUS) bt Daniel Stephen Wright (AUS) 11-3, 11-4,
11-2 Rhys Dowling (AUS) bt Jack Jago (ENG) 11-8, 11-9 ret.
[2] Mike Corren (AUS) bt Tristan Eysele (ENG) 14-12, 11-7, 7-11,
11-5
2nd round:
[1] Rex Hedrick (AUS) bt Nosherwan Khan (PAK) 11-5, 11-5, 11-4
[5] Hon Fung Wong (HKG) bt [Q] Kwon Hyeon-Jun (KOR) 11-13, 11-7,
11-5, 11-7 Addeen Idrakie (MAS) bt [8] Tom de Mulder (BEL) 7-11, 11-9, 11-6,
15-17, 11-7
[4] Justin Beard (AUS) bt Matias Tuomi (FIN) 11-3, 11-8, 11-5 Adam Auckland (ENG) bt [3] Evan Williams (NZL) 11-7, 11-9, 11-4
[6] Sunil Seth (AUS) bt Andrew Fraser (AUS) 11-7, 12-14, 8-11,
11-5, 11-8
[7] Arthur Moineau (FRA) bt [Q] Adrian Leanza (AUS) 11-5, 11-6,
7-11, 11-8
[2] Mike Corren (AUS) bt Rhys Dowling (AUS) 13-11, 12-10, 14-16,
12-10
Quarter-finals:
[1] Rex Hedrick (AUS) bt [5] Hon Fung Wong (HKG) 11-6, 11-5, 9-11,
11-2
[4] Justin Beard (AUS) bt Addeen Idrakie (MAS) 16-14, 9-11, 11-9,
12-10 Adam Auckland (ENG) bt [6] Sunil Seth (AUS) 11-6, 11-6, 11-9
[2] Mike Corren (AUS) bt [7] Arthur Moineau (FRA) 8-11, 11-9,
11-8, 11-9
Semi-finals:
[1] Rex Hedrick (AUS) bt [4] Justin Beard (AUS) 11-7, 16-14, 11-4
(43m) Adam Auckland (ENG) bt [2] Mike Corren (AUS) 11-2, 11-8, 11-7
(27m)
Final:
[1] Rex Hedrick (AUS) bt Adam Auckland (ENG) 11-9, 11-8, 11-6
(43m)
