Dane Delivers Home Hopes In Ottawa by Howard Harding 8 November 2013
- Dane Sharp led home hopes through to the quarter-finals of the
GoodLife Open after dismissing compatriot Matthew Serediak in the first
round of the PSA World Tour Challenger 10 squash event in its ninth
year at GoodLife Fitness in the Canadian capital Ottawa.
The 27-year-old from
Toronto beat 29-year-old Serediak 11-6, 11-4, 12-10 and will now face
France's Geoffrey Demont for a place in the semi-finals.
Top seed Martin Knight
- who stopped Sharp in the opening round last year - also secured a
straight games success, beating Canadian wild card Adrian Dudzicki
11-6, 11-5, 11-8.
The New Zealander,
runner-up 12 months ago, now meets Thomas Ford, the 11-9, 11-8, 11-8
winner of an all-English clash with James Earles.
Fourth-seeded Mexican
Eric Galvez successfully began his bid to reach a third GoodLife final
since 2006 with an 11-8, 11-7, 11-6 victory over Australian Justin
Beard.
The No 4 seed from
Puebla now faces Englishman Michael Harris. In a clash described by
tournament promoter Heather Wallace as "undoubtedly, the match of the
day", Harris beat higher-ranked Canadian Michael McCue 4-11, 11-4,
13-11, 13-11 in 70 minutes.
"McCue came out of the
blocks fast, taking advantage over Harris's loose and error-prone play
in the first game, winning it 11-4," reported Wallace. "The tables
turned in the second when Harris found better length & became more
aggressive in his play taking the ball earlier and into the front court
much better.
"In the third game,
Harris blew a 9-3 lead, allowing McCue back into the game, but with a
lot more work, eventually winning the third, 13-11. The fourth game was
a much more conservative affair with both players trading points and
playing patient length, again Harris squeaking it out, 13-11, to take
the match 3/1 in 70 minutes."
1st round: [1] Martin Knight (NZL) bt [WC] Adrian Dudzicki (CAN) 11-6, 11-5, 11-8 (28m) Thomas Ford (ENG) bt James Earles (ENG) 11-9, 11-8, 11-8 (42m) Geoffrey Demont (FRA) bt Fred Reid (CAN) 14-12, 11-4, 13-11 (31m) [3] Dane Sharp (CAN) bt Matthew Serediak (CAN) 11-6, 11-4, 12-10 (35m) [4] Eric Galvez (MEX) bt Justin Beard (AUS) 11-8, 11-7, 11-6 (38m) Michael Harris (ENG) bt Michael McCue (CAN) 4-11, 11-4, 13-11, 13-11 (70m) Scott Arnold (AUS) bt Thomas Brinkman (CAN) 11-6, 11-8, 11-6 (25m) [2] Danish Atlas Khan (PAK) bt Steven London (ENG) 11-5, 11-6, 9-11, 11-5 (55m)
Quarter-final line-up: [1] Martin Knight (NZL) v Thomas Ford (ENG) [3] Dane Sharp (CAN) v Geoffrey Demont (FRA) [4] Eric Galvez (MEX) v Michael Harris (ENG) [2] Danish Atlas Khan (PAK) v Scott Arnold (AUS)
