Van den Herrewegen Takes Out Fuller in Steel City Open

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World No.130 Jan van den Herrewegen upset number eight seed Chris Fuller in the opening round of the Courtcraft Nick Matthew Academy Steel City Open, PSA M10 event after a dramatic five game affair.

The Belgian, who reached his first ever PSA World Tour final at the BDO Northfield Cup last week, went a game down to his opponent early on before recovering to take a 2-1 lead. After being swept aside in the fourth game by Fuller, it appeared van den Herrewegen would capitulate but he pressed on with renewed strength in game five to secure a 9-11, 11-8, 11-9, 5-11, 11-8 triumph.

He will go up against 20-year-old Englishman Richie Fallows in the quarter-final after the number three seed earned a hard-fought 3-1 victory over wildcard and close friend Ashley Davies with all four games going to a 12-10 tie-break.

Declan James kicked off his assault for a fourth consecutive PSA World Tour title with a win as he defeated compatriot Ben Ford in four. He goes up against James Earles in the next round thanks to the number five seed’s victory over Israel’s Daniel Poleshchuk.

Second seed Jaymie Haycocks will also participate in the last eight with a 3-0 triumph against Douglas Kempsell paving the way for his progression. The Shrewsbury-born 31-year-old will line up against Matthew Hopkin, who beat Ismail Rauf, in the quarter-final.

Meanwhile, Joel Hinds and XVI Trofeu Internacional Ciutat de Barcelona winner George Parker will face off in the next round after they scored victories over Lyell Fuller and Ahmad Al-Saraj, respectively.

Results – First Round: Courtcraft Nick Matthew Academy Steel City Open 2015
[2] Jaymie Haycocks (ENG) bt Douglas Kempsell (SCO) 3-0: 11-7, 11-7, 11-6 (33m)
[6] Matthew Hopkin (AUS) bt Ismail Rauf (PAK) 3-0: 11-8, 11-3, 11-4 (30m)
[7] George Parker (ENG) bt Ahmad Al-Saraj (JOR) 3-1: 9-11, 11-4, 11-6, 12-10 (76m)
[4] Joel Hinds (ENG) bt Lyell Fuller (ENG) 3-0: 13-11, 11-5, 11-3 (30m)
[3] Richie Fallows (ENG) bt [WC] Ashley Davies (ENG) 3-1: 10-12, 12-10, 12-10, 12-10 (79m)
Jan van den Herrewegen (BEL) bt [8] Chris Fuller (ENG) 3-2: 9-11, 11-8, 11-9, 5-11, 11-8 (78m)
[5] James Earles (ENG) bt Daniel Poleshchuk (ISR) 3-0: 11-9, 11-4, 11-5 (35m)
[1] Declan James (ENG) bt Ben Ford (ENG) 3-1: 6-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-5 (43m)

Draw – Quarter-Final
[2] Jaymie Haycocks (ENG) v [6] Matthew Hopkin (AUS)
[7] George Parker (ENG) v [4] Joel Hinds (ENG)
[3] Richie Fallows (ENG) v Jan van den Herrewegen (BEL)
[5] James Earles (ENG) v [1] Declan James (ENG)