Finitsis Masters Manning In Auckland Open Upset

Australian Timothy Manning suffered his second successive first round upset on the PSA Tour when he was beaten in four games by unseeded compatriot Steve Finitsis in the opening men's round of the Five Star Finance Auckland Open at the North Shore Squash Club in Takapuna, New Zealand.

Finitsis, 23, from Innisfail, came from a game down to beat the second seed 10-11 (0-2), 11-3, 11-10 (4-2), 11-9 in 47 minutes to set up a quarter-finals clash with another fellow countryman, eighth seed Aaron Frankcomb.

There was a lucky first round escape for New Zealand's Kashif Shuja. The fifth-seeded kiwi edged out Australian qualifier Scott Arnold in a five-game thriller, saving two match balls in the fourth game before finally nailing victory 11-9 in the fifth.

Joelle King was the only local player to survive the qualifying finals in the women's WISPA World Tour event. The 17-year-old from Cambridge beat fellow New Zealander Sally Hawkes 2-9, 9-5, 9-3, 9-1 and will now face Malaysia's seventh seed Delia Arnold in the first round.

1st round:
[1] Jonathan Kemp (ENG) bt [Q] Ryan Cuskelly (AUS) 11-4, 11-10 (5-3), 11-2 (29m)
[5] Kashif Shuja (NZL) bt [Q] Scott Arnold (AUS) 11-9, 7-11, 7-11, 11-10 (3-1), 11-9 (72m)
[4] Wai Hang Wong (HKG) bt [Q] Roger Ngan (HKG) 11-10 (2-0), 11-7, 11-6 (36m)
[7] Jason Mudge (AUS) bt Julian Illingworth (USA) 11-4, 9-11, 11-6, 11-7 (64m)
[6] Simon Carruthers (AUS) bt [Q] Campbell Grayson (NZL) 11-10 (2-0), 11-9, 11-8 (53m)
[3] Mike Corren (AUS) bt Martin Knight (NZL) 11-8, 11-8, 5-11, 6-11, 11-8 (72m)
[8] Aaron Frankcomb (AUS) bt Paul Davis (AUS) 7-11, 11-0, 11-6, 11-4 (48m)
Steve Finitsis (AUS) bt [2] Timothy Manning (AUS) 10-11 (0-2), 11-3, 11-10 (4-2), 11-9 (47m)

Women's qualifying finals:
Rachel Smith (AUS) bt Jackie Laurenson (NZL) 9-0, 9-3, 9-2 (19m)
Peta Hughes (AUS) bt Eun Ok Park (KOR) 9-6, 9-4, 9-5 (45m)
Joelle King (NZL) bt Sally Hawkes (NZL) 2-9, 9-5, 9-3, 9-1 (37m)
Sachiko Shinta (JPN) bt Eun Chan Ahn (KOR) 9-6, 1-9, 9-7, 10-9 (41m)