Williams and King Take Waikato Open

Evan Williams has taken his first PSA tournament and subsequently the Waikato Open Golden Jubilee Title as well. Joelle King has also played her last local tournament and claimed another win before heading over to the British Open this week.

With this being Squash Waikato's 50th Year they have celebrated in style with their Golden Jubilee having a special flavour in the form of a $5k PSA event alongside their normal tournament. This $5k event meant there was some excellent players from all around New Zealand and even some international names playing the tournament.

The Men's event started off going to plan with the first round seeing only one upset with sevent seed TJ French from Australia going down to qualifier Chang Wook Woo of Korea. Wook Woo was not able to make another upset with kiwi Lance Beddoes taking him out in 3. The Quarters went to plan with all seeds proceeding as expected however Kashif Shuja had to work a bit harder than the other players against Cantabrian Chris Van Der Salm, Chris managed to sneak a game off Shuja however he wasn't able to take the win.

The semis started with Lance Beddoes taking on Ben Grindrod. Both players have spent the summer training over in the UK and are very good friends so this was never going to be an easy battle with both players knowing the other ones game insie out. Beddoes however was able to find the necessary shots to take the win over Grindrod in 3. The next game was between Wellingtonian Evan Williams and Kashif Shuja. Williams who had surgery on his wrist last year was out to make his way to his first PSA title, however Shuja an experienced master of the game wouldn't make it easy on him. It was clear to see Shuja had worked hard in his quarter finals and Williams managed to get the win in 3.

The finals was set to be a battle from the beginning with both Lance Beddoes and Evan Williams searching for that illustrious PSA title. Williams came out firing in the first game but Beddoes went point for point. With both players fighting hard each game went down to the wire but Williams was able to pull away getting the win in 3 and his first PSA title. Evans said "This is my first PSA title out of 8 finals and it means a lot to me. I was injured last year and missed out on a lot. I Didn't know if I was ever going to play again. So, to come back from injury and be able to win is very pleasing. It's great to play a tournament at home in NZ. Thank you to Squash Waikato and Hamilton Squash Club for giving us this opportunity. They've done a great job." Beddoes said "He played well and deserves the win. There was some good squash there. I had my chances in the second but he closed it out. It's good to be back in NZ and to play an event at home. I am looking forward to more of these in June."

Alongside the PSA event the Women's Open featured some of our top women. Joelle King and Amanda Landers-Murphy made thir way to the final after taking out Danielle Fourie and Emma Millar respectively. King and Landers-Murphy have played a number of times in the past few months but King showed she is on her way back to the top with a win in 4. King said it is "Nice to be back playing the Waikato Open being from here originally. Really good to play at home and get friends and family to come watch and support. Great for the Hamilton club to put on such a good event. Today was the first time I thought about heading overseas for my first tournament for a year - The British Open. The rehab has been really good and I've played three local events so far. I feel I am getting more confident and stronger each tournament. Excited really!". Landers-Murphy said she was "Happy to make it to the final. Third time I've played Joey and this was the best match - first time I got a game off her! She's come back strong from injury and I wish her all the best for the year."

Club manager Rodica Barton-Wellington said "The caliber of squash played on our courts was awesome, attitudes on and off court were great and a general good vibe".

There are a number of PSA/WSA events coming up in the next 2 months. More information can be found here