20 Mar 2009

Alexander downs sixth seed

Brisbane’s Zac Alexander (AIS – SQUASH) upset sixth seeded Malaysian Asyraf Azan in four games to join fellow Australian Ryan Cuskelly (AIS – SQUASH) in the quarter-finals of the NSC International squash tournament in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday night.

Alexander, 20, won a tight battle against the higher ranked Azan 13-11, 15-13, 9-11, 11-6 and will now play another Malaysian, second seed Nafiizwan Adnan, in the quarter-finals.

Fourth seed Cuskelly was too good for Pakistani qualifier Aqib Hanif, winning in straight games 15-13, 11-6, 11-8.

Fresh from winning his third professional tournament last week, the 21-year-old Cuskelly from Evans Head in New South Wales will now play unseeded Malaysian Ivan Yuen for a place in the semi-finals.

Yuen earlier upset Cuskelly’s fellow New South Welshman Matthew Karwalski 6-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-6.

In the women’s event, New South Wales’s Donna Urquhart came from two games down to beat Canada’s Alana Miller 6-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-5.

Urquhart will have to lift her game to beat her next opponent, former world number one Vanessa Atkinson of the Netherlands.

Queenslander Lisa Camilleri fought hard in her match with fifth seeded Malaysian Delia Arnold before Arnold won in four close games 15-13, 11-7, 16-18, 11-6.

First round results (prefix denotes seeding):

Men

1-Renan Lavigne (FRA) bt Elvinn Keo (MAS) 11-8, 11-9, 11-4

Waqar Mehboob (PAK) bt 5-Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) 8-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-9

Clinton Leeuw (RSA) bt 3-Shahid Zaman (PAK) 11-5, 11-4, 11-4

7-Shamsul Islam Khan (PAK) bt Nafzahizam Adnan (MAS) 11-9, 11-8, 3-11, 11-9

Ivan Yuen (MAS) bt 8-Matthew Karwalski (AUS) 6-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-6

4-Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) bt Aqib Hanif (PAK) 15-13, 11-6, 11-8

Zac Alexander (AUS) bt 6-Asyraf Azan (MAS) 13-11, 15-13, 9-11, 11-6

2-Nafiizwan Adnan (MAS) bt Kamran Khan (MAS) 11-13, 7-11, 13-11, 11-3, 11-3

Women

1-Vanessa Atkinson (NED) bt Lauren Siddall (ENG) 11-3, 11-8, 8-11, 11-6

7-Donna Urquhart (AUS) bt Alana Miller (CAN) 6-11, 7-11, 11-9, 11-8, 11-5

3-Tania Bailey (ENG) bt Low Wee Wern (MAS) 11-5, 11-1, 11-9

5-Delia Arnold (MAS) bt Lisa Camilleri (AUS) 15-13, 11-7, 16-18, 11-6

6-Sarah Kippax (ENG) bt Siti Munirah Jusoh (MAS) 10-12, 11-2, 11-4, 11-6

4-Dominique Lloyd-Walter (ENG) bt Lim Yoke Wah (MAS) 11-5, 8-11, 11-7, 11-7

8-Aisling Blake (IRL) bt Joey Chan (HKG) 11-5, 11-6, 11-7

2-Shelley Kitchen (NZL) bt Joelle King (NZL) 11-4, 11-6, 11-7