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Millar and Yoo Upset in Round 1 of Waikato PSA

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Zac Millar the local Wildcard and Seongyeon Yoo have upset their higher seeded opponents in the first round of the PSA event at the Waikato PSA event in Hamilton.

Zac Millar the local wildcard played second seed Joel Luca from Australia in the first round of the Waikato PSA. Millar looked strong throughout his match and played some strong shots on court and took the first game convincingly. The second game saw Millar stay in the centre of the court attacking anything Luca put loose and forcing the errors from Luca. Luca managed to step it up in the third game but by this stage it was too late with Millar keeping forward and attacking with some great pickups and he claimed the match in three and the first upset of the tournament.

Dylan Cunningham of America played Jason van der Walt of New Zealand and Cunningham looked in control throughout the whole match. Van der Walt was not able to settle in the first game and made a number of unforced errors with Cunningham claiming the game convincingly. The second game saw Van der Walt get some good short boasts in but Cunningham’s length and accuracy got him through the second game. The third game was close with both players making a number of unforced errors but a great push and movement from Cunnignham saw him stay in front and claim the match.

The game between English man Joe Green and Australian Darcy Evans saw some long hard rallies from both players but Green kept his accuracy up and claimed the first game convincingly. The second game was much tighter but Green managed to work hard and stay on top of the tee controlling the game and claiming the second game from Evans. The third game was another tight affair for the players but it was Green who kept his calm and composure and his great retrieval got him the match in three.

Ben Grindrod showed some great shot placement against his Korean counterpart Daehoon Jeong. Jeong was not able to match the placement of the ball by Grindrod with Grindrod claiming the first game. The second game saw Grindrod forcing the errors from Jeong and looking more comfortable in his claiming of this second game. Grindrod never looked out of place in third game and his strong controlled rallies saw him claim the match in a strong style.

One of the games of the night was between Australian Courtney West and Korean Seongyeon Yoo. West was too strong in the first game forcing the errors and looking set to take the match convincingly, however Yoo was not going to go down easily. Yoo came out in the second and drew out some long rallies and even with West controlling the centre of the court his error rate was too high and the game went Yoo’s way. West switched things around in the third and showed his strength and control and the unforced errors came back into Yoo’s game and West claimed the third game. The fourth game however saw West go back to making too many errors and Yoo dropping his error rate to claim the fourth. The fifth was a tight battle and from match ball down West managed to claw his way back but this was not enough and he eventually went down in five seeing the second upset of the day.

Local kiwi duo Luke Jones and Scott Galloway were next on and some great structured rallies saw Jones claim the first game convincingly over Galloway. Galloway however managed to put away the loose shots Jones was throwing up in the second game and Galloway clinched a close second game. Jones however swung things back his way in the third forcing Galloway around the court and getting him to make the errors and Jones claimed the third game. The fourth game was very similar to the third game and Jones put away some great shots at points and worked Galloway hard tiring him out with Jones claiming the match in four.

Evan Williams of New Zealand came into his first match off a high of winning the Pak’N’Save PSA at Devoy the previous weekend so he certainly had the confidence to perform well. Williams looked in control against his Korean opponent Han Seung Cheol throughout the whole first game with great placement and shot selection. Williams came into the second game and dominated his opponent with Cheol not having any answers to Williams shots and Williams claimed a second convincing game. Cheol managed to get some good balls and pickups in the third game but it was not enough and eventually Williams sealed the game in a convincing four.

The last match saw Englishman Adam Murrills take on Tauranga boy Jamie Oakley. Oakley fought hard with some great intensity and shot selection in the first game sending it long but he was not able to work it out to claim the game with Murrills taking the first game. Oakley couldn’t find his stride in the second game and Murrils great tight length saw him claim the second game in convincing fashion. Oakley couldn’t turn things around and even with some great shots Murrills structured rallies proved too powerful and Murrills claimed the match from Oakley in three.

Quarter final games start at 1pm tomorrow at the Hamilton Squash and Tennis Club.

Full results can be found below.

 

Round 1

[1] Evan Williams (NZL) bt Han Seung Cheol (KOR) – 11/9, 11/1, 11/8

[WC] Zac Millar (NZL) bt [7] Joel Luca (AUS) – 11/4, 11/2, 11/9

[8] Luke Jones (NZL) bt Scott Galloway (NZL) – 11/2, 9/11, 11/9, 11/6

[4] Joe Green (ENG) bt Darcy Evans (AUS) – 11/4, 11/9, 13/11

[3] Ben Grindrod (NZL) bt Daehoon Jeong (KOR) – 11/8, 11/5, 11/3

Seongyeon Yoo (KOR) bt [6] Courtney West (AUS) – 4/11, 11/7, 3/11, 11/5, 12/10

[5] Dylan Cunningham (USA) bt Jason van der Walt (NZL) – 11/3, 11/7, 11/7

[2] Adam Murrills (ENG) bt Jamie Oakley (NZL) – 13/11, 11/3, 11/5

 

Quarter Finals

[1] Evan Williams (NZL) vs [WC] Zac Millar (NZL)

[8] Luke Jones (NZL) vs [4] Joe Green (ENG)

[3] Ben Grindrod (NZL) vs Seongyeon Yoo (KOR)

[5] Dylan Cunningham (USA) vs [2] Adam Murrills (ENG) 


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