Australian Open: Gilis and Rodriguez Victorious In Sydney

Top seeds Nele Gilis and Miguel Rodriguez took the titles at the City Tattersalls Club Australian Open in Sydney this week.

Following a bye into the second round, the Belgian got her campaign underway at the University of Sydney with a comfortable 24-minute victory over Austrian No.1 Jacqueline Peychar, where she dropped just nine points in an 11-3, 11-2, 11-4 success.

Gilis followed that with another commanding performance, this time dropping just seven points in a straight games win over Saskia Beinhard, the German No.1. She then came up against Japanese No.1 Satomi Watanabe, the No.6 seed, in the semis. The pair did battle for an hour, with Gilis coming through in four tough games.

The final saw the World No.13 take on Sabrina Sobhy for the Challenger 30 level crown, and she got the job done in straight games. The first was tight, with an 11-9 scoreline going the way of the Belgian. From there, she seemed in control, winning in 45 minutes to become just the third woman to win multiple titles in the 2022-2023 season, following her success at the Open de France de Squash.

Like Gilis, Rodriguez came into the City Tattersalls Club Australian Open as the top seed, and received a bye through the opening day of action in Sydney. He then got the better of Australia’s Rhys Dowling in straight games to kick off his week.

Another straight games victory came in the quarter finals, this time against the Czech Republic’s Martin Svec, the No.7 seed. Rodriguez took on the USA’s Andrew Douglas in the semi-finals, beating the American in straight games in a tough 44-minute contest.

The final saw the 2018 British Open champion take on Scotland’s Greg Lobban, and he fell behind after the opening game of the contest. However, the Colombian fought back to win the second and third games comfortably to hold the advantage. He then went on to take a tight fourth game 11-9 as well, claiming his 30th Tour title. 

Results: City Tattersalls Club Australian Open
Men’s Final
[1] Miguel Rodriguez (COL) bt [3] Greg Lobban (SCO) 3-1: 8-11, 11-8, 11-1, 11-9 (66m)

Women’s Final
[1] Nele Gilis (BEL) bt [2] Sabrina Sobhy (USA) 3-0: 11-9, 11-8, 11-6 (45m)

Men’s Semi-Finals
[1] Miguel Rodriguez (COL) bt [6] Andrew Douglas (USA) 3-0: 11-6, 11-7, 11-9 (44m)
[3] Greg Lobban (SCO) bt [2] Adrian Waller (ENG) 3-0: 11-6, 21-19, 11-9 (62m)

Women’s Semi-Finals
[1] Nele Gilis (BEL) bt [6] Satomi Watanabe (JPN) 3-1: 11-3, 11-8, 12-14, 11-9 (59m)
[2] Sabrina Sobhy (USA) bt [3] Olivia Clyne (USA) 3-0: 11-6, 11-3, 11-7 (32m)

Men’s Quarter Finals
[1] Miguel Rodriguez (COL) bt [7] Martin Svec (CZE) 3-0: 11-7, 11-3, 11-9 (34m)
[6] Andrew Douglas (USA) bt Ryunosuke Tsukue (JPN) 3-2: 6-11, 11-7, 6-11, 11-4, 11-9 (67m)
[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)

Women’s Quarter Finals
[1] Nele Gilis (BEL) bt [7] Saskia Beinhard (GER) 3-0: 11-4, 11-1, 11-2 (28m)
[6] Satomi Watanabe (JPN) 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 (USA) 3-0: 11-8, 11-6, 11-3 (28m)
[2] Sabrina Sobhy (USA) bt [5] Donna Lobban (AUS) 3-0: 11-5, 11-3, 11-0 (23m)

Men’s Second Round
[1] Miguel Rodriguez (COL) bt Rhys Dowling (AUS) 3-0: 11-2, 11-5, 11-9 (26m)
[7] Martin Svec (CZE) bt Sandeep Ramachandran (IND) 3-1: 10-12, 11-3, 11-4, 11-3 (41m)
[6] Andrew Douglas (USA) bt Tom Walsh (ENG) 3-2: 9-11, 11-13, 11-7, 11-5, 11-8 (60m)
Ryunosuke Tsukue (JPN) bt [4] David Baillargeon (CAN) 3-1: 11-3, 11-4, 5-11, 13-11 (48m)
[3] Greg Lobban (SCO) bt Daniel Poleshchuk (ISR) 3-0: 11-8, 11-7, 11-5 (34m)
[5] Charlie Lee (ENG) bt Valentin Rapp (GER) 3-0: 11-7, 11-5, 14-12 (43m)
[8] Rex Hedrick (AUS) bt Joseph White (AUS) 3-0: 12-10, 11-5, 11-5 (40m)
[2] Adrian Waller (ENG) bt Simon Herbert (ENG) 3-0: 11-9, 11-8, 12-10 (37m)

Women’s Second Round
[1] Nele Gilis (BEL) bt Jacqueline Peychar (AUT) 3-0: 11-3, 11-2, 11-4 (24m)
[7] Saskia Beinhard (GER) bt Alex Haydon (AUS) 3-1: 8-11, 12-10, 11-6, 11-8 (47m)
[6] Satomi Watanabe (JPN) bt Salma Eltayeb (EGY) 3-0: 11-8, 11-5, 11-4 (25m)
[4] Jasmine Hutton (ENG) bt Jessica Turnbull (AUS) 3-0: 11-9, 11-7, 11-6 (29m)
[3] Olivia Clyne (USA) bt Rachael Grinham (AUS) 3-0: 11-2, 11-8, 11-8 (23m)
Kaitlyn Watts (NZL) bt [8] Sarah Cardwell (AUS) 3-1: 11-8, 11-3, 7-11, 11-6 (39m)
[5] Donna Lobban (AUS) bt Yasshmita Jadishkumar (MAS) 3-1: 14-12, 11-13, 11-5, 11-7 (36m)
[2] Sabrina Sobhy (USA) bt Katerina Tycova (GER) 3-0: 11-4, 11-5, 11-1 (24m)

Men’s First Round
Rhys Dowling (AUS) bt [WC] Oscar Curtis (AUS) 3-0: 11-6, 11-2, 11-4 (23m)
Sandeep Ramachandran (IND) bt Owain Taylor (WAL) 3-0: 11-8, 11-9, 11-8 (45m)
Tom Walsh (ENG) bt Amaad Fareed (PAK) 3-0: 11-7, 13-11, 11-6 (31m)
Ryunosuke Tsukue (JPN) bt Wee Ming Hock (MAS) 3-0: 11-4, 11-3, 11-5 (31m)
Daniel Poleshchuk (ISR) bt [WC] Nicholas Calvert (AUS) 3-0: 11-7, 11-5, 11-9 (30m)
Valentin Rapp (GER) bt Temwa Chileshe (NZL) 3-1: 11-8, 11-0, 9-11, 11-2 (47m)
Joseph White (AUS) bt Lwamba Chileshe (NZL) 3-0: 11-8, 11-7, 11-7 (40m)
Simon Herbert (ENG) bt Zahir Shah (PAK) 3-0: 11-8, 11-8, 11-5 (20m)

Women’s First Round
Jacqueline Peychar (AUT) bt Nadia Pfister (SUI) 3-2: 11-4, 8-11, 10-12, 11-7, 11-9 (46m)
Alex Haydon (AUS) bt Au Yeong Wai Yhann (SGP) 3-0: 13-11, 12-10, 11-3 (27m)
Salma Eltayeb (EGY) bt [WC] Sze Yu Lee (AUS) 3-0: 11-3, 11-3, 11-7 (18m)
Jessica Turnbull (AUS) bt Erin Classen (AUS) 3-0: 11-4, 11-7, 11-3 (22m)
Rachael Grinham (AUS) bt [WC] Sophie Fadaely (AUS) 3-1: 11-13, 11-2, 11-5, 11-7 (34m)
Kaitlyn Watts (NZL) bt Noor ul Huda (PAK) 3-0: 11-1, 11-3, 11-1 (20m)
Yasshmita Jadishkumar (MAS) bt Akari Midorikawa (JPN) 3-1: 11-4, 7-11, 11-8, 11-5 (30m)
Katerina Tycova (GER) bt Ooi Kah Yan (MAS) 3-0: 14-12, 11-7, 11-6 (28m)