Volkswagen Bega Open: Home favourite Haydon Gatecrashes Semis in Bega

On an eventful quarter finals day at the Volkswagen Bega Open, three upsets took place across the men’s and women’s draws as the semi-finalists were decided in the former Australian Open venue.

Australia’s own Alex Haydon scored a big upset in the women’s draw a she overcame India’s recent North Coast Open winner Akanksha Salunkhe to advance to her fourth consecutive semi-final. Haydon secured a confident opening game 11-7 and then managed to play the big points well in the next two games to win them both in tiebreaks 12-10, 15-13 to reach the final four.

Salunkhe’s compatriot Tanvi Khanna had no such issues as she comfortably overcame No.4 seed Sarah Cardwell to score the other seeding upset in the women’s draw. The remaining seeds Malak Khafagy and Jessica Turnbull both recorded 3-0 wins in their matches to also advance to the semi-finals.

The sole upset in the men’s draw came from France’s Brice Nicolas, who defeated leading Australian in the event – Joseph White – in a 78-minute four game clash. The Frenchman took the lead by winning the opening game 11-7 but was pegged back by White as he equalised. Nicolas managed to return to his top form as he then captured the following games 11-6, 11-8 to move into the semi-finals for the third time in his career.

Nicolas will now face No.2 seed Velavan Senthilkumar, who needed just three games to defeat compatriot Suraj Kumar Chand for the second time in successive tournaments. The other semi-final will be contested between top seed Ryunosuke Tsukue and Alasdair Prott after they both recorded 3-0 wins over Elijah Thomas and Tate Zak Norris, respectively.

Results: Women’s quarter finals
[1] Malak Khafagy (EGY) bt Erin Classen (AUS) 3-0: 11-7, 11-9, 11-5 (29m)
[5] Alex Haydon (AUS) bt [3] Akanksha Salunkhe (IND) 3-0: 11-7, 12-10, 15-13 (38m)
[6] Tanvi Khanna (IND) bt [4] Sarah Cardwell (AUS) 3-0: 11-8, 11-3, 11-8 (22m)
[2] Jessica Turnbull (AUS) bt [7] Akari Midorikawa (JPN) 3-0: 11-8, 11-9, 11-9 (28m)

Draw: Women’s semi-finals
[1] Malak Khafagy (EGY) v [5] Alex Haydon (AUS)
[6] Tanvi Khanna (IND) v [2] Jessica Turnbull (AUS)

Results: Men’s quarter finals
[1] Ryunosuke Tsukue (JPN) bt [7] Elijah Thomas (NZL) 3-0: 11-7, 11-5, 11-4 (39m)
[4] Alasdair Prott (SCO) bt Tate Zak Norris (AUS) 3-0: 11-7, 11-8, 11-5 (30m)
[8] Brice Nicolas (FRA) bt [3] Joseph White (AUS) 3-1: 11-7, 8-11, 11-6, 11-8 (78m)
[2] Velavan Senthilkumar (IND) bt Suraj Kumar Chand (IND) 3-0: 11-8, 11-9, 11-5 (38m)

Draw: Men’s semi-finals
[1] Ryunosuke Tsukue (JPN) v [4] Alasdair Prott (SCO)
[8] Brice Nicolas (FRA) v [2] Velavan Senthilkumar (IND)