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ILT & Community Trust NZ Southern Open 2018
19-24 Jun, Invercargill, New
Zealand, $10k |
Final:
Ivan claims SquashCity title
The 2018 ILT & CTOS NZ Southern Open PSA final today saw Ivan
Yuen succeed in his mission to win the Championship after
missing out to Scotland’s Greg Lobban last year.
The match started with both Yuen and his
opponent Rex Hedrick patiently rallying, waiting for the right
ball to attack. Yuen was slightly more accurate, placing the
ball tight and forcing loose ball from Hedrick.
The second saw a much more determined Hedrick, playing with more
positivity and holding his shots at the front to send Yuen the
wrong way. Both players were hunting the volley to up the
pressure on the other, with Hedrick winning that battle in this
set.
The third was a long, hard fought set, with both players working
to increase the pressure, Yuen stepping it up a bit further at
the end to win the tie-break and gain the one-set advantage.
Yuen again came out hard in the fourth, upping the pressure on
Hedrick even further and gaining a strong lead. Hedrick would
have covered several kilometres chasing Yuen’s shots down and
beginning to come-back but it was not his day today as Yuen held
his composure to secure the title.
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NZ Southern Open 2018
19-24 Jun, Invercargill, New
Zealand, $10k |
Round One
21 Jun |
Quarters
22 Jun |
Semis
23 Jun |
Final
24 Jun |
[1] Ivan Yuen (Mas)
11/2, 11/5, 14/12 (45m)
[Q] Asyraf Azan (Mas) |
[1] Ivan Yuen
11/9, 11/8, 7/11, 11/6 (50m)
[5] Victor Crouin |
[1] Ivan Yuen
11/8, 11/4, 4/11, 11/8 (42m)
[4] Angus Gillams |
[1] Ivan Yuen
11/7, 7/11, 13/11, 11/8 (76m)
[2] Rex Hedrick |
[5] Victor Crouin (Fra)
11/7, 11/5, 8/11, 11/5 (40m)
Darren Rahul Pragasam (Mas) |
[7] Evan Williams (Nzl)
6/11, 11/5, 11/6, 11/2 (38m)
Sean Conroy (Irl) |
[7] Evan Williams
7/11, 11/7, 11/9, 11/6 (46m)
[4] Angus Gillams |
[4] Angus Gillams (Eng)
13/11, 11/8, 11/6 (34m)
[Q] Ryunosuke Tsukue (Jpn) |
[Q] Velavan Senthilkumar (Ind)
11/8, 11/4, 8/11, 11/2 (40m)
[3] Joshua Larkin (Aus) |
[3] Joshua Larkin
11/8, 11/9, 12/10 (38m)
[6] Rhys Dowling |
[3] Joshua Larkin 6/11, 11/3,
11/8, 11/4 (53m)
[2] Rex Hedrick |
[Q] Luke Jones (Nzl)
11/9, 11/9, 11/7 (24m)
[6] Rhys Dowling (Aus) |
Joe Green (Eng)
7/11, 11/7, 11/6, 11/7 (40m)
[8] Addeen Idrakie (Mas) |
[8] Addeen Idrakie
11/5, 13/11, 11/4 (40m)
[2] Rex Hedrick |
[wc] Scott Galloway (Nzl)
11/5, 11/9, 11/7 (30m)
[2] Rex Hedrick (Aus) |
Qualifying
Finals:
Asyraf Azan (Mas) 3-1 Joeri Hapers (Bel)
4-11, 11-6, 12-10, 11-9 (43m)
Ryunosuke Tsukue (Jpn) 3-0 Sion Wiggin (Nzl)
11-3, 11-4, 11-3 (20m)
Luke Jones (Nzl) 3-1 Zac Millar (Nzl)
6-11, 11-6, 11-7, 11-0 (32m)
Velavan Senthilkumar (Ind) 3-0 Rohan Toole (Aus)
11-5, 11-5, 11-8 (22m)
Round One:
Joeri Hapers (Bel) 3-0 Alvin Heumann (Usa)
11-7, 11-6, 11-3
Asyraf Azan (Mas) 3-1 Ong Sai Hung (Mas)
15-13, 11-7, 4-11, 11-4
Sion Wiggin (Nzl) 3-0 Lewis Doughty (Eng)
12-10, 11-9, 7-11, 11-7
Ryunosule Tsukue (Jpn) 3-0 Alex Grayson (Nzl)
11-2, 11-4, 11-7
Luke Jones (Nzl) 3-1 Lwamba Chileshe (Nzl)
11-6, 11-7, 7-11, 11-3
Zac Millar (Nzl) 3-0 Joe Williams (Nzl)
11-2, 11-7, 11-1
Rohan Toole (Aus) 3-2
Guhan Senthilkumar (Ind) 11-3, 11-9, 9-11, 3-11, 11-9
Velavan Senthilkumar (Ind) 3-1 Thomas Calvert (Aus)
11-4, 8-11, 11-8, 11-7
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Semis:
Top seeds through to SquashCity final
The ILT & CTOS NZ Southern Open PSA semi-finals went according
to plan tonight in Invercargill, with both top seeds securing
their spots in the final tomorrow.
Top seed Ivan Yuen started off very strongly
against fourth seeded Angus Gillams, taking an early lead in the
first set. Gillams fought back hard with some tight drops before
placing one too low to give Yuen the set 11-8.
Yuen again streaked to a quick lead in the second, with Gillams
making a lot of errors. Gillams came out in the third playing a
much more controlled game, applying pressure and reaping the
rewards to take the set 11-4. Yuen was much more focused in the
fourth, getting the lead early on and holding it to a three
match-ball advantage.
Gillams saved the first match-ball with an incredible cross
court flick at the front, only for Yuen to seal the match with a
cross-court nick on the return of serve.
 Next
up was the much anticipated all Australian match between second
seed Rex Hedrick and third seed Josh Larkin. The local
spectators knew from past years how both players are inclined
towards long grueling rallies and they certainly didn’t
disappoint tonight.
Larkin began the match playing sharply and on form, moving
Hedrick all around the court as he sought to get the ball beyond
his reach, taking the set 11-6. Hedrick looked more in control
in the second set, turning the tables and playing the ball from
one corner to another, knowing how much work he needed to do to
keep the ball beyond Larkin’s extremely flexible reach.
Hedrick continued to apply pressure to a tiring Larkin in the
third, taking a large lead before Larkin found his reserve tank
and began to close back in. The fourth set saw Hedrick again
streak out to a large lead, closing out the match and confirming
his place tomorrow’s final against Yuen.
The final between Ivan Yuen and Rex Hedrick will play tomorrow
at 3.00pm (local time) and is sure to be a hard fought battle
with Yuen and Hedrick looking to secure their first Southern
Open title after both having missed out in previous years – Yuen
last year lost in the final to Scotland’s Greg Lobban, and
Hedrick losing to Martin Knight in 2014 and being knocked out in
the semis in 2016 and 2017.
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Quarters:
Top four through to SquashCity semis
It will be the top four seeds contesting the semi-finals of The
ILT & CTOS NZ Southern Open tomorrow as they all made their way
through quarter-finals tonight safely.
First to take the court was top seed Ivan Yuen against fifth
seed Victor Crouin. The first two sets were closely contested
with Yuen able to take them both and gain a two set advantage.
Crouin (who has just been announced as one of eight players in
the PSA and World Squash Federation’s SquashForward line-up)
came back in the third, mixing it up a bit and forcing errors
from Yuen, taking the set 11-7. Yuen returned in the fourth,
much more in control of the rallies, closing out the match 3-1
to progress through to the semi-finals.
Evan Williams, the last New Zealand contender was up next facing
fourth seed Angus Gillams. Williams got off to a great start,
playing much more dynamically than on previous visits. With the
first set to Williams, the crowd was hoping for him to make it
two, but Gillams came out hard, applying more pressure and
making Williams play a bit more defensively. The third set saw
the players working hard for each point, with Gillams able to
just sneak in 11-9. Gillams then continued upping his game,
closing out the match 3-1 to make the semi-finals where he will
now face top seed Yuen.
Australian training partners Josh Larkin (3) and Rhys Dowling
(6) followed with an entertaining and fast-paced match. Both
started the match hunting for an advantage over the other, with
Larkin using his great retrieval skills to keep pushing the ball
back at Dowling, eventually seeing errors creep into Dowlings
game under the pressure. The third set came down to the wire,
with Dowling equaling Larkin’s game-ball to force a tie-break,
with Larkin having to dig deep to book his spot in the
semi-finals tomorrow.
The final match saw eighth seed Addeen Idrakie taking on second
seed Rex Hedrick. Idrakie started well, moving Hedrick all
around the court before Hedrick took more control of the rallies
to pull out to a comfortable lead and take the set. Idrakie came
back in the second set, moving to a three game-ball advantage at
10-7. Hedrick wasn’t having any of it however and worked hard to
even the scores and then take the set 13-11. There was no
stopping Hedrick from there and he will now face compatriot Josh
Larkin in the semi-final tomorrow.
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Round One:
Seeds through to quarters at SquashCity
The top 8 players have made it through the first round of The
2018 ILT & CTOS NZ Southern Open in relative comfort.
(1) Ivan Yuen (MAS) v (Q) Asyraf Azan (MAS)
Yuen was very dominant in the first 2 sets, taking a quick
lead in both and closing them out quickly. Asyraf came back hard
in the third, giving everything he had to keep the match alive,
taking it to a tie-break which Yuen had to really work to
eventually take 14-12.
(5) Victor Crouin (FRA) v Darren Rahul Pragasam (MAS)
Crouin also started strong, playing with great focus to take
the first 2 sets. Pragasam came back to take the third, before
Crouin upped the pressure in the fourth to close the match out
3-1.
(7) Evan Williams (NZL) vs Sean Conroy (IRL)
Conroy looked to be set to cause an upset, starting strong
and taking the first set 11-6. Williams came back out on court
with much more intensity to level the scores 1-1 and then gain a
2-1 lead. The fourth set was all Williams as he completely
dominated, forcing errors from a frustrated Conroy and securing
his spot in the quarter-finals.
(4) Angus Gillams (ENG) v (Q) Ryunosuke Tsukue (JPN)
Gillams had to really work hard in this match, with Tsukue
keeping it a very tight contest. The first set went to a
tie-break after Tsukue staved off four game-balls to even the
score. Gillams just edged in front 13-11. Gillams looked more in
control of the second set, again gaining a four game-ball
advantage which Tsukue fought hard to come back on but Gillams
held on to take it 11-8. The third set saw Gillams up the pace
to finish off the match.
(3) Josh Larkin (AUS) v (Q) Velavan Senthilkumar (IND)
A battle of the two most deceptive players here, this was played
at an intense pace, as both players sought to out-manoeuvre the
other. Larkin was very accurate with his shots and held a 2-0
lead before Senthilkumar took a hard fought third set. Larkin
was able to return in the fourth and take full control of the
game and book his place in the quarter-finals.
(6) Rhys Dowling (AUS) v (Q) Luke Jones (NZL)
Dowling started incredibly strong, streaking out to an 8-0 lead
before Jones came alive and fought back to 7-8. Dowling was able
to hold on to take the set 11-9. The second set saw Jones take
the early lead before Dowling took eight points in a row to get
game-ball, again closing the set out 11-9. Jones took another
early lead in the third, but a focused Dowling proved too strong
tonight, sealing the match in three sets.
(8) Addeen Idrakie (MAS) v Joe Green (ENG)
Idrakie had a slow start which Green capitalised on to take the
first set. Idrakie took a quick lead in the second and was able
to convert this to even the set scores. He continued his
momentum into the third and then the fourth sets to take the
match 3-1.
(2) Rex Hedrick (AUS) v (WC) Scott Galloway (NZL)
Galloway showed some great skills as he battled it out trying to
move through to the next round, but Hedrick was just too good
and was able to fend off the valiant efforts of Galloway in a
three set match.
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Qualifying complete at SquashCity
The battle for spots in the main draw of the 2018 New Zealand
Southern Open PSA was fiercely contested with more seeds being
knocked out of the battle tonight.
First up was top seed Joeri Hapers of Belgium who started
off strong in the first set with great accuracy, and few errors.
The second set saw his unseeded opponent, Malaysia’s Asyraf
Azan step up the pace and begin applying pressure, taking
what was an entertaining set, 11-6. Azan was able to keep the
intensity level up in the third, streaking out to an 8-2 lead
before Hapers dug deep to pull back to 7-8 and then catch up to
Azan’s game ball to force a tie break, but Azan again stepped up
the pressure and took the set 12-10. The fourth game saw both
players fighting hard, Hapers to stay in the match and Azan to
seal his spot in the main draw. Despite Hapers best efforts,
Azan was able to hold him off, taking the game 11-9 and keeping
himself in the tournament.
Next on court was New Zealander Sion Wiggin and 4th seed
Ryunosuke Tsukue of Japan. Tsukue proved too strong for
Wiggin tonight, hitting the ball with a pace that Wiggin found
difficult to return cleanly. Tsukue took the match 3-0 in 20
minutes
This match was followed by the all New Zealand match between
Zac Millar and 3rd seed Luke Jones. Millar started
out strong in the first set, placing the ball skillfully to take
the set. Jones used the break between sets to regroup and came
out much more focused in the second set, playing with more
intensity and the errors began to creep into Millar’s game.
Jones kept increasing the pressure in the third, forcing more
errors from Millar, before completely dominating the fourth to
close out the match.
The final match of the night saw India’s Velavan Senthilkumar
take on Australian Rohan Toole. Senthilkumar’s style of
play seemed to be causing frustration for Toole as he pulled off
some seemingly ridiculous shots. Toole was unable to find the
answer for Senthilkumar’s game, with Senthilkumar taking the
match 3-0.
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