Hi all
[UPDATED 31/5/10 15:20 – fixed link to results. Thanks, Ted.]
The race for the state team / state title is really heating up now. With the round of 64 behind us, we now head into the final 32 players to battle it out for that elusive Top 16 spot.
As I said last week, this round was where the big boys come into play. Going into the final round before the Top 16, 23 of the 33 seeds are left standing. Of the 10 that fell this round, it included two of last year’s Top 16, who came to grief in one of the tightest groups of the round. Whilst this group avoided a playoff, a few others came down to the last frame of the day or did make it to a playoff.
I’ll leave it to you all to sift through the results, but I’ll put my two bobs’ worth in on the dominators once again. Mongrel and Anthony Chia hit 22/6, Steve Thomas and Kenny Nicol hit 21/7, but Matt Harmon out-dominated everyone with a 21/3 round. (Am I inventing new words with out-dominated?)
In addition to topping his group, Anthony also welcomed a beautiful little boy into his life on Tuesday. Congratulations to Anthony and his wife – if this is your first, welcome to the world of nappies. I actually have one due any day now, so maybe in 25 years time the names Chia and Jones will battle it out for the state title while their old men are fighting it out in the masters…
Commiserations to the players who bowed out this round – I’d be stoked to have made it as far as you. In fact I did one year, you can read about… yeah no one cares…
Seriously, we really are getting to the business end of the tournament. Whilst the word “gimme” was thrown out two rounds ago, the level of play required to get through this round is way above what most of us can imagine. Yes, some of the seeds have fallen, but the players who knocked them out are obviously deserving to be where they are.
I can’t wait for this weekend to see who busts it open for a Top 16 spot, and good luck for all 32 players remaining.
Full results from Round 3:
http://www.acteba.com.au/downloads/2010_Open_Singles_Round_3_Results.pdf
