BRESS Breda Open QF: Long Continues Knockout Run

Hong Kong’s Chung Yat Long secured a surprise result for the second day in succession at the BRESS Breda Open in the Netherlands, as he backed up his opening day win with a victory over Dutch No.1, and the event’s No.5 seed, Roshan Bharos.

Long had defeated the tournament’s top seed, Edmon Lopez, in the fist round of the competition, and he was able to go through to the semi-finals. After a convincing win against the Dutchman, who was featuring on home soil in Breda.

The Hongkonger took the first two games 11-8 and 11-9, managing to get into a solid lead without too much pressure. The third game of their contest went to a tie-break, though, with Long eventually coming through it to win it 14-12, to book his place in the last four of the tournament.

He will now face No.7 seed Sam Buckley, after the Irishman overcame Ukrainian No.1 Valeriy Fedoruk in straight games. Buckley spent 45 minutes on court on Friday evening, winning 11-6, 11-7, 11-9, to advance to the semi-finals of the Challenger 3 level tournament.

The other semi-final will be contested between Ben Smith and Alasdair Prott, after the latter, the No.8 seed, overcame No.2 seed Sergio Garcia Pollan, also in straight games. Their match included two tie-breaks, with the Scotsman coming through both of them, in 14-12 and 16-14 scorelines, to move through to the semis. He will face Englishman Ben Smith, the No.3 seed, after he defeated Fergus Richards in three, needing just half an hour to take the win.

The semis of the BRESS Breda Open will take place on Saturday, April 9, with the action being streamed live on the PSA Challenger Tour YouTube channel.

Quarter Final Results: BRESS Breda Open
Chung Yat Long (HKG) bt [5] Roshan Bharos (NED) 3-0: 11-8, 11-9, 14-12 (49m)
[7] Sam Buckley (IRL) bt [4] Valeriy Fedoruk (UKR) 3-0: 11-6, 11-7, 11-9 (45m)
[3] Ben Smith (ENG) bt [6] Fergus Richards (SCO) 3-0: 11-3, 11-4, 11-3 (30m)
[8] Alasdair Prott (SCO) bt [2] Sergio Garcia Pollan (ESP) 3-0: 11-7, 14-12, 16-14 (47m)

Semi-Final Draw: To Be Played Saturday, April 9
Chung Yat Long (HKG) v [7] Sam Buckley (IRL)
[3] Ben Smith (ENG) v [8] Alasdair Prott (SCO)