Atlanta Open RD1: Ajagbe and Lovejoy Battle Through In Five

The Atlanta Open got underway on Wednesday evening, with Nigerian Babatunde Ajagbe and American Spencer Lovejoy winning in five.

The Challenger 10 level competition is taking place at the Concourse Athletic Club, the venue which saw Sam Todd win his biggest Tour title to date in 2022.

On the opening day, Lovejoy delighted the home crowds with a come-from-behind victory over wildcard Muhammad Ibrahim Noorani. The Pakistani won the opening two games, both by an 11-8 scoreline. From there, though, the American battled back strongly, winning the next three games 11-5, 11-6 and 11-5 to secure his second round spot.

Also winning in five on Wednesday evening was Nigeria’s Babatunde Ajagbe. The World No.176 overcame the challenge of England’s Finnlay Withington, and like Lovejoy, he had to fight from two games down.

Withington had started strongly, winning the opener 11-5, before doubling his advantage in the contest with an 11-9 scoreline in the second. Ajagbe stayed strong, though, winning the third quickly, before powering on to win both the fourth and fifth games to secure a come-from-behind win to move into the last 16.

Elsewhere on the opening day, England’s Mark Broekman and Pakistani Nasir Iqbal downed the other two wildcards, while there were also wins for Malaysia’s Sanjay Jeeva, Colombia’s Edgar Ramirez Bautista, Egypt’s Seif Shenawy and Japan’s Ryunosuke Tsukue.

The second round of the Atlanta Open will be played on Thursday, April 20, and you can keep up to date with daily updates from the tournament on the PSA Challenger Tour’s Twitter and Facebook. 

First Round Results: Atlanta Open
Sanjay Jeeva (MAS) bt Abdelaziz Hegazy (EGY) 3-0: 11-5, 11-5, 11-4 (23m)
Babatunde Ajagbe (NGR) bt Finnlay Withington (ENG) 3-2: 5-11, 9-11, 11-2, 11-7, 11-8 (51m)
Edgar Ramirez Bautista (COL) bt Noor Zaman (PAK) 3-0: 11-7, 12-10, 11-1 (33m)
Ryunosuke Tsukue (JPN) bt Jamie Ruggiero (USA) 3-0: 11-1, 11-3, 11-2 (19m)
Seif Shenawy (EGY) bt Chris Fuller (ENG) 3-0: 11-6, 11-8, 11-8 (32m)
Nasir Iqbal (PAK) bt [WC] Fletcher Cline (USA) 3-0: 11-2, 11-1, 11-4 (20m)
Spencer Lovejoy (USA) bt [WC] Muhammad Ibrahim Noorani (PAK) 3-2: 8-11, 8-11, 11-5, 11-6, 11-5 (41m)
Mark Broekman (ENG) bt [WC] Aaron Luque (USA) 3-0: 11-6, 11-2, 11-4 (22m)

Second Round Draw: To Be Played Thursday, April 20
[1] David Baillargeon (CAN) v Sanjay Jeeva (MAS)
Babatunde Ajagbe (NGR) v [7] Addeen Idrakie (MAS)
[8] Christopher Gordon (USA) v Edgar Ramirez Bautista (COL)
Ryunosuke Tsukue (JPN) v [3] Juan Camilo Vargas (COL)
[4] Leandro Romiglio (ARG) v Seif Shenawy (EGY)
Nasir Iqbal (PAK) v [5] Zahed Salem (EGY)
[6] Ivan Yuen (MAS) v Spencer Lovejoy (USA)
Mark Broekman (ENG) v [2] Timothy Brownell (USA)