Day 2 of Victorian Open

Our Kiwi players are still going strong at the Victorian Open with only one casualty on the second day of play. 

Paul Coll was the first kiwi on court today and he played Australian and fellow team mate from the Cousins Shield winning Squashways team. Coll made sure to not spend too much time on court putting Hopkins away in 31mins and not letting him get into the match until the third game, but by then it was to late. 

Next up was Megan Craig who played South African Alexandra Fuller. Craig made sure to never let Fuller into the game and found the right shots to get the win in 3. Amanda Landers-Murphy had the shortest game of the day spending only 16mins on court and her result showed that against the Indian player Sachika Ingale. Ingale made Landers-Murphy work in the first game but the Indian could not find the necessary shots in the second and the third with Landers-Murphy getting the win in 3. 

The last kiwi on court was Kashif Shuja. He had to play Indian and the current giant killer of the tournament Kush Kumar. Kumar had taken out the second seed the previous day so Shuja knew this was always going to be a tough battle. Shuja looked as if he could be moving on to the quarter finals with a great display in the first game but Kumar stepped up another level and eventually took the game out in four. 

Another kiwi drifitng around the Melbourne squash courts is Chris Buckland our Refereeing Director. Buckland has been attending a conference and has stayed on to referee some of the matches. I'm sure the kiwi players will be enjoying seeing the familiar face in the crowd. 

Megan Craig, Amanda Landers-Murphy and Paul Coll all progress to the quarter finals now. They will all face higher seeded opponents but are sure to put up a tough battle.

All draws and games can be found here 

Second Round

Megan Craig (7) bt Alexandra Fuller (RSA) - 11-3,11-4,11-6 - 25mins

Amanda Landers-Murphy (6) bt Sachika Ingale (India) - 11-7,11-2,11-2 - 16mins

Paul Coll (7) bt Matthew Hopkin (Australia) - 11-2,11-3,11-9 - 31mins

Kashif Shuja lost Kush Kumar (India) - 8-11,11-3,11-6,11-3 - 38mins

Quarter Finals

Paul Coll (7) vs Ryan Cuskelly (1) (Australia) 

Amanda Landers-Murphy (6) vs Line Hansen (2) (Denmark)

Megan Craig (7) vs Joshana Chinappa (3) (India)