Eastside Open: Quartet Of Home Players Progress In Tasmania

On a jam-packed first day in Hobart, Tasmania, four Australians made their way through to the second round of the Challenger 5 event as 32 players became 16 in round one.

James Lloyd was the first home interest to progress in what was one of the matches of the day as he overcame Switzerland’s Sven Stettler in a five game battle to progress. Lloyd was pegged back by Stettler as the Swiss took game four to force a fifth game. The Australian responded well to take the fifth game 11-8 and convert the win in just over an hour.

Dylan Molinaro and Rhys Dowling were the next Aussies to progress after they recorded wins over Miguel Mathis and Jaejin Yoo. The score reached 1-1 in Miolinaro’s match but the Melbourne man recovered well to take the next two games and secure the win. No.4 seed Dowling wasted no time in booking his place in round two as he raced to a 2-0 lead against Korea’s Jaejin Too and lead 9-0 in the third game before his opponent retired.

The final Australian to progress was 23-year-old Tate Zak Norris, who needed five games and 52 minutes to defeat Hong Kong’s Wailok To. Norris twice led in the tie but was pegged back twice by To. Norris held strong in the fifth game however to book his place in the next round.

The top two seeds Tomotaka Endo and Alistair Prott had no trouble in securing their places in round two after they confidently overcame wildcards Benjamin Harrison and Jake Pattinson, both in under 20 minutes.

16 players will feature in round two as they all look to secure quarter final places.

Results: Eastside Open 2023 – Round One
[1] Tomotaka Endo (JPN) bt [WC] Benjamin Hudson (AUS) 3-0: 11-6, 11-6, 11-6 (18m)
[9] Lam Shing Fung (HKG) bt [WC] James Nicholas (AUS) 3-0: 11-9, 11-5, 11-4 (21m)
[14] James Lloyd (AUS) bt Sven Stettler (SUI) 3-2: 7-11, 11-8, 11-6, 7-11, 11-8 (62m)
[8] Ho Ka Hei (HKG) bt Jack Hudson (AUS) 3-1: 11-9, 7-11, 12-10, 11-8 (36m)
Paul Gonzalez (FRA) bt [5] Nicholas Calvert (AUS) 3-0: 11-5, 12-10, 11-8 (41m)
[15] Mohamed Gohar (EGY) bt [WC] Brendan MacDonald (AUS) 3-0: 11-7, 11-6, 11-7 (24m)
Dylan Molinaro (AUS) bt [12] Miguel Mathis (SUI) 3-1: 11-7, 7-11, 11-6, 11-9 (48m)
[3] Harley Lam (HKG) bt [WC] Will Mooney (AUS) 3-0: 11-2, 11-6, 11-2 (20m)
[4] Rhys Dowling (AUS) bt Jaejin Yoo (KOR) 3-0: 1-6, 11-6, 9-0 retired (21m)
Suraj Kumar Chand (IND) bt [11] Naoki Hayashi (JPN) 3-2: 11-5, 7-11, 7-11, 11-8, 14-12 (80m)
Tate Zak Norris (AUS) bt [13] Wailok To (HKG) 3-2: 11-9, 3-11, 11-9, 7-11, 11-4 (52m)
[7] Elijah Thomas (NZL) bt [WC] Remi Young (AUS) 3-0: 11-3, 11-2, 11-8 (32m)
[6] Bryan Lim Tze Kang (MAS) bt Mason Smales (NZL)3-1: 9-11, 11-1, 11-2, 11-3 (33m)
[10] Hollis Robertson (USA) bt [WC] Sunil Seth (GUY) 3-2: 9-11, 11-8, 5-11, 14-12, 11-4 (46m)
[16] Shamil Wakeel (SRI) bt [WC] Cameron Darton (AUS) 3-0: 11-2, 11-4, 12-10 (31m)
[2] Alasdair Prott (SCO) bt [WC] Jamie Pattison (AUS) 3-0: 11-5, 11-6, 11-3 (17m)

Draw: Eastside Open 2023 – Round Two
[1] Tomotaka Endo (JPN) v [9] Lam Shing Fung (HKG)
[14] James Lloyd (AUS) v [8] Ho Ka Hei (HKG)
Paul Gonzalez (FRA) v [15] Mohamed Gohar (EGY)
Dylan Molinaro (AUS) v [3] Harley Lam (HKG)
[4] Rhys Dowling (AUS) v Suraj Kumar Chand (IND)
Tate Zak Norris (AUS) v [7] Elijah Thomas (NZL)
[6] Bryan Lim Tze Kang (MAS) v [10] Hollis Robertson (USA)
[16] Shamil Wakeel (SRI) v [2] Alasdair Prott (SCO)