Quarters : Salma comeback topples top seed Tinne in Christchurch
Salma Hany came roaring back from two games down to topple tournament top seed Tinne Gilis and reach the New Zealand Open semi-finals in the Isaac Theatre Royal, Christchurch.
Going into today’s match, Hany had never beaten Gilis in three previous attempts, with Gilis breaking the Egyptian’s heart on home court at last year’s El Gouna International by taking a five-game win after Hany had come back from 0-2 down to level. Today, it was sweet revenge for the 28-year-old.
“Absolutely incredible!” Hany said. “I’m very, very proud of how I fought today. To be able to come back after 0-2 against such a great player is definitely something I’m very proud of. I definitely remembered how I came back in El Gouna after she bagelled me, and in the second game… well, I need to stop mentioning that! I knew I had the mental strength to come back from 0-2 down and I just kept telling myself to keep pushing until the last point.”
Hany will face Japanese sixth seed Satomi Watanabe in the semi-final after the Japan #1 received a walkover against Scotland’s Georgia Adderley due to injury. The other semi-final will be contested by Egyptians Amina Orfi and Rowan Elaraby after they both overcame Malaysian opponents, with 17-year-old second seed Orfi beating Rachel Arnold 3-1 and Elaraby defeating Sivasangari Subramaniam – who wore strapping to her right leg throughout – in straight games.
The men’s semi-finals will see New Zealand top seed and defending champion Paul Coll go up against France’s Baptiste Masotti while second seed Marwan ElShorbagy will play Malaysian third seed Eain Yow Ng .
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Day Three : Jeeva reaches first major QF as round two concludes …
Malaysia’s Sanjay Jeeva reached the quarter-finals of a Silver-level PSA event for the first time as the World #65 shocked World #22 Abdulla Al-Tamimi of Qatar on day three of the New Zealand Open at the Isaac Theatre Royal, Christchurch.
“It’s definitely the biggest win of my career,” Jeeva said. I’ve not had the chance to play many top 50 players. This is the first time I played Abdullah and he’s the highest ranked player that I’ve beaten, so far!”
Jeeva will take on Malaysian compatriot Eain Yow Ng in the quarters after the third seed ended the run of 18-year-old local wildcard Oliver Dunbar with a convincing win in straight games.
Jeeva and Ng were not the only members of the Malaysian contingent to enjoy success today, with women’s fifth seed Sivasangari Subramaniam and eighth seed Rachel Arnold also progressing.
In an uneven performance, Sivasangari battled back from 1-2 down to overcome compatriot Aira Azman and set up a quarter-final clash with Rowan Elaraby, while Arnold got the better of Hong Kong, China’s Lee Ka Yi.
Arnold will take on 17-year-old Amina Orfi, the second seed coming through an all-Egyptian encounter with Hana Moataz after saving eight game balls in 28-minute-long first game to complete a 3-1 victory.
For the home crowd, defending champion Paul Coll provided the perfect tonic after Dunbar’s loss, with the top seed – who spent many of his junior years in Christchurch – beginning his campaign with a comprehensive win over Japan’s Ryunosuke Tsukue.
Day Two : Adderley topples defending champion as Round Two begins …
Defending New Zealand Open champion Nele Gilis-Coll crashed out in dramatic fashion as Scottish World #23 Georgia Adderley put in a career-best performance on day two of the Silver-Level event at the Isaac Theatre Royal, Christchurch.
Adderley went into the match having never taken a game off Gilis-Coll, with the Belgian World #10 winning all three of their previous meetings in straight games. The Scottish #1 turned that around to to wrap up a shocking straight-game victory of her own.
Adderley will play Japanese sixth seed Satomi Watanabe in the quarter-final after the World#11 came from a game down to beat Hong Kong’s Tomato Ho.
“For sure it’s the biggest result of my career” Adderley said. “I mean, she’s top 10 in the world and I don’t think I’ve ever beaten a top 20 player, certainly not in the PSA. So yeah, big result. Pretty happy!”
It wasn’t all good news for Scotland though as France’s Auguste Dussourd fought back from a game down to put Scottish fourth seed Greg Lobban to the sword.
“Today, when I got into the court, I said I wouldn’t focus on the result, whether I win or lose at the end. Today, it’s the performance that matters, not the result,” said Dussourd, who plays compatriot Baptiste Masotti in the last eight after the sixth seed recovered from a slow start to overcome Egypt’s Yahya Elnawasany.
Round One : Wildcard Dunbar stuns Soares as New Zealand Open begins
Home wildcard Oliver Dunbar produced one of the shocks of the season as the World #255 stunned Portugal’s World #54 Rui Soares to kick off the New Zealand Open at the Isaac Theatre Royal, Christchurch.
Despite being ranked more than 200 places below Soares, Dunbar played with no signs of nerves and sent the home crowd into raptures by completing a famous victory by powering tin four games.
“That’s definitely the biggest win of my career. It was great to do that at home, I’ve got my Dad here and a few club mates came to watch so it’s pretty cool,” said Dunbar, who will face third seed Eain Yow Ng of Malaysia in round two.
Dunbar is one of two Kiwis through to the second round; top seed Paul Coll received a first round bye, while wildcards Ella Lash and Anthony Lepper played well but lost out to Malaysia’s Ainaa Amani and Spain’s Bernat Jaume. Former World #3 Joelle King struggled with an injury in her match against Malaysia’s Aira Azman, with the New Zealand #1 losing in 25 minutes.
Elsewhere, Malaysian world #65 Sanjay Jeeva came from a game down to upset Hong Kong’s Alex Lau, USA’s Marina Stefanoni fought back to beat Spain’s Marta Dominguez, and Auguste Dussourd came through a five-game marathon against French compatriot Edwin Clain.