Some amazing matches tonight, many lasting the full 5 games including a marathon between England’s Declan James and Pakistan’s Hamza Bukhari that lasted two hours and 20 minutes with James ultimately prevailing over his opponent! Photos to follow –
Alfredo Avila (MEX) bt. Mike McCue (CAN) 11-4, 11-6, 11-5 (46m)
Aurangzeb Mehmund (PAK) bt. Aqib Hanif (PAK) 11-9, 12-10, 11-8 (53m)
Eric Galvez (MEX) bt Scott Arnold (AUS) 11-4, 11-5, 8-11, 11-3 (55m)
Chris Binnie (JAM) bt Thomas Brinkman (CAN) 13-11, 11-5, 6-11, 7-11, 11-6 (62m)
Lucas Serme (FRA) bt Lewis Walters (ENG) 11-6, 11-6, 3-11, 2-11, 11-6 (75m)
Andres Duany (PER) bt. Olivier Pett (ENG) 11-5, 11-3, retd.
(Olivier had to withdraw midway through the match due to a persisting illness)
Declan James (ENG) bt. Hamza Bukhari (PAK) 7-11, 14-12, 11-5, 7-11, 11-8 (140m)
The longest match of tournament was a battle between two players that didn’t like to do much with the ball. Instead, they relied on solid length, patience and their physicality. And fitness was definitely something they needed: The match lasted for almost 2.5 hours. It might have been a different story if Bukhari could have taken the second game after being 1-0 up. The Pakistani had several game balls but James hung in there and was eventually able to equalize the game score to 1-1. At that point, the match had already been going on for over an hour. After winning the third quite easily, James looked to be the strong favorite to take the match. Furthermore, Bukhari was struggling between games with blisters. While everyone thought the match was over, it was a totally different Bukhari who came on court in the fourth. The Pakistani won the game and was looking very strong at the beginning of the fifth as well. James eventually got a lead at the end and Bukhari – who had cramps bothering him at this point – couldn’t catch up. It will be interesting to see how James recovers for the quarter-final match.
Dave Letourneau (CAN) bt. Hernan D?Arcangelo (ARG) 11-2, 12-10, 8-11, 13-11 (53m)
Letourneau cruised through the first game and looked to be very solid and impossible for D’Arcangelo to beat. The Argentinian stepped up in the second though and took the game into a tie-breaker. Letourneau was able to squeeze it at the end and got a comfortable 2-0 lead. At 8-8 in the third, D’Arcangelo found another gear though and Letourneau made some easy mistakes and started to look a bit nervous. The Argentinian won the third and it seemed to be anyone’s match at this point. The fourth game was very close until 8-8 but Letourneau started to hit the ball a lot harder and it seemed tough for D’Arcangelo to adapt to the speed. The Argentinian was able to take the game to a tie-breaker but Letourneau’s change of tactics paid off in the end and he proceeded to the quarter finals. Letourneau, a Princeton alum, will now face University of Rochester’s senior Andres Duany.
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