AUS Open day two: Donna Lobban and Rex Hedrick advance to the quarter-finals

Number 4 seed David Baillargeon (CAN) lost to Ryunosuke Tsukue (JAP) in the biggest upset of the second round at the 2022 City Tattersalls Club Australian Open, with Aussies Donna Lobban and Rex Hedrick qualifying for tomorrow’s quarter-finals in Sydney.

Lobban needed four games to beat 18-year-old Yasshmita Jadishkumar (MAL) en route to setting up an exciting quarter-final against Sabrina Sobhy (USA). Lobban and Jadishkumar split the first two games, both decided by the tightest of margins, before the Australian got in control of the match and won 3-1.

“I am really glad I got through that, actually,” she said after the match. “Yasshmita is a very talented young player and she’s going to be one of the stars of the future. So really happy for the win, no matter the score.”

Lobban will face Sobhy next, who confidently disposed of Katerina Tycova (GER) 3-0 in just 25’.

“Sabrina is playing very well at the moment and she had an amazing result in the USA last week, so it doesn’t get any tougher than that. I am probably the underdog in this one, but I’m going to give everything I’ve got for sure,” Lobban said.

Rex Hedrick is the only other Australian player still in the draw after he emerged victorious from the all-Aussie match of the day against Joseph White. Hedrick won 3-0 and will have a tough quarter-final against seed no. 2 Adrian Weller (ENG), who defeated fellow countryman Simon Herbert, also in straight sets.

The other Australian top-8 seed, Sarah Cardwell had to bow out of the Australian Open after losing her second-round match against Kaitlyn Watts (NZL). Watts was quick to secure the first two games in a close match that could have gone either way, and Cardwell could only force a fourth game before conceding the match 1-3. Watts will face seed no.3 Oliva Clyne (USA) tomorrow, after the current world’s no. 20 eliminated another Australian, Rachael Grinham, in straight sets.

The big result of the day came courtesy of Ryunosuke Tsukue (JAP) who eliminated no. 4 seed David Baillargeon (CAN) in four games.

Showing the form that took him all the way to the final at the recent Canberra Open, Tsukue bounced off the blocks first and built a solid 2-0 lead against his rival. Baillargeon managed to secure the third game and came within one point of forcing a decider, leading 10-5 in the fourth. Tsukue denied the Canadian five game points and went on to close 13-11 on his first match point, for a 3-1 win and a spot in the quarter-finals against Andrew Douglas.

The American seeded at no. 6 was dangerously close to becoming the third upset of the day when he fell down 0-2 against Tom Walsh (ENG) in his second-round match. Douglas didn’t lose composure and mounted an epic comeback to claim a spot in the next round, closing off the decider 11-8 after over an hour on court.

Earlier in the day, top women’s seed Belgian Nele Gilis had a good opening match against Jacqueline Peychar, taking a solid 3-0 win without conceding more than four points in any of the games.

“It’s very warm here in Sydney so it took a bit of getting used to the hot court, but I thought I played really well and I am already looking forward to the next round,” said the world no. 13 after the match. “To have such a big prestigious event like the Australian Open back on is amazing. It’s my first time playing, so I am really excited about it.”

Gilis will face German Saskia Beinhard in the quarter-finals, after the German defeated young Australian Alex Haydon in four games.

Elsewhere in the women’s draw Jasmine Hutton (ENG) proved too strong for Jess Turnbull (AUS), winning her opening match 3-0 and setting up another interesting quarter-final against Japanese Satomi Watanabe, who defeated Salma El Tayeb (EGY) in straight sets.

In the men’s draw, Colombian Miguel Rodriguez cemented his status as tournament’s favourite with a clinical performance against 2020 Australian Open champion Rhys Dowling. “It’s my second time in Sydney, but the first time playing at a PSA event so I was really looking forward to coming back,” Rodriguez said after his match, which he won 3-0.

“My opponent is very talented, I saw his match yesterday and he was very smooth on the court. It was a bit physical in the first game today, but I tried not to give him any chances and I wasn’t making any unforced errors. It worked and I felt pretty much in control. The crowd was amazing and I almost felt like I was already playing in a final,” Rodriguez said.

The Colombian will face no. 7 seed Martin Svec in the next round after the Czech won his match in four games. Svec lost the first game to Sandeep Ramachandran (IND) 10-12, but steered the ship to claim the next three games for a 3-1 win in 42’.

In the lower part of the men’s draw, Greg Lobban (SCO) will face Charlie Lee (ENG) after the two British claimed straight-set victories against their second-round opponents, Daniel Poleshchuk (ISR) and Valentin Raap (GER) respectively.

The 2022 City Tattersalls Club Australian Open continues tomorrow with the quarter-finals, starting at 5pm AEDT. All the action from the Sydney University Sport and Fitness Centre will be streamed live on the PSA Challenger Tour’s YouTube channel, with live scoring also available from the PSA World Tour website.

Australian Open round 2 - Men’s results

[1] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) bt Rhys Dowling (AUS) 3-0: 11-2, 11-5, 11-9 (26m)
[7] Martin Svec (CZE) bt Sandeep Ramachandran (IND) 3-1: 10-12, 11-3, 11-4, 11-3 (42m)

[6] Andrew Douglas (USA) bt Tom Walsh (ENG) 3-2: 9-11 , 11-13 , 11-7 , 11-5 , 11-8 (61m)
Ryunosuke Tsukue (JAP) bt [4] David Baillargeon (CAN) 3-1: 11-3 , 11-4 , 5-11 , 13-11 (49m)

[3] Greg Lobban (SCO) bt Daniel Poleshchuk (ISR) 3-0: 11-8, 11-7, 11-5 (34m)
[5] Charlie Lee (ENG) bt Valentin Raap (GER) 3-0: 11-7, 11-5, 14-12 (44m)

[8] Rex Hedrick (AUS) v Joseph White (AUS) 3-0: 12-10, 11-5, 11-5 (40m)
[2] Adrian Waller (ENG) v Simon Herbert (ENG) 3-0: 11-9, 11-8, 12-10 (38m)

Australian Open round 2 - Women’s results

[1] Nele Gilis (BEL) bt Jacqueline Peychar (AUT) 3-0: 11-3, 11-2, 11-4 (25m)
[7] Saskia Beinhard (GER) bt Alex Haydon (AUS) 3-1: 8-11, 12-10, 11-6, 11-8 (47m)

[6] Satomi Watanabe (JAP) bt Salma El Tayeb (EGY) 3-0: 11-8, 11-5, 11-4 (25m)
[4] Jasmine Hutton (ENG) bt Jessica Turnbull (AUS) 3-0: 11-9, 11-7, 11-6 (29m)

[3] Olivia Clyne (USA) bt Rachael Grinham (AUS) 3-0: 11-2, 11-8, 11-8 (22m)
Kaitlyn Watts (NZL) bt [8] Sarah Cardwell (AUS) 3-1: 11-8, 11-3, 7-11, 11-6 (39m)

[5] Donna Lobban (AUS) bt Yasshmita Jadishkumar (MAL) 3-1: 14-12, 11-13, 11-5, 11-7 (36m)
[2] Sabrina Sobhy (USA) bt Katerina Tycova (GER) 3-0: 11-4, 11-5, 11-1 (25m)