Today saw the start of the Senior National Championships Qualifying tournament.
Almost 100 competitors battled it out today in a bid to make it through to the knockout rounds and get one step closer to securing a spot of the main championships in February.
To see a glimpse of the action from today, watch the video below, or to find out what happened in the Men’s Singles and Women’s Singles, read below.
Women’s Singles
A total of 15 women competed in today’s event, with all progressing into Sunday’s knockout round, after all other competitors dropped out prior to the event starting.
Today the field was split into two as each group competed in a round robin tournament.
In the women’s group one, Mya Sultan topped the table after winning all of her matches – including beating no. 1 seed, Amy Marriott, 3-1 (11-7, 6-11, 11-8, 11-9). Her reward – she goes straight into round two tomorrow after receiving a bye in the first knockout round.
Samadhi Udamulla, took second place, after beating two players ranked above her, including top-ranked player Amy Marriott 3-2 (6-11, 11-3, 7-11, 11-5, 11-8) and Emily Haskell 3-2 (8-11, 11-7, 9-11, 11-5, 11-5).
Group two was a closely fought battle with five players (Gemma Kerr, Erin Green, Millie Rogove, Grace Edwards and Rebecca Savage) finishing with the same points. In the end, Erin Green topped the group on countback. She now faces Emily Haskell in round one tomorrow. Grace Edwards took the second spot and will next play Stefania Popa.
The following females are in the knockout round: Mya Sultan, Millie Rogove, Amy Marriott, Megan Jones, Alice Hazell, Emily Haskell, Grace Edwards, Samadhi Udamulla, Medha Verma, Gemma Kerr, Anna Green, Kirsty Maull, Rebecca Savage, Stefania Popa and Erin Green.
To see the full women’s draw, download the document below.
Men’s Singles
In the Men’s Singles there were eight groups competing in a round robin tournament on day one – with the top four from each group making it through.
In Group One, Max Stevens topped the group on countback after a three-way tie with Umair Mauthoor and JieFu Tham. He beat higher ranked players Olly Tyndall, Mauthoor and Gregory Frey on the way. He will now face Naphong Boonyaprapa in the first round of knockouts tomorrow. Mauthoor took second place, while JieFu Tham took third.
In Group Two, Graeme Barella was the outright winner. He took the top spot after losing only to Joseph Goss in what was a closely contested battle that eventually saw Goss win 3-2 (11-7, 7-11, 12-10, 5-11, 13-11). Barella will face Joe Killoran tomorrow. Toby Ellis took second place.
In Group Three, Joshua Weatherby topped the table after winning all his matches – including beating no. 3 seed Jack Bennett in a tough five-game match (7-11, 11-9, 10-12, 11-8, 11-6).
It meant Bennett, who won all his other matches, came second.
Weatherby is due to face Jacob Evans first tomorrow.
In Group Four there were no surprises as Israel Awolaja took first, Louis Price took second and George Hazell third. Awoloja, the no. 4 seed won all his matches to top the table. Tomorrow he will face Joseph Goss in the first knockout round.
In Group Five, Zak Cantor beat no.5 seed, Gabriel Achampong 3-2 (11-8, 8-11, 12-10, 8-11, 12-14) to win his way to the top of group. Achampong took second, losing only to Cantor. Joshua Nashed will now face Cantor tomorrow in round one.
In Group Six, the no.6 seed James Smith took first place, having not lost a single match. However, he was challenged by Naphat Boonyaprapa in what turned out to be a topsy-turvy match that went all the way (11-6, 7-11, 11-2, 5-11, 11-4). Boonyaprapa’s loss meant he took second place and Peter Smallcombe third.
In Group Seven, Joe Cope – the winner of last year’s qualifiers – came out victorious in the group stage after topping the table on countback. On points, he was joint first with National Junior Champion, Ethan Walsh, who he had beaten 3-2 (11-6, 11-6, 6-11, 3-11, 11-9) earlier on. It left Shaquille Webb Dixon in third place, despite him beating Joe Cope in three straight sets (11-6, 11-8, 14-12).
In Group Eight, it was Will Dobinson who topped the table, after he lost out only to Connor Green – who went on to take third. Liam McTiernan took second place, and Zoltan Hosszu took fourth, meaning the no. 8 seed, Adam Jepson, was knocked out.
The following men are into the knockout rounds:
Max Stevens, Naphong Boonyaprapa, Thomas Rayner, Jack Bennett, Toby Ellis, George Hazell, Zoltan Hosszu, James Smith, Zak Cantor, Joshua Nashed, JieFu Tham, Ethan Walsh, Liam McTiernan, Peter Smallcombe, Joseph Goss, Israel Awolaja, Joshua Weatherby, Jacob Evans, Connor Green, Umair Mauthoor, Gabriele Achampong, Adam Laws, Benjamin Piggott, Joe Cope, Will Dobinson, Olly Tyndall, David Gofton, Louis Price, Naphat Boonyaprapa, Shaquille Webb Dixon, Joe Killoran and Graeme Barella.
Play begins tomorrow at 10am.