Mangaonkar Makes Melbourne Quarters
by Howard Harding

11 July 2013 - In the only upset in today's second round of the Victorian Open in Melbourne, India's unseeded Mahesh Mangaonkar ousted sixth seed Mike Corren to deny the veteran Australian a fourth successive PSA World Tour title on home soil.

The Mumbai teenager recovered from losing the first game to beat 39-year-old Corren 5-11, 11-8, 11-9, 12-10 in 72 minutes - the longest match of the day - to earn a surprise place in the quarter-finals of the PSA Challenger 10 squash event at the Melbourne Sports & Aquatic Centre.

Mangaonkar, ranked outside the world top 100, now faces his toughest test in Campbell Grayson, the top seed and defending champion from New Zealand who took just 28 minutes to see off South Australian Justin Beard 11-4, 11-7, 11-5.

Third seed Zac Alexander continued to lead home hopes by defeating Kiwi Evan Williams 11-9, 11-7, 11-1.

Bidding to bring the title back into Australian hands for the first time since he won it in 2010, 24-year-old Alexander now faces Malaysian Ivan Yuen after the No7 seed beat Australian Joshua Larkin 13-11, 10-12, 11-9, 11-6.

RESULTS: PSA Challenger 10 Victorian Open, Melbourne, Australia

2nd round:
[1] Campbell Grayson (NZL) bt Justin Beard (AUS) 11-4, 11-7, 11-5 (28m)
Mahesh Mangaonkar (IND) bt [6] Mike Corren (AUS) 5-11, 11-8, 11-9, 12-10 (72m)
[5] Rex Hedrick (AUS) bt [Q] Jaakko Vahamaa (FIN) 11-5, 11-3, 11-2 (22m)
[4] Matthew Karwalski (AUS) bt Paul Coll (NZL) 11-9, 12-10, 11-6 (38m)
[3] Zac Alexander (AUS) bt Evan Williams (NZL) 11-9, 11-7, 11-1 (23m)
[7] Ivan Yuen (MAS) bt Joshua Larkin (AUS) 13-11, 10-12, 11-9, 11-6 (46m)
[8] Steven Finitsis (AUS) bt [Q] Chris Lloyd (NZL) 11-2, 11-8, 11-5 (26m)
[2] Martin Knight (NZL) bt Luke Sims (AUS) 11-2, 11-3, 11-3 (25m)

Quarter-final line-up:
[1] Campbell Grayson (NZL) v Mahesh Mangaonkar (IND)
[4] Matthew Karwalski (AUS) v [5] Rex Hedrick (AUS)
[3] Zac Alexander (AUS) v [7] Ivan Yuen (MAS)
[2] Martin Knight (NZL) v [8] Steven Finitsis (AUS)