Home Hopes Rooney and Mulvey Seal Kent Open Main Draw Spots

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English duo Patrick Rooney and Ondrej Uherka moved through to the main draw of the Select Gaming Kent Open, PSA M10 tournament after achieving respective wins over Ondrej Uherka and Ben Ford in the final round of qualifying.

European Junior Champion Rooney started his qualifying campaign with an commanding victory over Sean Conroy, winning the opening game without dropping a single point, before following that up with a powerful performance against Uherka. Rooney pulled away from 6-4 in the first game to go ahead, before letting the second game slip as Uherka gained a foothold in the match.

The 18-year-old responded by tightening up all aspects of his play and that approach paid immediate dividends as he rose to claim an 11-5, 8-11, 11-3, 11-5 triumph to ensure that he will compete in the main draw action against Ireland’s Arthur Gaskin.

Meanwhile, Mulvey followed up his come-from-behind victory against Joe Green on the opening day of qualifying with another five-game thriller, this time against experienced 40-year-old Ben Ford. After going two games to the good, Mulvey found himself pegged back by his compatriot after some inventive shot-making skills to set up a high intensity decider, in which Mulvey held his nerve to take it 11-8. Up next for World No.201 Mulvey is an encounter with Welshman Peter Creed.

World Junior Championship runner-up Youssef Soliman beat Brian Byrne in straight games to set up a main draw meeting with Joel Makin, while Byrne benefits from lucky loser status due to Joel Hinds’ withdrawal through injury, and will go up against Jaymie Haycocks.

Number one qualifying seed Asim Khan is also through after dispatching Bermuda’s Micah Franklin in a second successive five-game affair after he beat Chris Tomlinson, who is the head coach at the host venue, the Mote Squash Club, in the first round. Khan has the distinction of facing defending champion Charles Sharpes in the first round of the main draw.

Results – Final Qualifying Round: Select Gaming Kent Open 2016
Nick Mulvey (ENG) bt [5] Ben Ford (ENG) 3-2: 11-5, 11-6, 10-12, 8-11, 11-8 (68m)
Patrick Rooney (ENG) bt Ondrej Uherka (CZE) 3-1: 11-5, 8-11, 11-3, 11-5 (38m)
[3] Youssef Soliman (EGY) bt [7] Brian Byrne (IRL) 3-0: 11-4, 11-9, 11-7 (47m)
[1] Asim Khan (PAK) bt [6] Micah Franklin (BER) 3-2: 14-12, 9-11, 11-6, 9-11, 11-7 (72m)

Main Draw – First Round
[1] Charles Sharpes (ENG) v [Q] Asim Khan (PAK)
[LL] Brian Byrne (IRL) v [5] Jaymie Haycocks (ENG)
[8] Joel Makin (WAL) v [Q] Youssef Soliman (EGY)
Lyell Fuller (ENG) v [3] Richie Fallows (ENG)
[4] Peter Creed (WAL) v [Q] Nick Mulvey (ENG)
Matthew Hopkin (AUS) v [7] Chris Fuller (ENG)
[6] Arthur Gaskin (IRL) v [Q] Patrick Rooney (ENG)
Ashley Davies (ENG) v [2] Tom Ford (ENG)