Cleveland SC Open RD2: Five Seeds Knocked Out

It was a shocking second day in Cleveland, with five of the eight seeded players being beaten. Those five included the defending champion of this Challenger 30 level competition.

England’s Adrian Waller won this event back in 2021, beating Mohamed ElSherbini in a thrilling five-game final. However, his 2022 campaign lasted just 45 minutes, as Scotland’s Rory Stewart took the Englishman down. 

The Scot, who won the St Louis Open presented by Mosby Building Arts last week, was in good form coming into this event, and defeated Guatemala’s Josue Enriquez to get his week underway. In the second round, he took on Waller, and won in straight games to shock the defending Cleveland Skating Club Open champion, winning 11-9, 11-9, 11-6 to advance to the last eight.

He will now face Hong Kong’s Tsz Kwan Lau, who is also unseeded, in the quarter finals The Hongkonger needed just 19 minutes to get the better of Pakistan’s Muhammad Asim Khan, the tournament’s No.7 seed. Lau, who won twice on Tour in September, dropped just 11 points in an 11-4, 11-3, 11-4 victory.

England’s Charlie Lee got the better of compatriot and No.5 seed Nathan Lake in one of the day’s other surprise results. Lake came into this tournament off the back of winning the Challenger 20 level Nash Cup, but it was his fellow Englishman that was on top form on Friday. Lee won in straight games in 40 minutes to book his spot in the quarter finals.

Elsewhere, the American duo of Timothy Brownell and Andrew Douglas also caused upsets in the second round in Cleveland. Brownell came from 2-1 down to defeat Swiss No.2 Dimitri Steinmann, while Douglas regrouped after losing the first game of his contest with Mexico’s Arturo Salazar to win in four.

The only three seeds to win on the second day of the Challenger 30 level tournament were top seed Eain Yow Ng, Frenchman Sebastien Bonmalais and Mexico’s Leonel Cardenas.

The quarter finals of the Cleveland Skating Club Open will take place on Saturday, October 1, with at least one guaranteed unseeded player making it through to the last four. You can watch all the action from the tournament live on the PSA Challenger Tour YouTube channel. You can also keep up to date with live scores from the tournament on our website, here.

Second Round Results: Cleveland Skating Club Open
[1] Eain Yow Ng (MAS) bt Curtis Malik (ENG) 3-1: 11-7, 11-6, 10-12, 11-2 (53m)
Timothy Brownell (USA) bt [6] Dimitri Steinmann (SUI) 3-2: 11-7, 8-11, 7-11, 12-10, 11-3 (66m)
Charlie Lee (ENG) bt [5] Nathan Lake (ENG) 3-0: 11-8, 11-5, 1-8 (40m)
[4] Leonel Cardenas (MEX) bt Ronald Palomino (COL) 3-1: 11-6, 11-7, 7-11, 11-9 (55m)
[3] Sebastien Bonmalais (FRA) bt Christopher Gordon (USA) 3-0: 11-5, 11-3, 11-6 (33m)
Andrew Douglas (USA) bt [8] Arturo Salazar (MEX) 3-1: 10-12, 11-7, 11-2, 11-0 (33m)
Tsz Kwan Lau (HKG) bt [7] Muhammad Asim Khan (PAK) 3-0: 11-4, 11-3, 11-4 (19m)
Rory Stewart (SCO) bt [2] Adrian Waller (ENG) 3-0: 11-9, 11-9, 11-6 (45m)

Quarter Final Draw: To Be Played Saturday, October 1
[1] Eain Yow Ng (MAS) v Timothy Brownell (USA)
Charlie Lee (ENG) v [4] Leonel Cardenas (MEX)
[3] Sebastien Bonmalais (FRA) v Andrew Douglas (USA)
Tsz Kwan Lau (HKG) v Rory Stewart (SCO)