Aussies bow out of the tournament as Australian Open reaches semifinal stage

Donna Lobban and Rex Hedrick could not make it to the next round of the 2022 City Tattersalls Club Australian Open as the PSA Challenger 30 tournament reached the semifinal stage, to be played on Saturday. With both no. 1 seeds Miguel Rodriguez (COL) and Nele Gilis (BEL) still in the mix, it was Satomi Watanabe of Japan who provided the upset of the day against seed no. 4 Jasmine Hutton (ENG).

Watanabe and Hutton staged an epic five-game battle that lasted over an hour. Hutton led twice, after the first game and then again at 2-1, but could not find momentum as Watanabe managed to pull back each time. The Japanese eventually took the fifth game 11-5 to claim a tough and physical contest after over an hour on the court.

“Honestly I wasn’t feeling great until almost the last game,” said Watanabe after the match. “I just tried to stay in the match and I finally started to find my rhythm at the end.”

Watanabe will face Gilis in the semifinal, after the Belgian took an emphatic 3-0 win against Saskia Beinhard (GER). “We’ve never been on court together, but I am definitely the underdog in this one,” commented Watanabe.

The second women’s semifinal will see an all-American clash after no.2 Sabrina Sobhy and no.3 seed Olivia Clyne both won their quarter-finals in straight sets against Donna Lobban (AUS) and Kaitlyn Watts (NZL).

After Lobban’s defeat, Rex Hedrick was the last Australian left in the tournament. Despite a valiant effort in the first game, lost 10-12, the no. 8 seed could not delight the home crowd with a win against world no. 34 Adrian Waller (ENG), who took the second 11-8 and wrapped up the quarter-final 11-9 in the third.

Donna Lobban’s husband Greg Lobban had to come from behind to win his quarter-final against Charlie Lee (ENG). Lobban was down 1-2 before mounting his comeback and taking the match to the decider. The two players traded blow for blow in front of a delighted Sydney crowd until the Scot found the decisive shots to make it 11-9 in the longest match of the tournament so far (75’). Lobban will face Waller tomorrow in what promises to be another exciting semifinal.

Men’s no. 1 seed Miguel Rodriguez also qualified for the semifinal in the upper part of the men’s draw. The Colombian defeated Martin Svec 3-0 with another convincing performance.

Rodriguez’s next adversary will be no. 6 seed Andrew Douglas (USA). Just like yesterday, the American had to go the distance to overcome the resistance of his opponent, with Ryunosuke Tsukue (JAP) eager to make another illustrious victim after knocking out of the tournament no. 4 seed Baillargeon in the previous round. Douglas needed three match balls to close off the match, but he finally clinched the fifth game 11-9 in 68’.

Competition at the 2022 City Tattersalls Club Australian Open resumes tomorrow at 1pm AEDT for the tournament’s semi-finals. 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 Quarter-finals - Men’s results

[1] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) bt [7] Martin Svec (CZE) 3-0: 11-7, 11-3, 11-9 (34m)
[6] Andrew Douglas (USA) bt Ryunosuke Tsukue (JAP) 3-2: 6-11, 11-7, 6-11, 11-4, 11-9 (68m)
[3] Greg Lobban (SCO) bt [5] Charlie Lee (ENG) 3-2: 4-11 , 12-10 , 7-11 , 11-8 , 11-9 (75m)
[2] Adrian Waller (ENG) bt [8] Rex Hedrick (AUS) 3-0: 12-10, 11-8, 11-9 (52m)

Australian Open Quarter-finals - Women’s results

[1] Nele Gilis (BEL) bt [7] Saskia Beinhard (GER) 3-0: 11-4, 11-1, 11-2 (28m)
[6] Satomi Watanabe (JAP) bt [4] Jasmine Hutton (ENG) 3-2: 10-12, 11-9, 6-11, 11-9, 11-5 (64m)
[3] Olivia Clyne (USA) bt Kaitlyn Watts (NZL) 3-0: 11-8, 11-6, 11-3 (27m)
[2] Sabrina Sobhy (USA) bt [5] Donna Lobban (AUS) 3-0: 11-5, 11-3, 11-0 (23m)

Australian Open Semifinals - Men

[1] Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL) v [6] Andrew Douglas (USA)
[2] Adrian Waller (ENG) v [3] Greg Lobban (SCO)

Australian Open Semifinals - Women

[1] Nele Gilis (BEL) v [6] Satomi Watanabe (JAP)
[2] Sabrina Sobhy (USA) v [3] Olivia Clyne (USA)