John Creek Open: Abdul Malik Khan Scores Only Upset On Day One In Georgia

The Life Time John Creek Open 2023 got underway yesterday in Georgia, USA with six matches taking place in round one with players looking to join the seeded players in round two.

Pakistan’s Abdul Malik Khan scored the only seeing upset of the day s he overcame Brazil’s Vinicius Leao Rodrigues in a five game thriller to advance. After three tight opening games, Khan trailed the experienced Brazilian 2-1 but put together two quality games to claim a place in round two, winning the last games11-3, 11-5, taking the match in 54 minutes.

The winners kept coming from Pakistan players as both Muhammad Farhan Hashmi and Ahsan Ayaz claimed 3-0 wins over Juan Hernandez and Mahmoud Abouelleil in comprehensive fashion. Hashmi won two tight opening games 13-11, 11-9 before finishing strongly to seal the straight games win. Ayaz was in top form as he needed just 19 minutes to dispatch his opponent to set up a round two clash with No.2 seed Ibrahim Elkabbani.

The home crowd were treated to a USA winner on day one as Dillon Huang defeated Egypt’s Ziad Sakr 3-0 in just under half an hour. Huang is the only American in the draw and now faces the Argentine No.3 seed Jeremias Azaña in the next round and will be hoping for plenty of home support to try and cause an upset.

Play starts on Wednesday 19th July with 8 exciting round one clashes. For daily updates on the event, follow the PSA Challenger Tour on Facebook and Twitter.

Results: Life Time John Creek Open – RD1
[9/16] Carlos Vargas (MEX) bt Nick Sutcliffe (ENG) 3-0:
[9/16] Dillon Huang (USA) bt Ziad Sakr (EGY) 3-0:
[9/16] Brett Schille (CAN) bt Juan Carlos Sierra (COL) 3-0:
[9/16] Muhammad Farhan Hashmi (PAK) bt Juan Hernandez (COL) 3-0:
Abdul Malik Khan (PAK) bt [9/16] Vinicius Leao Rodrigues (BRA) 3-2:
[9/16] Ahsan Ayaz (PAK) bt Mahmoud Abouelleil (EGY) 3-0:

Draw: Life Time Johns Creek Open 2023 – RD2
[1] Muhammad Asim Khan (PAK) v [9/16] Carlos Vargas (MEX)
[9/16] Leo Vargas (MEX) v [6] Noor Zaman (PAK) Bye
[7] Alejandro Reyes (MEX) v [9/16] Edgar Ramirez Bautista (COL)
[9/16] Dillon Huang (USA) v [3] Jeremias Azaña (ARG) Bye
[4] Andres Herrera (COL) v [9/16] Brett Schille (CAN)
[9/16] Muhammad Farhan Hashmi (PAK) v [5] Muhammad Ashab Irfan (PAK)
[8] Liam Marrison (CAN) v Abdul Malik Khan (PAK)
[9/16] Ahsan Ayaz (PAK) v [2] Ibrahim Elkabbani (EGY)