Dowling Dispatches Larkin in New South Wales Open

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Seventh seed Rhys Dowling came up with a superb performance to move past number three seed Joshua Larkin in five games and secure a spot in the semi-final of the New South Wales Open, PSA M5 event.

Dowling found himself a game down to his opponent early on but wrestled back momentum of the match to steer to a 2-1 lead.

Larkin looked to have found a way back into the clash when he levelled the match up at two games apiece but Dowling found another gear to climb to a 12-10, 6-11, 8-11, 11-5, 4-11 and secure his place in the semi-final.

Number two seed Zac Alexander will lie in wait for Dowling with an all-Australian semi-final clash on the cards after he defeated Ko Youngjo in four. The World No.84 took a two-game lead and, despite a resurgence from Youngjo in the third game, the 26-year-old did enough to force a 3-1 victory.

Matthew Hopkin and Douglas Kempsell will meet in the tournament’s other semi-final fixture after Hopkin saw off Ondrej Uherka and Kempsell came through a tough test against England’s Lewis Doughty.

Results – Quarter-Final: New South Wales Open 2015
[1] Matthew Hopkin (AUS) bt Ondrej Uherka (CZE) 3-0: 11-3, 11-5, 11-6 (28m)
[4] Douglas Kempsell (SCO) bt Lewis Doughty (ENG) 3-1: 11-9, 9-11, 11-5, 11-5 (61m)
[7] Rhys Dowling (AUS) bt [3] Joshua Larkin (AUS) 3-2: 10-12, 11-6, 11-8, 5-11, 11-4 (60m)
[2] Zac Alexander (AUS) bt Ko Youngjo (KOR) 3-1: 11-4, 11-3, 7-11, 11-8 (38m)

Draw – Semi-Final
[1] Matthew Hopkin (AUS) v [4] Douglas Kempsell (SCO)
[7] Rhys Dowling (AUS) v [2] Zac Alexander (AUS)