Simpson & Rosner Survive Marathon Qualifying Finals In Baltimore

Englishman Chris Simpson and German Simon Rosner - European Junior Champions in 2005 and 2006, respectively - both survived marathon qualifying finals at the Merritt Athletic Club in Baltimore City, USA, to claim places in the main draw of the Merritt Properties Open.

Simpson prevailed in a lengthy first game against Australian Tony James which was only resolved in a tie-break at 17-15! It took 75 minutes - and an 11-10 (7-5), 11-5, 10-11 (0-2), 11-9 scoreline - for the 19-year-old from Guernsey to finally claim his place in the first round, where he will take on second seed Graham Ryding, from Canada.

Rosner needed more than an hour and a half to overcome Bradley Hindle, also an Australian, 10-11 (0-2), 11-9, 6-11, 11-9, 11-4 in 95 minutes. The 19-year-old from Wurzburg will meet Ireland's eighth seed Liam Kenny.

In a poor day for Australians in Baltimore, France's Laurent Elriani defeated Brisbane-born Raj Nanda 11-10 (4-2), 11-7, 11-4. The US-based Frenchman, now based in the USA, will face Mexico's No7 seed Eric Galvez.

It was a disappointing outcome for Baltimore-based Englishman Ben Garner, who was forced to concede his qualifying final to Patrick Chifunda after falling ill. The Zambian will now meet another Englishman Joey Barrington, the No5 seed, in the main draw.

Qualifying finals:
Chris Simpson (ENG) bt Tony James (AUS) 11-10 (7-5), 11-5, 10-11 (0-2), 11-9 (75m)
Simon Rosner (GER) bt Bradley Hindle (AUS) 10-11 (0-2), 11-9, 6-11, 11-9, 11-4 (95m)
Patrick Chifunda (ZAM) bt Ben Garner (ENG) w/o
Laurent Elriani (FRA) bt Raj Nanda (AUS) 11-10 (4-2), 11-7, 11-4 (45m)