Round 1 Excitement at ILT Southern Open PSA

The ILT & CTOS NZ Southern Open began Thursday night with an exciting line-up of matches scheduled and plenty of on the edge of your seat matches to keep spectators enthralled.

Qualifier Christopher Binnie of Jamaica took the court first up against Tsz Fung Yip of Hong Kong to try and make his way through to the second round. After a slow start that saw Binnie in with a chance of taking the first set, Yip stepped up the pace and became steadily more focused through each set to take the match 3-0.

Meanwhile on the other court a tough battle was shaping up between qualifiers experienced kiwi Kashif Shuja and Finnish player Matias Tuomi. With the sets tied at 1-1, the third set became a seesaw of advantage with both players taking a small lead and catching up. Unfortunately Shuja sustained an injury late in the third set and while he came back for the fourth set he was unable to continue playing and had to retire.

Next up was the first battle of the kiwis with Chris Van der Salm taking on the more experienced Martin Knight. Van der Salm again showed his continued development as a player that was seen in his qualifying matches, pushing Knight to a 5 set thriller of a match that had plenty of the long rallies that Knight is so well known for here in Invercargill. With Van der Salm holding a 2-1 lead, Knight took an early advantage in the fourth set at 9-6, however Van der Salm had other ideas and fought back hard to equalise at 9-9, before Knight refocused and applied good pressure to take the set and keep his chances alive with a 5^th set. Experience started to show through as Knight pushed his way to the lead with Van der Salm challenging him every step of the way. It was just not quite far enough with Knight closing the match out 11-7 in this final set. Knight paid tribute to Van der Salm’s game saying “he played well, was accurate throughout the match, and his only slow patch came at the start of the fourth when he allowed me a big lead before coming back strong. Happy to be in the quarter-finals tomorrow.”

Over on the other court was the match that was to be the upset of the night – qualifier and kiwi Lance Beddoes played 4^th seed Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu of India. The match promised to be exciting right from the first set, and the players did not disappoint an expectant crowd. From 1-5 down Beddoes came back with a seven point streak to take the lead 8-5, then Sandhu fought back to level before Beddoes eventually took the set 11-9. A very determined Sandhu came out to take the second set 11-6 and the third was a very closely fought battle of skill which Beddoes just managed to take 15-13. Sandhu again came back to take the fourth set and both players looked fired up and eager for the win as they entered the fifth set and they both played at times with caution and at other times with courage and flair in their quest to get the advantage over each other. Beddoes eventually took the set 11-8 to secure his place in the quarter-finals tomorrow. Beddoes said after the match that he “is stoked to be through to the quarter-finals in what is one of his favourite tournaments of the year, and really happy to have had his best win so far. Looking forward to my match tomorrow!! Thanks to my awesome coach Paul Coll.”

Second seed Raphael Kandra of Germany was not keen to continue the trend set by the previous two matches and despite the very best efforts of wildcard and kiwi Ben Grindrod, Kandra managed to take his match in 3 sets. Grindrod managed to keep up almost point for point in the first set before Kandra became more settled into the match and started to dominate the play much more. At times it seemed Grindrod had an almost impossible task to get the ball passed Kandra, and the shots Kandra was able to pull off were definitive winners.

Likewise in the match between Mathew Serediak of Canada and James Huang of Taipei, Huang displayed too much control of the ball and was able to place winning shots despite the excellent retrieving skills of Serediak. Huang dominated the match right from the beginning and took just 23 minutes to secure his place in the next round.

The final matches of the night saw a battle of two young New Zealanders Paul Coll and Evan Williams, and new top seed Campbell Grayson (NZ) up against Australian Mathew Hopkin.

While Williams was clearly keen to create an upset and further increase his ranking, Coll was equally determined to make it through to quarter-finals and applied plenty of pressure and hunted out his opportunities well and was “happy to get through what was a tough first round match and looking forward to a tough battle against fellow Kiwi Campbell Grayson tomorrow night.”

Despite being top seed, Grayson was not given any leeway in his match against Hopkin, with this being a very close contest in the first 2 sets which were open for either player to close out. Grayson was able to eventually take both sets, 11-9, 12-10 and was 1-0 up in the third when Hopkin dislocated his shoulder and had to retire injured. As luck would have it, one of the spectators was an Orthopaedic Surgeon and Hopkin was able to have the shoulder treated straight away. Grayson said after the match that he “was happy to get through today, not the way I wanted to win with Matt unfortunately hurting his shoulder. I made too many mistakes today at crucial times but looking forward to playing Paul Coll tomorrow. Thanks Kashif and Martin for your help tonight.”

Unlike the drama that unfolded in the Men’s draw, tonight was fairly straightforward for the Women with all the matches running as expected.

Top seed Siyoli Waters  of South Africa was up against New Zealander Danielle Fourie and was in clear control of the first two sets before relaxing a bit in the third, allowing Fourie back into the match. While Fourie had opportunity to take the third set, Waters stepped back up and eventually closed the match 14-12 in the third.

On the next court a slow start by Germany’s Sina Wall saw Korean player Hwayeong Eum take the first set 11-6. Wall came out in the second much more settled and focused and completely dominated the next two sets, playing shots with clinical precision and avoiding errors. She eased off a bit in the fourth and Eum took this opportunity to try to get back into the match, however Wall was able to shut the door and take a comfortable win through to the next round where she will face top seed Siyoli Waters. Speaking to Wall after the match she joked that maybe she was still in Queenstown at the start of the match in acknowledgement of her slow start before picking up the pace in the second set, and she was happy to win 3-1, acknowledging respect of Eum’s ability.

Next up saw a return to Invercargill for young Australian Junior Lakeesha Rarere after she attended the Oceania Junior Championships here in April. Rarere showed improvement since April and was clearly keen to get a good result tonight. Her opponent, Australian compatriot Jessica Turnbull was also determined to advance through to the next round and was able to better captalise on loose shots and place the ball beyond Rarere’s reach to secure points and sets, and ultimately the match.

Fourth seed kiwi Megan Craig was in complete control of her match against qualifier Yura Choi of Korea. Craig was precise in her shot selection, pushing Choi to all corners of the court and clearly looking to conserve as much energy as possible for upcoming matches.

Third seed Amanda Landers-Murphy (NZ) was similarly focused and clinical as she calmly played herself through to the quarterfinals, 11-3, 11-4, 11-4 in just 17 minutes against Selena Shaikh of Australia. Landers-Murphy felt she played well and was happy with a 3-0 win tonight, and feels ready for her quarter-final match tomorrow night.

Christine Nunn of Australia was also able to dominate her match and secure a quick win against Hyo Ju Seo of Korea. Seo fought hard but was unable to match Nunn’s faster pace on the ball and ability to place the ball well out of her reach. Nunn looked very comfortable and in control throughout the match.

Sarah Cardwell of Australia showed a similar ability in controlling her match against fellow Australian Jasmine Chan. Cardwell took an early lead in the first set and continued to dominate the match although Chan made a valiant effort to keep herself competitive and apply some pressure to Cardwell.

In the final match of the night second seed Misaki Kobayashi of Japan showed no leniency towards New Zealand Junior Representative Abbie Palmer, showing a clear dominance from the very start of the match and taking a quick 2 set lead before easing back a bit, allowing Palmer more opportunities to secure points in the last set before closing the door at 11-8.

Full results can be found below

Men's Quarter Final Matches (Friday Night) - To be streamed here

5.30pm [LL] Matias Tuomi (FIN) vs [6] Tsz Fung Yip (HKG)          

6.30pm Lance Beddoes (NZL) vs (3) [3] Martin Knight (NZL)

7.30pm [2] Raphael Kandra (GER) vs [7] James Huang (TPE)

8.30pm [5] Paul Coll (NZL) vs [1] Campbell Grayson (NZL)

Women's Quarter Final Matches (Friday Night) - To be streamed here

5.30pm - [1] Siyoli Waters (RSA) vs [7] Sina Wall (GER)

6.30pm - Jessica Turnbull (AUS) vs [4] Megan Craig (NZL)

7.30pm - [3] Amanda Landers-Murphy (NZL) vs [5] Christine Nunn (AUS)

8.30pm - [6] Sarah Cardwell (AUS) vs [2] Misaki Kobayashi (JPN)

Full Results Men's Draw:

Tsz Fung Yip (HKG) bt Christopher Binnie (JAM) 12-10, 11-3, 11-6 (27 minutes)

Matias Tuomi (FIN) bt Kashif Shuja (NZ)11-7, 8-11, 11-9, 4-0 def

(3) Martin Knight (NZ) bt Chris Van der Salm (NZ) 11-6, 7-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-7 (70 minutes)

Lance Beddoes (NZ) bt (4) Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu (IND) 11-9, 6-11, 15-13, 8-11, 11-8 (70 minutes)

(2) Raphael Kandra (GER) bt Ben Grindrod (NZ) 11-9, 11-5, 11-5 (26 minutes)

James Huang (TAI) bt Mathew Serediak (CAN) 11-3, 11-7, 11-6 (23 minutes)

Paul Coll (NZ) bt Evan Williams (NZ) 11-5, 11-7, 11-8 (35 minutes)

(1) Campbell Grayson (NZ) bt Mathew Hopkin (AUS) 11-9, 12-10, 1-0 def

Full Results Women's Draw:

(1) Siyoli Waters (RSA) bt Danielle Fourie (NZ) 11-6, 11-6, 14-12 (23 minutes)

Sina Wall (GER) bt Hwayeong Eum (KOR) 6-11, 11-3, 11-0, 11-8 (28 minutes)

Jessica Turnbull (AUS) bt Lakeesha Rarere (AUS) 11-9, 11-13, 11-7, 11-6 (40 minutes)

(4) Megan Craig (NZ) bt Yura Choi (KOR) 11-3, 11-7, 11-4 (20 minutes)

(3) Amanda Landers-Murphy (NZ) bt Selena Shaikh (AUS) 11-3, 11-4, 11-4 (17 minutes)

Christine Nunn (AUS) bt Hyo Ju Seo (KOR) 11-7, 11-3, 11-1 (17 minutes)

Sarah Cardwell (AUS) bt Jasmine Chan (AUS) 11-4, 11-7, 11-7

(2) Misaki Kobayashi (JAP) bt Abbie Palmer (NZ) 11-3, 11-2, 11-8