Gibson O’Connor North Shore Open and PSA Semis Decided

The semi-finalists of the main draw of the Gibson O’Connor North Shore Open and PSA have been decided after some tight matches along the way.

The first match of the Women's Quarter Finals was between New Zealanders Emma Millar and Amanda Landers-Murphy. Landers-Murphy was out to claim the win after going down to Millar at the Waikato Open. Landers-Murphy kept her calm and came out firing and Millar wasn't able to answer. Landers-Murphy claiming the win in 3 (11-2, 11-6, 11-6).

The first match of the Men's Quarter Finals saw New Zealand’s Luke Jones take on Malaysia’s Valentino Bong. Bong took the first game 11-4 but Jones worked hard in the second claiming the win 11-7 and leveling the score. The third was tight but it fell Bongs way him claiming the game 13-11. Bong never looked back after this point claiming the fourth 11-4.

The next Women's match saw Jemyca Aribado of the Philippines take on Sam Foyle of Australia. Foyle looked powerful in her first game claiming the first game 11-6. Aribado turned it round in the second and whilst Foyle fought hard it was not enough as Aribado claimed the next 3 games (11-5, 11-8, 11-7).

Next up in the Men's was Evan Williams of New Zealand and Brad Masters of England. It was another physical match for Masters and whilst both players had high intensity rallies it was Williams that took the game in 3 (12-10, 11-8, 12-10).

Local club player Abbie Palmer was looking to make an upset after beating Moana Gray the previous night. Palmer started off well against Australia's Jess Turnbull playing strong shots and claiming the first game 11-7. Turnbull found her shots and movement in the second and never looked back claiming the next 3 games (11-8, 11-4, 11-8).

Chris van der Salm and Ben Grindrod of New Zealand have battled numerous times before and both players were sure to put everything on the court to win. Grindrod started off well claiming the first 2 games (12-10, 11-8). Van Der Salm showed some great form in the third to claim the game 11-8 but it wasn't enough as Grindrod claimed the fourth 11-9 and made his way into the semi-final.

The last women's match saw a Trans-Tasman battle between New Zealand’s Megan Craig and Australia's Christine Nunn. Nunn started off in strong form claiming the first game 11-4. Craig found her stride in the second claiming the game 11-6. Nunn wasn't able to find her stride again with Craig claiming the next 2 games (11-5, 11-8) and taking her spot in the semi-final.

The final men's match saw Josh Larkin of Australia take on Chang Wook Woo of Korea. Larkin showed good strength in his match and his great shot play saw him take his spot in the semi-final in 3 (11-5, 11-7, 11-8).

The semifinals of the men’s and women’s draws kicks off at 5pm Saturday and matchups can be found below. Matches will be livestreamed and the semifinals link can be found here or below in this article. All Round 1 Women’s matches can be found here.

Photos from the quarter finals can be found here.

Quarter Finals

10am - [1] Amanda Landers-Murphy (NZL) bt [7] Emma Millar (NZL) 3-0: 11-2, 11-6, 11-6 (24mins)
10:45am - [4] Valentino Bong (MAS) bt [5] Luke Jones (NZL) 3-1: 11-4, 7-11, 13-11, 11-4 (40mins)
11:30am - [6] Jemyca Aribado (PHI) bt [4] Samantha Foyle (AUS) 3-1: 6-11, 11-5, 11-8, 11-7 (33mins)
12:15pm - [1] Evan Williams (NZL) bt [6] Bradley Masters (ENG) 3-0: 12-10, 11-8, 12-10 (47mins)
1pm - [3] Jessica Turnbull (AUS) bt Abbie Palmer (NZL) 3-1: 7-11, 11-8, 11-4, 11-8 (28mins)
1:45pm - [3] Ben Grindrod (NZL) bt [Q] Chris van der Salm (NZL) 3-1: 12-10, 11-8, 8-11, 11-9 (56mins)
2:30pm - [2] Megan Craig (NZL) bt [5] Christine Nunn (AUS) 3-1: 4-11, 11-6, 11-5, 11-8 (40mins)
3:15pm - [2] Joshua Larkin (AUS) bt [7] Chang-Wook Woo (KOR) 3-0: 11-5, 11-7, 11-8 (30mins)

Semi-Finals

5pm - [1] Amanda Landers-Murphy (NZL) vs [6] Jemyca Aribado (PHI)
6pm - [4] Valentino Bong (MAS) vs[1] Evan Williams (NZL)
7pm - [3] Jessica Turnbull (AUS) vs [2] Megan Craig (NZL)
8pm - [3] Ben Grindrod (NZL) vs [2] Joshua Larkin (AUS)