Cactus Classic Qualifying Kicks Off

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The opening round of the Ganem Vein Institute Cactus Classic, PSA M15 event saw the majority of the seeded players move through to the next round with comfortable victories over their lower-ranked opponents.

Top qualifying seed Joe Chapman, the 25-year-old from the British Virgin Islands, defeated home hope Sam Gould in three despite being taken to a tie-break by the man from Boston.

Chapman has set up a final qualifying round clash with Malaysia’s Valentino Bong for a place in the main draw after he dispatched Mauricio Sanchez de la Pez in a deceptively close 3-0 victory.

Bong’s compatriot Addeen Idrakie is also through to the next round after he downed local player Peter Fantich in four. Fantich stunned the World No.125 by triumphing in the opening game but Idrakie powered back to win a trio of games without reply. Idrakie will line up against David Baillargeon as they prepare to battle for supremacy with a place in the main draw up for grabs.

England’s Mark Broekman came up with the day’s biggest surprise as he rose to claim an impressive victory over Cameron Stafford in just 24 minutes, setting up a final qualifying round fixture with Clinton Leeuw who swept past Heraclio Salaiz Estrada.

Sean Conroy and Reuben Phillips will go head-to-head in the other final qualifying round match after they managed victories over seventh seed Charlie Johnson and Jean-Pierre Brits, respectively.

Results – First Qualifying Round: Ganem Vein Institute Cactus Classic 2016
[1] Joe Chapman (IVB) bt Sam Gould (USA) 3-0: 11-8, 12-10, 11-4
[5] Valentino Bong (MAS) bt [L] Mauricio Sanchez de la Paz (MEX) 3-0: 16-14, 11-8, 11-9
Sean Conroy (IRL) bt [7] Charlie Johnson (ENG) 3-1: 5-11, 11-4, 11-8, 11-5
[4] Reuben Phillips (ENG) bt Jean-Pierre Brits (RSA) 3-0: 14-12, 11-8, 11-9
Mark Broekman (ENG) bt [3] Cameron Stafford (CAY) 3-0: 11-4, 11-3, 15-13
[6] Clinton Leeuw (RSA) bt [L] Heraclio Salaiz Estrada (MEX) 3-0: 11-5, 11-5, 11-4
[8] David Baillargeon (CAN) bt [L] Juan Gomez Dominguez (MEX) 3-0: 11-8, 11-6, 11-2
[2] Addeen Idrakie (MAS) bt [L] Peter Fantich (USA) 3-1: 9-11, 11-6, 11-1, 11-6

Draw – Final Qualifying Round
[1] Joe Chapman (IVB) v [5] Valentino Bong (MAS)
Sean Conroy (IRL) v [4] Reuben Phillips (ENG)
Mark Broekman (ENG) v [6] Clinton Leeuw (RSA)
[8] David Baillargeon (CAN) v [2] Addeen Idrakie (MAS)