Matamata Main Draw Decided and Round 1 NZ Southern Open Complete

The main draw of the Matamata Open PSA has been decided whilst the first round of the 2017 ILT Community Trust NZ Southern Invercargill Open has been completed.

The main draw players of the Matamata Open have been found after some intense matches in the qualifications rounds. Abbie Palmer of New Zealand was the first qualification player to make her way to the main draw with wins over fellow kiwis Winona-Jo Joyce and Anika Jackson in 3. Hwayeong Eum of Korea made her way to the main draw with a win in four over New Zealand’s Zoe Dykzeul and a win in 3 over Anna Hughes of New Zealand. Aifa Azman took a strong win in 3 over New Zealand’s Jacinta Matson and was then pushed hard in her next round by New Zealand’s Kaitlyn Watts, but Azman was able to claim the win in 3. The final main draw player was England’s Ellie Jones who took her first round qualifying win in 3 over New Zealand’s Courtney Trail whilst her second round match saw her pushed by Moana Gray of Australia. Gray and Jones had a mammoth battle and even though Gray looked close she was not able to clinch the win in 5 and Jones took her spot in the main draw.

Main Draw begins on Friday and matches will be livestreamed from 2pm here.

Check out the schedule of play for the livestreaming of the Matamata Open below.

Full details on the event can be found here and the full first round matchups can be found below.

There were some tense moments for the top seeds at the ILT Community Trust NZ Southern Invercargill Open tonight with the qualifying players pushing hard in their efforts to get through to the quarter finals.

The 5.30 matches saw top seed Ivan Yuen of Malaysia up against qualifier Joe Green of England, and 6th seed Mahesh Mangaokar from India against another qualifier, New Zealand’s Chris van der Salm. Yuen looked in control during the first set, but Green came out hard in the second streaking to a 10-4 lead before a massive comeback effort from Yuen saw the scores tied at 10 all and then game-ball to Yuen. Green kept pushing and managed to take the second set 13-11. Another tight set followed with both players looking for the edge, with Yuen managing to get there 11-8. The fourth set saw Yuen much more in control and he was able to close out the match 11-5. Over on the other court van der Salm was giving his all against Mangaonkar, but despite his efforts, Mangaonkar was in total control throughout the match and took the win in 3.

The next round saw some equally tight matches, and almost the upset of the tournament. Young Irish player Sean Conroy took a quick lead in his first set against 3rd seed Peter Creed from Wales, and kept pushing to take the first set 11-6. Conroy continued working hard in the second, moving Creed all around the court and anticipating Creed’s shots and cutting them off, taking the set 11-8. The third set saw a much more focused Creed on the court and he made short work of the set 11-3. A massive battle in the fourth set saw both players really pushing themselves, with Creed able to take it 11-9. Creed’s experience and composure served him well in the fifth, closing out the match 11-4. Meanwhile, New Zealand player Evan Williams (7th seed) had to battle to get through a tough match with Mohd Syafiq Kamal of Malaysia. Williams got the first set by working hard, but the tables turned in the second with Kamal edging the game 11-9. Williams was able to regain his focus during the break and came back to take the next two sets and the match in 4.

Current Junior World Champion Eain Yow Ng looked very sharp tonight and made short work of his first set against 4th seed Angus Gillams from England. Gillams came back in the second and worked hard for a 11-9 win, but the third and fourth sets were completely Yow’s as he played with great accuracy and precision, forcing errors from Gillams to make his way through to the quarter finals. Scotland’s Greg Lobban proved too strong for New Zealand’s Lance Beddoes, showing superb shot placement and taking a quick 3-0 win. Likewise Joshua Larkin from Australia was able to seal a 3-0 win over New Zealand’s Ben Grindrod.

The final match of the evening saw second seed Rex Hedrick (Australia) up against Daniel Mekbib from Czech Republic. Hedrick was in control of the match in the first set, however the second set was very intense as Mekbib fought to get back into the match and Hedrick had to work hard to take a 2-0 lead. Mekbib returned to the court more determined and took an early lead in the third, continuing to apply pressure on Hedrick to force the errors, managing to take the set 11-9. Hedrick was able to pull back in the fourth and close out the match 11-3.

Livestreaming of the quarter final matches start 5:30pm Friday night, links to the courts can be found here Court 4. The schedule of play for the Livestreaming of the 2017 ILT Community Trust NZ Southern Invercargill Open can be found below.

Full details on the event, previous articles and where to watch previous streamed matches can be found here.

If you wish to commentate or listen to some alternative commentary over the weekend of the 2017 ILT Community Trust NZ Southern Invercargill Open jump over to SPALK here.

Matamata Open
Qualifying Round 1

Abbie Palmer (NZL) beat Winona-Jo Joyce (NZL) 11-5, 11-3, 11-7 (15 mins)
Anika Jackson (NZL) beat You Jiyoung (KOR) 11-3, 11-6, 12-10 (16 mins)
Anna Hughes (NZL) beat Lauren Clarke (NZL) 11-5, 11-7, 0-11, 11-9 (23 mins)
Hwayeong Eum (KOR) beat Zoe Dykzeul (NZL) 11-7, 6-11, 11-4, 11-4 (21 mins)
Kaitlyn Watts (NZL) beat Taylor Clarke (NZL) 11-5, 11-1, 11-4 (13 mins)
Aifa Azman (MAS) beat Jacinta Matson (NZL) 11-2, 11-3, 11-4 (13mins)
Ellie Jones (ENG) beat Courtney Trail (NZL) 13-11, 11-7, 11-9 (24mins)
Moana Gray (AUS) beat Casey Owen (NZL) 11-3, 5-11, 12-10, 13-11 (27mins)

Final Qualifying Round

Abbie Palmer (NZL) beat Anika Jackson (NZL) 11-4, 11-2, 11-6 (14 mins)
Hwayeong Eum (KOR) beat Anna Hughes (NZL) 11-5, 11-7, 13-11 (26mins)
Aifa Azman (MAS) beat Kaitlyn Watts (NZL) 13-11, 11-8, 11-5 (28 mins)
Ellie Jones (ENG) beat Moana Gray (AUS) 6-11, 11-6, 8-11, 11-6, 12-10 (38 mins)

Friday – Main Draw 1

2pm - [1] Amanda Landers-Murphy (NZL) vs Aifa Azman (MAS)
2:45pm - Ellie Jones (ENG) vs [6] Jemyca Aribado (PHI)
3:30pm - [8] Nazihah Hanis (MAS) vs Zoe Foo Yuk Han (MAS)
4:15pm - Megan Craig (NZL) vs [4] Andrea Lee (MAS)
5pm - [3] Samantha Foyle (AUS) vs Hwayeong Eum (KOR)
5:45pm - Abbie Palmer (NZL) vs [7] Emma Millar (NZL)
6:30pm - [5] Aika Azman (MAS) vs [WC] Nadia Hubbard (NZL)
7:15pm - Lisa Aitken (SCO) vs [2] Jessica Turnbull (AUS)

2017 ILT Community Trust NZ Southern Invercargill Open
Main Draw Round 1

(1) Ivan Yuen (MAS) bt (Q) Joe Green (ENG) 11-5, 11-13, 11-8, 11-5 (43 minutes)
(6) Mahesh Mangaonkar (IND) bt (Q) Chris van der Salm (NZL) 11-7, 11-2, 11-6 (38 minutes)
(7) Evan Williams (NZL) bt Mohd Syafiq Kamal (MAS) 11-8, 9-11, 11-8, 11-5 (48 minutes)
(3) Peter Creed (WAL) bt (Q) Sean Conroy (IRL) 6-11, 8-11, 11-3, 11-9, 11-4 (64 minutes)
Eain Yow Ng (MAS) bt (4) Angus Gillams (ENG) 11-4, 9-11, 11-4, 11-3 (40 minutes)
(5) Greg Lobban (SCO) bt Lance Beddoes (NZL) 11-8, 11-5, 11-4 (28 minutes)
(8) Joshua Larkin (AUS) bt (WC) Ben Grindrod (NZL) 11-3, 11-9, 11-5 (36 minutes)
(2) Rex Hedrick (AUS) bt (Q) Daniel Mekbib (CZE) 11-5, 11-8, 9-11, 11-3 (51 minutes)

Quarter Finals

5.30pm – (1) Ivan Yuen (MAS) vs (6) Mahesh Mangaonkar (IND)
6.30pm – (7) Evan Williams (NZL) vs (3) Peter Creed (WAL)
7.30pm – Eain Yow Ng (MAS) vs (5) Greg Lobban (SCO)
8.30pm – (8) Joshua Larkin (AUS) vs (2) Rex Hedrick (AUS)