STILL IN THE GAME. Filipino squash player Robert Andrew Garcia in action during the Costa Open in Coffs Harbour City, Australia on Aug. 14, 2022. Garcia won his first-round match at the Eastside Open in Hobart, Australia on Sept. 14, 2022. (Contributed photo)
MANILA – No. 4 seed Filipino Robert Andrew Garcia defeated Australian Benjamin Ratcliffe, 11-8, 13-11, 11-9, on Wednesday at the start of the Professional Squash Association (PSA) Challenger Tour 5 in Hobart, Australia.
The country's No. 1 player needed 34 minutes to win the match and earn a seat in the second round where he will face No. 15 seed Wailok To of Hong Kong, who sailed past Australian Jayed Ali, 11-7, 11-2, 11-5.
Top seed Lwamba Chileshe of New Zealand, No. 2 Robin Gadola of Switzerland and No. 3 Temwa Chileshe of New Zealand also hurdled their first-round opponents.
Lwamba Chileshe, ranked No. 95 in the world, outplayed Muhammad Abdul Qadir of Pakistan, 11-4, 8-11, 11-4, 11-7; Gadola rallied past Australian Bradley Fullick, 11-8, 7-11, 11-5, 12-10; and Temwa Chileshe beat Australian Tate Zak Norris, 12-10, 11-4, 11-3.
Unseeded Australian James Lloyd registered the day's lone upset after surviving world No. 200 and No. 6 seed Harley Lam of Hong Kong, 11-5, 11-6, 3-11, 10-12, 11-9.
Lloyd, No. 355 in the PSA rankings, will be up against No. 14 Anthony Lepper of New Zealand, who trounced Australian wild card Will Maloney, 11-2, 11-1, 11-3.
Other matches saw No. 5 seed Australian Rhys Dowling hammering out an 11-7, 14-12, 9-11, 11-3 victory over compatriot Cameron Darton; No. 7 seed Pakistani Zahir Shah whipping Australian wild card David Mulcahy, 11-6, 11-8, 11-3; and No. 8 Australian Nicholas Calvert prevailing over compatriot Dylan Molinario, 9-11, 11-2, 12-10, 11-2.
No. 9 Bryan Lim Tze Kang of Malaysia; No. 11 Chung Yat Long and 13 Matthew Lai of Hong Kong; and No. 10 Joel Arscott, No. 12 William Donnelly and No. 16 Elijah Thomas of New Zealand also secured seats in the next round.
The Eastside Open is Garcia's fifth tournament in Australia. Last week, he lost to world No. 8 Malaysian Addeen Idrakie, 8-11, 9-11, 9-11, in the first round of the Tasmanian Open.
The world No. 177 Filipino arrived in Australia last Aug. 14 and has competed in Costa North Coast Open in Coffs Harbour City (Aug. 14-21), Alto Group Pennant Hills Open in Sydney (Aug. 25-28) and the Volkswagen Open in Bega, New South Wales (Aug. 31-Sept. 4).
He had an early exit at the Costa North Coast Open, losing to Australian Nicholas Calvert, 11-13, 7-11, 11-9, 14-12, 11-13, in the first round.
In Sydney where he was the No. 4 seed, Garcia defeated Malaysian Amir Amirul, 11-7, 4-11, 11-5, 11-5 to book a quarterfinal ticket. But he lost to No. 5 seed Australian Rhys Dowling, 10-12, 5-11, 11-6, 8-11.
At the Volkswagen Bega Open, Garcia bowed to Hong Kong's Chung Yat Long, 7-11, 11-6, 11-7, 2-11, 9-11, in the first round.
Garcia registered a career-high No. 165 ranking after reaching the quarterfinal round at the Dynam Cup SQ-Cube Open in Yokohama, Japan last May. He won the mixed team gold and men's singles silver medals during the 2019 Southeast Asian Games. (PNA)
