Mekbib Upsets Yuen To Make Squash XL Quarters

Daniel Mekbib the qualifier from the Czech Republic has upset second seed Ivan Yuen of Malaysia in the first round of the Squash XL PSA and he will now join all other seeds in the quarter finals.

First match of the day saw top seed Campbell Grayson of New Zealand take on current World Junior Champion Eain Yow Ng of Malaysia. Grayson settled on the glass court well and claimed the first game comfortably but it looked like the tables as Ng looked to be more settled as he claimed the second game. Grayson however was able to find his length and shots in the third and fourth claiming the match 3-1. Next up was eight seeded Australian Josh Larkin against New Zealand’s Lance Beddoes. Beddoes dug deep in his first game to push Larkin and claim the first game even with an injury break for his back. Beddoes however wasn’t able to keep his momentum going in the next three games as Larkin took the match 3-1.

Next up was English countrymen Angus Gillams the fifth seed and qualifier Joe Green. Gillams was looking too sharp for Green today as Gillams looked in control on the glass court claiming the match 3-0. Next on was fourth seed Rex Hedrick of Australia and Mohammed Syafiq Kamal of Malaysia. Whilst Hedrick was pushed in the first game he soon found comfort in the glass court and claimed his win 3-0.

Third seed Greg Lobban of Scotland had looked comfortable to date in his first round matches of the other PSA events but qualifier Sanjay Singh of Malaysia looked set to push this with some great shot play and his unsettling of Lobban on the glass court. Whilst Singh was able to claim the second game Lobban soon found his momentum and took the match 3-1. Seventh seed Evan Williams of New Zealand took on Wildcard Luke Jones of New Zealand in the next match with Jones looking strong at the start of his games but he wasn’t able to convert with Williams claiming the match 3-0.

Sixth seed Mahesh Mangaonkar of India proved to be too strong for qualifier Valentino Bong of Malaysia claiming his win in 3. The match of the night came from qualifier Daniel Mekbib of the Czech Republic and Ivan Yuen the second seed of Malaysia. Yuen looked comfortable in his first game on the glass court and took the game 11-7. Mekbib however started to find his rhythm and used his size and shots to his advantage in the second as he settled. Mekbib once he settled never looked back as he powered on claiming the next 3 games and upsetting Yuen to make the quarter finals.

Livestreaming of the matches start Friday 5pm with the link to the court here or below in this article. Schedule of play for the event can be found below.

Full details on the event, all previous matches and links to photo albums can be found here.

All matches will be played on New Zealand’s newest all glass court. This new facility is at 483D Rosebank Road, Avondale.

If you wish to commentate or listen to some alternative commentary over the weekend jump over to SPALK here.

Squash XL PSA Main Draw Round 1

[1] Campbell Grayson (NZL) bt Eain Yow Ng (MAS) 3-1: 11-5, 6-11, 11-5, 11-7 (45mins)
[8] Joshua Larkin (AUS) bt Lance Beddoes (NZL) 3-1: 11-13, 11-6, 11-9, 11-8 (40mins)
[5] Angus Gillams (ENG) bt [Q] Joe Green (ENG) 3-0: 11-9, 11-6, 11-5 (31mins)
[4] Rex Hedrick (AUS) bt Mohd Syafiq Kamal (MAS) 3-0: 12-10, 11-6, 11-4 (35mins)
[3] Greg Lobban (SCO) bt [Q] Sanjay Singh (MAS) 3-1: 12-10, 7-11, 14-12, 11-6 (44mins)
[7] Evan Williams (NZL) bt [WC] Luke Jones (NZL) 3-0: 11-9, 11-8, 11-8 (29mins)
[6] Mahesh Mangaonkar (IND) bt [Q] Valentino Bong (MAS) 3-0: 11-5, 11-6, 11-6 (26mins)
[Q] Daniel Mekbib (CZE) bt [2] Ivan Yuen (MAS) 3-1: 7-11, 11-5, 11-9, 11-6 (48mins)

Squash XL PSA Quarter Finals

5pm - [1] Campbell Grayson (NZL) vs [8] Joshua Larkin (AUS)
6pm - [5] Angus Gillams (ENG) vs [4] Rex Hedrick (AUS)
7pm - [3] Greg Lobban (SCO) vs [7] Evan Williams (NZL)
8pm - [6] Mahesh Mangaonkar (IND) vs [Q] Daniel Mekbib (CZE)