Masters Moves Past Gillams in NZ Classic

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World No.81 Joshua Masters remains in with a chance of claiming back-to-back PSA World Tour titles for the first time in his career after overcoming number four seed Angus Gillams in an all-English quarter-final clash in the Fitzherbert Rowe Lawyers New Zealand PSA Classic, PSA M15 tournament held in Palmerston North.

The pair were meeting for the first time on the PSA World Tour and played out a tight three-game match, with sixth seed Masters, who recently won the Austrian Open, taking it 11-7, 11-8, 11-9 to reach his fourth semi-final of 2016.

He will line up against second seed Rex Hedrick for a place in the final, with Hedrick dispatching Malaysian qualifier Eain Yow Ng. Eain was coming off the back of a shock win against Joshua Larkin in the previous round, but Hedrick’s long and structured rallies proved to be too much for the 18-year-old and he closed out the victory in straight games.

Top seed and home favourite Paul Coll has also advanced to the last four after a dominant display against James Huang, in which he went a game ahead without even dropping a point. An accidental collision in the third forced Huang off court and, despite returning briefly, the World No.96 was ultimately forced to retire, handing Coll the win.

“You never like that to happen to your opponent, and he showed great sportsmanship to come back on and try to carry on,” said Coll.

Malaysia’s Ivan Yuen stands between the New Zealander and a place in the final after he beat Peter Creed of Wales by a 3-0 scoreline. Yuen was pushed to tie-breaks in both the first and third games after a dogged performance from Creed, but pushed the victory over the line to set up a semi-final meeting with Coll – who won the most recent meeting between the pair in last month’s HKFC International.

Results – Quarter-Final: Fitzherbert Rowe Lawyers New Zealand PSA Classic 2016
[1] Paul Coll (NZL) bt [8] James Huang (TPE) 3-0: 11-0, 11-8, 4-4 ret.
[3] Ivan Yuen (MAS) bt [5] Peter Creed (WAL) 3-0: 12-10, 11-3, 12-10
[6] Joshua Masters (ENG) bt [4] Angus Gillams (ENG) 3-0: 11-7, 11-8, 11-9
[2] Rex Hedrick (AUS) bt [Q] Eain Yow Ng (MAS) 3-0: 11-8, 11-7, 11-9

Watch live streaming of the Fitzherbert Rowe Lawyers New Zealand PSA Classic
Semi-Final: Order of play (all times are local GMT)
16:00 [1] Paul Coll (NZL) v [3] Ivan Yuen (MAS)
17:00 [6] Joshua Masters (ENG) v [2] Rex Hedrick (AUS)