Challenger Tour Round-Up: Carter & Evans Join Rehman in Austria QFs; Singh Saunters Through in Chennai

Mozart Open 2024 

Jared Carter and Rhys Evans both scored upsets on day two of the Mozart Open, knocking out the No.5 and 6 seeds respectively. 

Carter was playing fifth seed Henrik Mustonen of Finland in the day’s second match, having watched fellow Englishman Robert Downer beat Belgium’s Joeri Hapers in the opening encounter. 

Mustonen is a former top-40 player who has climbed back up to 156 in the world after dropping outside the world’s top 300, but he went down 3-1 to the Derby born right-hander here in Austria, losing 11-8, 11-6, 9-11, 11-2. 

That result was immediately followed by victory for Evans over Australian sixth seed Dylan Molinaro by the same 3-1 scoreline, but that would mark an end to the upsets, with the remaining five matches all going the way of the seeds, headlined by Aqeel Rehman. 

Top seed Rehman – who is also the tournament promoter – closed out the day’s play with a 3-1 win over France’s Laszlo Godde, setting up a quarter-final clash with Switzerland’s Robin Gadola. 

The experienced Austrian was made to work hard for victory by the 20-year-old, who lost the first two games but took game three to make things interesting, only to fall away in game four, losing it 11-3 to hand Rehman a place in the last eight. 

WA Open International 2024 

Norway’s Madeleine Hylland kicked off her quest for back-to-back titles, beating Australia’s Clare Slyth on day one of the WA Open International. 

Hylland claimed her maiden PSA Tour title at last week’s Cooper Fluid System Golden Open Kalgoorlie, and cruised past Slyth to open her account here in Perth, needing only 15 minutes to record victory. 

Elsewhere, 17-year-old Amelie Guziak came through a five-game battle with 15-year-old fellow Aussie Sarbani Maitra, while in the men’s draw, Shota Yasunari produced an impressive fightback to beat Yuta Ando in an all-Japanese battle. 

HCL Squash Tour – Chennai 2024 

Top seed Anahat Singh made a dominant start to her quest for glory at the HCL Squash Tour – Chennai, crushing Aryaa Dwivedi 3-0 in only 13 minutes in round two. 

The 16-year-old is seeking her third Challenger Tour title of 2024 having won the only two previous events she’s played since the turn of the year, and made an imperious start, beating compatriot Dwivedi 11-1, 11-2, 11-1. 

Second seed Rathika Suthanthira Seelan – winner of the Indore leg of the HCL Squash Tour recently – also eased through 3-0, as did the third and fourth seeds, Yeheni Kuruppu and Sunita Patel. 

Seventh seed Mahak Talati was the only women’s seed to go out, losing 3-0 to Trina Iris, but there were three seeded casualties in the men’s draw, headlined by Sri Lankan fourth seed Tuwin Nilakshana Herath, who went down 3-1 to Ravi Dixit. 

Open Costa Brava Squash Project 2024 

Local player Noa Romero caused a big upset in the very first match of the Open Costa Brava Squash Project, knocking out Ireland’s Hannah McGugan 3-0 in just 17 minutes. 

Romero’s reward is a second-round clash with top seed Sofía Mateos, in what will be the only all-Spanish matchup of round two. 

In the men’s draw, seven of the eight [9/16] seeds progressed, with Germany’s Finn Koch the only exception. 

The 18-year-old was stunned by Spain’s World No.646 Ernesto Revert, who won 3-0 in 44 minutes to secure his first ever victory on the Challenger Tour. 

Harcourts KDRE Morrinsville PSA Challenger 2024 

All four matches were one-sided affairs on day one of the Harcourts KDRE Morrinsville PSA Challenger, with the four seeded players in action all cruising into round two. 

The 12-player draw meant that the top four seeds all had first-round byes, and but there were no troubles for the remaining four seeds, who all won 3-0. 

Glenn Templeton was one of three New Zealanders to progress on home soil, beating India’s Varun Johnny, while Australia’s Lachlan Coxsedge closed out the day with victory over Zac Miller.

You can stay up to date with all the results on the Challenger Tour here.

Photo credit: Jasmin Walter