Cleveland SC Open RD1: American Trio Through

An American trio delighted the home crowds on Thursday, as they all moved into the second round of the Cleveland Skating Club Open.

The Challenger 30 level tournament got underway on Thursday, and Christopher Gordon, Andrew Douglas and Timothy Brownell all took victories on home soil to advance to the last 16 of the event in Cleveland.

Gordon took on wildcard Maxwell Orr in an all-American clash on the opening day and came through in straight games. Orr was featuring in his first ever PSA Tour match, while Gordon holds the record for having played in the most events. It was the experience that shone through, with the World No.71 winning 11-6, 11-4, 11-9 to advance.

In the same portion of the draw, Andrew Douglas overcame England’s Ben Coleman to make his way through. He did it the hard way though, having to come form two games down to win in five. Coleman took the first two games comfortably, before Douglas won the third 11-9. He then won the fourth as well to send the match into a decider, before taking the fifth 11-9 to secure victory after 76 minutes of high-quality squash.

The other American to make it through to the last 16 was Timothy Brownell, who also won in five games. He took on Mexico’s Alfredo Avila, and was behind after three games, losing 2-1. He fought back to win the last two games though, sealing the deal on the hour mark, to advance to the second round.

Elsewhere, Colombia’s Ronald Palomino also had to fight through in five games, The World No.73 went two games up against Nick Sachvie, but saw the Canadian fight back to send it to a fifth game. Palomino regrouped to win the fifth 11-6, to make it through to the second round. He will be joined by Charlie Lee, who has set up a last 16 clash with compatriot and recent Nash Cup winner Nathan Lake.

The second day of the Cleveland Skating Club Open will see the seeded players enter the draw. All the action from Cleveland will be streamed live on the PSA Challenger Tour’s YouTube channel. You can also keep up to date with live scores from the Challenger 30 level event here.

First Round Results: Cleveland Skating Club Open
Curtis Malik (ENG) bt Ivan Perez (ESP) 3-0: 11-9, 11-2, 11-6 (31m)
Timothy Brownell (USA) bt Alfredo Avila (MEX) 3-2: 11-7, 9-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-8 (60m)
Charlie Lee (ENG) bt [WC] Dillon Huang (USA) 3-1: 11-8, 10-12, 11-9, 11-3 (41m)
Ronald Palomino (COL) bt Nick Sachvie (CAN) 3-2: 11-6, 11-8, 7-11, 10-12, 11-6 (71m)
Christopher Gordon (USA) bt [WC] Maxwell Orr (USA) 3-0: 11-6, 11-4, 11-9 (35m)
Andrew Douglas (USA) bt Ben Coleman (ENG) 3-2: 4-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-7, 11-9 (76m)
Tsz Kwan Lau (HKG) bt Seif Shenawy (EGY) 3-0: 11-9, 11-9, 11-2 (32m)
Rory Stewart (SCO) bt Josue Enriquez (GUA) 3-1: 11-7, 11-7, 4-11, 11-2 (35m)

Second Round Draw: To Be Played Friday, September 30
[1] Eain Yow Ng (MAS) v Curtis Malik (ENG)
Timothy Brownell (USA) v [6] Dimitri Steinmann (SUI)
[5] Nathan Lake (ENG) v Charlie Lee (ENG)
Ronald Palomino (COL) v [4] Leonel Cardenas (MEX)
[3] Sebastien Bonmalais (FRA) v Christopher Gordon (USA)
Andrew Douglas (USA) v [8] Arturo Salazar (MEX)
[7] Muhammad Asim Khan (PAK) v Tsz Kwan Lau (HKG)
Rory Stewart (SCO) v [2] Adrian Waller (ENG)