Pembroke Management Open de Montreal: Withington Upsets Lovejoy, Baillargeon Safely Through

Finnlay Withington caused the biggest upset on day two of the Pembroke Management Open de Montreal, knocking out fifth seed Spencer Lovejoy in straight games, while home favourite David Baillargeon made it safely through. 

19-year-old Withington is ranked 23 places below his American opponent, but defied those rankings to set up an all-English quarter-final clash with No.2 seed Nathan Lake, needing little more than half an hour to wrap up an 11-4, 11-8, 11-7 victory. 

Lovejoy was one of two top eight seeds to be denied a spot in the last eight, with Montreal resident Baillargeon avoiding the same fate, producing a dominant display to see off Australia’s Joseph White. 

White had come through a 75-minute, five-game battle with Mohamed Nabil in round one (in which Baillargeon had been in his corner), and perhaps that workload took its toll, as he struggled to match the Canadian from start to finish. 

In the end, Baillargeon needed just 24 minutes to complete his win, controlling the T throughout and dropping only nine points in the match, and will now face the other unseeded player to progress, Sanjay Jeeva. 

Malaysia’s Jeeva edged out Argentina’s Jeremias Azaña in four games, needing a tie break to eventually get over the line in the fourth, ending what was arguably the most entertaining match of the night, with athleticism, grit and controversy on display throughout.

In contrast, Azaña’s teammate at the Kinetic Indoor Racket Club, Tom Walsh, enjoyed a more successful evening of work, seeing off Canada’s Liam Marrison 3-0. 

The English No.4 seed joined compatriot Lake in recording a straight-games victory, and will now play France’s Toufik Mekhalfi, who also won in three, beating New Zealand’s Anthony Lepper. 

Top seed Greg Lobban also booked his place in the quarter-finals without too much trouble, beating Japan’s 11-8, 11-7, 11-6, setting up a clash with Wales’ Emyr Evans, who won 3-1 against the USA’s Dillon Huang.

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