Quarter Finals Excitement at ILT Southern Open PSA 

The ILT & CTOS NZ Southern Open quarter-finals played out tonight at Squashcity Invercargill with a crowd of spectators eager to view some intense squash, and some huge upsets by the younger New Zealand contingent.

The quarter-final round of the ILT & CTOS NZ Southern Open PSA Women’s Event saw all seeds safely through to the semi-finals.

Germany’s Sina Wall was much more focused tonight, up against top seed Siyoli Waters of South Africa. Waters displayed great court movement throughout the match and used the high lob when under pressure to keep herself in the rally’s. While Wall made several unforced errors in the first set she was also able to pull off some risky shots when under pressure. The second set saw Wall come out playing much deeper and better placed length, playing with much more dominance and forcing errors from Waters. This, coupled with her willingness to go for winning shots saw her claim the second set from a frustrated Waters. Waters came back hard in the third, much more focused and looking to play winning shots herself. She attacked the ball much more aggressively and took this set comfortably. The fourth was full of action, with both players looking for opportunities to attack the ball and secure points. The lead seesawed back and forth throughout the set with Waters just managing to secure the win and move through to the next round.

New Zealander Megan Craig played a very focused game against Australian Jessica Turnbull. Great use of length and wide crosscourt angles gave Craig the position she was looking for to use her skills at the front of the court and maintain a healthy advantage over Turnbull. The first two sets were a fairly one-sided affair, however Turnbull at times applied the pressure needed to force errors and secure points. The third set saw Craig’s use of deep length lessen and Turnbull took the opportunity to dominate the centre of the court and play some impressive winning shots to take an early lead and put Craig under pressure. Craig soon refocused herself and quickly turned the game around again, improving her length and attacking the ball with much more determination to push back past Turnbull and close out the match.

Amanda Landers-Murphy was the other remaining kiwi in the Womens draw and she had a much tougher time in her match, needing to really step her game up to combat a very determined Christine Nunn of Australia. The first set saw lots of errors from both players as they each tried to apply pressure to the other. Down game-ball in the first, Landers-Murphy managed to get back on top of Nunn and took the set 12-10. The second set was much more hers, with a comfortable 11-4. Nunn again pushed hard in the third, and it was a tightly fought battle for the lead with Landers-Murphy just able to close the match out 11-9.

The final match for the Women’s quarter-finals saw Misaki Kobayashi of Japan battle with Australian Sarah Cardwell to see who would book the last semi-final berth. Kobayashi looked to have complete control during the first two sets, before Cardwell was able to increase the pressure in the third, getting a strong run of points to secure this set. Kobayashi came out refocused in again in the fourth, taking a very strong lead before Cardwell started to look like coming back, but the comeback was not enough and Kobayashi will face Landers-Murphy tomorrow, looking to secure a place in the final. 

The Men's draw was apcked full of action and started with the much anticipated match between two local crowd favourites and kiwi compatriots Lance Beddoes and Martin Knight. This match was every bit as exciting as expected, with both players giving their all as they sought the semi-final spot. Knight managed to just sneak the first set 12-10, with the set full of his trademark long rallies. The second set was all Beddoes’ with him coming back from losing the first playing harder and smarter, taking the set 11-0. following the match, when asked about this set, Beddoes was unsure of what exactly had happened but felt he got a good roll on and everything just worked. Knight again came back in the third and edged his lead out to 2-1, before Beddoes again had a dominant set, leveling the match at 2 all. The final set shaped up to be a seesaw of points before Beddoes again took control with a small run of points to give him match-ball, however a tight shot by Knight to the front corner saw Beddoes miss hit and send the ball back into himself, opening the door for Knight to come back. Beddoes was determined to win, and with the taste of success hovering he was able to drive the match home with a shot placed deep into the back corner that forced an error from Knight.

The second upset of the evening was caused by another up and coming Kiwi, with Paul Coll grabbing victory from within top seed Campbell Grayson’s grasp, and nothing but sweat left on the court. Grayson took the early lead in the first set after initially trading point for point, although Coll showed glimpses of what was to come, and further capitalized on this in the second and third sets – taking them both 12-10. These sets were very intense, with both players pushing to get the advantage and secure a valuable set. Going point for point all the way through the second, Coll gained set-ball in the tie-break and Grayson’s unforced error off the serve gave him the set. Coll was able to keep the momentum going into the third, taking an early lead, with Grayson then catching up before Coll stretched the lead out again, and was able to equalise and secure the set on another tie-break. Grayson came out firing in the fourth, taking an early lead and continually increasing the gap until he had played his way to a fifth set. Grayson again took an early lead in the deciding set, with Coll scrambling to catch up throughout the set. With Grayson on matchball, Coll threw everything he had into staying in the game and came up with a drop in the front that was just to good for Grayson to pick up. An error by Grayson created another tie-break where Coll was able to continue applying pressure and take the win. Coll is “extremely happy with tonight’s result. A huge battle against a good team mate Cambo, looking forward to my match tomorrow against Rapha.”

Earlier in the evening, “Lucky Loser” Matias Tuomi (FIN) was first up on the Men’s court, facing a very focused and on-task Tsz Fung Yip (HKG). Yip dominated the centre of the court and made great use of attacking boasts to catch Tuomi off-guard. Tuomi retrieved well, chasing balls all around the court as Yip continued to apply pressure. The second set saw Tuomi pushing hard, using tight length and wide cross-court shots to move Yip around the court more, forcing errors and hunting for the lead. Despite Tuomi’s best efforts, Yip maintained his focus and was able to come back from game-ball down to take the set 12-10. The third set saw a much more aggressive approach by Yip, placing the ball to move Tuomi from one corner to another, hunting the loose ball for opportunity to play winning shots.

Second seed Raphael Kandra (GER) was relatively untroubled in his match with James Huang (TAI), taking the match in 3 sets. Kandra’s presence on the court seemed immense as he covered all areas with apparent ease, returning balls that should have been winning shots. Huang wasn’t allowing Kandra to have it all his way though and fought hard to keep himself in each set, forcing a tie-break in the third but unable to capitalize.

Full draws below and where to watch the semi-finals 

Semi-final Matches (Saturday) - To be streamed here

3.30pm (1) Siyoli Waters (RSA) vs (4) Megan Craig (NZ)

4.30pm Lance Beddoes (NZ) vs Tsz Fung Yip (HKG)

5.30pm (2) Misaki Kobayashi (JAP) vs (3) Amanda Landers-Murphy (NZ)

6.30pm (2) Raphael Kandra (GER) vs Paul Coll (NZ)

Full Results Women's Draw:

(1) Siyoli Waters (RSA) bt Sina Wall (GER) 11-7, 5-11, 11-4, 11-9 (34 minutes)

(4) Megan Craig (NZ) bt Jessica Turnbull (AUS) 11-3, 11-3, 11-7 (20 minutes)

(3) Amanda Landers-Murphy (NZ) bt Christine Nunn (AUS) 12-10, 11-4, 11-9 (38 minutes)

(2) Misaki Kobayashi (JAP) bt Sarah Cardwell (AUS)  11-7, 11-4, 5-11, 11-7 (35 minutes)

Full Results Men's Draw

Tsz Fung Yip (HKG) bt Matias Tuomi (FIN) 11-6, 12-10, 11-4

Lance Beddoes (NZ) bt (3) Martin Knight (NZ) 10-12, 11-0, 8-11, 11-3, 11-7 (1hr 6 minutes)

(2) Raphael Kandra (GER) bt James Huang (TAI) 11-9, 11-4, 12-10 (39 minutes)

Paul Coll (NZ) bt (1) Campbell Grayson (NZ) 7-11, 12-10, 12-10, 3-11, 12-10 (1hr 23 minutes)