Experience comes to the fore on day two of the Australian National Championships in Darwin

There was action aplenty at Darwin Squash Centre on day two of the Australian National Championships.

Marking the halfway point of the competition, the Men’s and Women’s Open divisions took to the court for the quarterfinals.

In the first matches of the evening, Joseph White (1) matched up against Dylan Molinaro (8), and Gregory Chan (12) met Rex Hedrick (3).

It was the apprentice versus the master, with number one seed White taking on Molinaro, in his debut Australian National Championships.

It was a good, physical match, proving for a tight affair but eventually White’s class got him over the line to a 3-0 win. 

Having caused an upset in the opening rounds, Chan was eager to continue his winning run in the quarterfinals, but defending Australian champion Hedrick stood in his way.

It was a comfortable win for Hedrick, who had a dominant performance right from the first point, claiming a 3-0 win (11-4, 11-1, 11-3), putting him through to tomorrow’s semi finals.

Fourth seed Nicholas Calvert met seventh seed Oscar Curtis in the quarter finals, making for an interesting match.

It was a tight fought battle, with long rallies aplenty proving for good watching for the crowd at Darwin Squash Centre.

The grind of the first game took it’s toll on Calvert, and the younger legs of Curtis carried him to a 3-0 win (14-12, 11-8, 11-4).

Returning to his home court, Rhys Dowling played against Victorian Benjamin Ratcliffe in the last men’s quarterfinal of the night.

Dowling claimed the win in straight sets 3-0 (11-5, 11-7, 11-4), but said the score doesn’t reflect the intensity of the match.

“It’s always tough in the first round, no matter who you’re playing. Just getting all the nerves out but it was good to get the win,” Dowling said.

“It’s good to come home and play in front of a home crowd, and hopefully I can make it all the way to the final.

“I came runner up last year, so I’m definitely hoping to go one better this year,” he said.

With the Birmingham Commonwealth Games just over 30 days away, Dowling said the Nationals is a great chance to get some match practice under his belt.

“I’m always grateful to have tournaments on, especially after everything we’ve faced for the last two and a bit years,” Dowling said.

“I obviously want to play my best squash in tournaments like these, but in the back of my mind I’m also so excited to go over there to Birmingham for the Commonwealth Games.

“So I have to almost block that out this weekend, and keep my whole focus here,” he said.

In the women’s side of the draw, 2018 Commonwealth Games gold medalist Donna Lobban played her first game on home soil since 2019, taking on West Australian Pascale Louka.

Experienced Lobban managed to win all three games (11-4, 11-5, 11-4), and make her way through the draw to the semi finals.

“It’s so nice to be home, and playing a tournament in Australia - I don’t get to do that very often,” Lobban said.

“I’ve never seen Pascale before, and it was so nice to play against one of our up and coming players.

“Hopefully it’s also nice for them to get a chance to get on court with us, because they don’t get to see me play often either. So it’s a great experience for both of us,” she said.

For Lobban, her eyes are set firmly on Sunday’s final to decide the 2022 National Champions.

“I’d love to win - but so would everybody here, so we’ll see how we go,” Lobban said.

“But for now I’m just really enjoying playing and taking it one match at a time,” she said.

Birmingham Commonwealth Games athlete Jess Turnbull executed a straight sets win against Sophie Fadaely in the second women’s quarterfinal 3-0 (11-3, 11-8, 11-6).

Rachael Grinham, who has been selected on her sixth Commonwealth Games team and is set to make history in Birmingham, matched up against 15-year-old Hannah Slyth for a spot in the semifinals.

In the end, it was Grinham’s experience on show, earning her a 3-0 win (1-3, 11-6, 11-8).

Second seed Sarah Cardwell defeated seventh seed Jessica Osborne (11-4, 11-8, 11-6) to round out the women’s competition on day two.

Find the full schedule and results here.

The action will return to Darwin Squash Centre tomorrow, with the graded and U23 competition also set to get underway. Follow the action from the Australian National Championships via Cluch TV. Click here to find the live stream from Court 4.