City Tattersalls Group Australian Open 2024 – Day One: Afternoon Roundup

Cheng Nga Ching produced a superb comeback to secure her place in round two as she came back from 2-1 down to defeat Yasshmita Jadish Kumar 3-2.

The Hong Konger drew first blood when she saved two game balls for Kumar to force a tiebreak, with the Malaysian then seeing a further three game balls squandered before Cheng went 1-0 up with a 16-14 win.

Kumar’s response to falling behind in a monumental opening battle was perfect as she restored parity with a dominant 11-5 success before going ahead for the first time with a narrow 11-9 victory in the third.

But Cheng dug deep, with her accuracy seeing her move Kumar around the court to make it all square again before advancing to the second round by clinching the fifth 11-7.

“I’m very happy to get through to the second round,” she said.

“This is my second Bronze event – the first one was in Hong Kong. It was a really tough match for me in the first round because we played up to 14-12 in the first game. It was a really important game for me as she came back as she changed the pace. But I managed to get back in the fourth and the fifth.

“I tried to move her around the court and I think she was a little bit tired, so I tried to move her as much as possible, dominate the ‘T’ and play some good shots.”

Akanksha Salunkhe also bounced back from 2-0 down to come out on top in round one, denying Jacqueline Peychär her maiden appearance in the second round of a Bronze-level event.

Peychär was 2-0 to the good having taken a close second game 14-12, but Salunkhe landed the perfect riposte as she registered 13-11, 11-3, 11-9 victories in the ensuing games.

Aira Azman held off a strong fightback from Wai Yhann Au Yeong to reach round two.

World No.44 Azman cruised into a 2-0 lead and looked on course to booking her place in the next round with a comprehensive victory, however errors from the Malaysian’s racket crept in and opened the door for Yeong to get back into the contest.

After trailing 2-0, Yeong was back level with 11-8 and 11-9 wins in the third and fourth games, before Azman diffused the comeback from her opponent as she clinched the fifth 11-7.

Aira will square off with her sister Aifa for a place in the quarter finals tomorrow.

“Today was a bit shaky for me as I was 2-0 up and suddenly I was in the fifth set,” Azman said.

“I don’t really know what I was doing in the third and fourth sets – I made a lot of errors and made it hard to play in the fifth as I was confident with my shots after losing. But I’m very happy to get through and play my sister tomorrow.

“I think it’s going to be tough [playing her sister Aifa tomorrow]. It’s going to be our first time playing each other, we have the same coach and we’ve training together since we were little. I’ve been coaching her if there’s no coach around and she’s been coaching me if there’s been no coach around.

“It will be tough but I suppose we both know our strengths and weaknesses, so I’m looking forward to it.”

In the all-Australian battle, it was Jessica Turnbull who prevailed – downing the tournament wildcard Madison Lyon in straight games.

In the men’s draw, Edwin Clain produced an excellent performance to down Matthew Lai in straight games.

After edging the tiebreak in the opener 12-10, Frenchman Clain then notched 11-9 and 11-7 victories in the second and third games to tee up a second round clash with No.5 seed Tsz Kwan Lau.

Clain’s fellow countryman Toufik Mekhalfi will join him in the second round following his 3-0 success over Sanjay Jeeva.

Elsewhere, Abhay Singh and Brice Nicolas earned their places in the second round with dominant displays against Australian Joseph White and Yannik Omlor, respectively.

Both players claimed 3-0 victories over their round one opponents, with Singh taking on No.4 seed Dimitri Steinmann tomorrow while Ryunosuke Tsukue awaits Nicolas in the next round.

Results

Men’s:
Edwin Clain (FRA) bt Matthew Lai (HKG) 3-0: 12-10, 11-9, 11-7 (44m)
Toufik Mekhalfi (FRA) bt Sanjay Jeeva (MAS) 3-0: 11-9, 11-8, 13-11 (56m)
Brice Nicolas (FRA) bt Yannik Omlor (GER) 3-0: 12-10, 11-2, 11-1 (31m)
Abhay Singh (IND) bt Joseph White (AUS) 3-0: 11-9, 11-6, 11-3 (41m)

Women’s:
Akanksha Salunkhe (IND) bt Jacqueline Peychär (AUT) 3-2: 8-11, 12-14, 13-11, 11-3, 11-9 (55m)
Aira Azman (MAS) bt Wai Yhann Au Yeong (SGP) 3-2: 11-7, 11-7, 8-11, 9-11, 11-7 (35m)
Jessica Turnbull (AUS) bt [WC] Madison Lyon (AUS) 3-0: 11-3, 11-3, 11-6 (20m)
Cheng Nga Ching (HKG) bt Yasshmita Jadish Kumar (MAS) 3-2: 16-14, 5-11, 9-11, 11-7, 11-7 (50m)