Aida Sekkei Greetings SF: Tsukue and Onizawa Down No.2 Seeds

The semi-finals of the Aida Sekkei Greetings Squash Championships saw both top seeds make it through, but the No.2 seeds were both defeated in Saturday’s last four contests.

The Challenger 5 & 3 level draws were being played under domestic restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with only those currently residing in Japan being allowed to play in Saitama this week.

In the women’s event, No.4 seed Kozue Onizawa came up against No.2 seed Ayaka Matsuzawa and after winning the first game, she found herself 2-1 down, and looking like she would go out of the tournament.

However, the World No.393 was able to fight back and win the last two games of their contest, taking them 11-9 and 11-3, to book her spot in the final, where she will now face top seed Akari Midorikawa.

The men’s semis followed a similar pattern, but with No.3 seed Ryunosuke Tsukue making the upset in terms of seeding. He got the better of No.2 seed Naoki Hayashi in straight games to book his place in the men’s final, where he will take on top seed Tomotaka Endo for the title on Sunday afternoon.

Men’s Semi-Final Results: Aida Sekkei Greetings Squash Championships
[1] Tomotaka Endo (JPN) bt [4] Shota Yasunari (JPN) 3-0: 11-8, 17-15, 11-3 (30m)
[3] Ryunosuke Tsukue (JPN) bt [2] Naoki Hayashi (JPN) 3-0: 11-1, 11-3, 11-6 (42m)

Men’s Final Draw: To Be Played Sunday, February 13
[1] Tomotaka Endo (JPN) v [3] Ryunosuke Tsukue (JPN)

Women’s Semi-Final Results: Aida Sekkei Greetings Squash Championships
[4] Kozue Onizawa (JPN) bt [2] Ayaka Matsuzawa (JPN) 3-2: 11-3, 7-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-3 (45m)
[1] Akari Midorikawa (JPN) bt [3] Yukino Sakurai (JPN) 3-0: 11-1, 11-6, 11-5 (25m)

Women’s Final Draw: To Be Played Sunday, February 13
[4] Kozue Onizawa (JPN) v [1] Akari Midorikawa (JPN)