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2020 VOLKSWAGEN AUSTRALIAN OPEN | Day 4 Review

Published Sun 07 Feb 2021

We were treated to two very exciting matches with contrasting results on finals day at the 2020 Volkswagen Australian Open in Bega, NSW, Australia. Rhys Dowling continued his solid run through the event to claim his first Australian Open and only his second PSA title, while former world number one Rachael Grinham battled through five games to claim her third Australian Open title.

[4] Rhys Dowling took on fellow Northern Territorian [1] Joseph White in a first Australian Open final for both men. Dowling took a head-to-head advantage into the final having never lost to his younger opponent and after a nervous start he looked to keep that record as he ran away with the first game. It was a similar story in the second and third games as White made a few errors from good positions and Dowling showed a bit more severity in his shots, finishing off the match strongly in straight games.

[4] Rhys Dowling (WR 228) v [1] Joseph White (WR 167) 11-4, 11-6, 11-8 (32min).

Top seed Rachael Grinham raced out to an early 9-4 lead in the first game of the Women’s final against fellow Queenslander [3] Jessica Turnbull. The world number 66 Turnbull was determined to fight her way into the match and she did so leveling it back up at 9-9. From there they traded game balls back and forth before Grinham eventually claimed a tense first game 15-13. The second was a similar story with Grinham building a 7-2 lead only to win it 11-9 in the end.

The third and fourth games had a different feel about them as Turnbull improved her accuracy to control the T and force the match to a fifth game. Grinham’s experience really showed in the fifth game and ultimately made the difference throughout the match as she played the crucial points well to claim her third Australian Open title 16 years after her first.

[1] Rachael Grinham (WR 29) v [3] Jessica Turnbull (WR 66) 15-13, 11-9, 7-11, 5-11, 11-8 (50min)

Full draws and results can be found on SportyHQ here: https://squashaustralia.sportyhq.com/tournament/view/Volkswagen-Australian-Open-2020 

If you missed seeing it live you can still watch the replays on Squash Australia Facebook page or YouTube channel at www.squashaustralia.tv 

Squash Australia would like to acknowledge and thank the following sponsors for their support of this event: Volkswagen, Tarra Motors, Bega Squash Club, BLK, Dunlop, Ashaway.

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