North Coast Open: Grinham and Hedrick Take Titles

The experienced pair of Rachael Grinham and Rex Hedrick rolled back the years to take the titles at the Roberts & Morrow North Coast Open in Coffs Harbour, Australia this week.

The Challenger 10 level tournament was ran with cross-border restrictions on entries due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, allowing only those currently based in either New Zealand or host nation Australia to participate.

Grinham, the former World No.1, came into the tournament as the No.5 seed, and after receiving a bye through the opening round of the event, she then got the better of No.3 seed Tamika Hunt in a tough five-game battle which lasted an hour.

The 45-year-old then defeated No.2 seed Jessica Turnbull in four before coming up against No.4 seed Alex Haydon in the final. She caused another seeding upset, winning in five after 61 minutes, to claim the 37th title of her illustrious career.

The men’s event was won by Rex Hedrick, despite the Aussie coming in as one of the unseeded men in the draw. The former World No.48 showed his class throughout though, beating No.6 seed Damon MacMillan and No.4 seed Rohan Toole to make the semi-finals.

There, he came up against top seed Rhys Dowling, but needed just 34 minutes to overcome his fellow Australian, before then beating Josh Larkin in straight games in the final, to win a 17th Tour title, and one where he did not drop a single game.

Results: Roberts & Morrow North Coast Open
Men’s Final
Rex Hedrick (AUS) bt Josh Larkin (AUS) 3-0: 11-4, 11-7, 11-5 (40m)

Women’s Final
[5] Rachael Grinham (AUS) bt [4] Alex Haydon (AUS) 3-2: 11-7, 9-11, 11-3, 8-11, 11-6 (61m)

Men’s Semi-Finals
Rex Hedrick (AUS) bt [1] Rhys Dowling (AUS) 3-0: 11-5, 11-3, 11-7 (34m)
Josh Larkin (AUS) bt [2] Joseph White (AUS) 3-2: 11-9, 6-11, 11-7, 10-12, 11-5 (90m)

Women’s Semi-Finals
[4] Alex Haydon (AUS) bt [1] Sarah Cardwell (AUS) 3-0: 13-11, 11-6, 11-7 (34m)
[5] Rachael Grinham (AUS) bt [2] Jessica Turnbull (AUS) 3-1: 11-6, 11-6, 5-11, 14-12 (41m)

Men’s Quarter Finals
[1] Rhys Dowling (AUS) bt James Lloyd (AUS) 3-0: 11-6, 11-1, 11-3 (17m)
Rex Hedrick (AUS) bt [4] Rohan Toole (AUS) 3-0: 11-5, 11-5, 11-5 (33m)
Josh Larkin (AUS) bt David Turner (AUS) 3-0: 11-7, 11-7, 11-2 (30m)
[2] Joseph White (AUS) bt [7] Benjamin Ratcliffe (AUS) 3-0: 11-5, 11-5, 11-3 (29m)

Women’s Quarter Finals
[1] Sarah Cardwell (AUS) bt [8] Madison Lyon (AUS) 3-0: 11-5, 11-2, 11-4 (19m)
[4] Alex Haydon (AUS) bt Maggy Marshall (AUS) 3-0: 11-4, 1-3, 11-8 (21m)
[5] Rachael Grinham (AUS) bt [3] Tamika Hunt (AUS) 3-2: 11-4, 11-8, 8-11, 7-11, 11-6 (60m)
[2] Jessica Turnbull (AUS) bt [6] Selena Sheikh (AUS) 3-0: 11-7, 11-5, 11-5 (22m)

Men’s Round One
[1] Rhys Dowling (AUS) bt Lachlan Coxsedge (AUS) 3-0: 11-6, 11-1, 11-3 (17m)
James Lloyd (AUS) bt [8] Thomas Calvert (AUS) 3-1: 9-11, 11-1, 11-3, 11-2 (32m)
Rex Hedrick (AUS) bt [6] Damon Macmillan (AUS) 3-0: 11-5, 11-3, 11-4 (13m)
[4] Rohan Toole (AUS) bt Jamie Pattison (AUS) 3-0: 11-3, 11-4, 11-5 (18m)
David Turner (AUS) bt [3] Nicholas Calvert (AUS) 3-0: 11-6, 11-5, 11-5 (23m)
Josh Larkin (AUS) bt [5] Jack Hudson (AUS) 3-0: 11-7, 11-6, 11-7 (27m)
[7] Benjamin Ratcliffe (AUS) bt Bradley Fullick (AUS) 3-0: 13-11, 11-9, 11-6 (41m)
[2] Joseph White (AUS) bt Dylan Molinaro (AUS) 3-0: 11-3, 13-11, 11-8 (43m)

Women’s Round One
[8] Madison Lyon (AUS) bt Sze Yu Lee (AUS) 3-0: 11-2, 11-5, 11-7 (18m)
Maggy Marshall (AUS) bt [7] Jessica Osborne (AUS) 3-1: 11-5, 11-9, 6-11, 11-7 (28m)
[6] Selena Sheikh (AUS) bt Heather Pilley (AUS) 3-0: 11-4, 11-8, 11-3 (18m)