Upsets Abound In ToC Qualifying Finals

The top three qualifying seeds in the 2017 JP Morgan Tournament of Champions fell to surprise defeats on the final day of qualification in the first PSA World Series event of the year, with Cesar Salazar, Gregoire Marche and Omar Abdel Meguid all missing out on a place in the main draw, which will be staged in New York's iconic Grand Central Terminal.

Salazar, the world No.26 from Mexico, came up against Raphael Kandra, but fell two games behind after a strong start from the German world No.43.

The Mexican prevailed in the third to reduce the deficit, only to see a resilient Kandra hold firm in the fourth to triumph on the tie-break and seal a place in the main draw of the Tournament of Champions for the second year in a row. Kandra, the lowest-ranked player to qualify, will take on Australian No.1 Cameron Pilley.

Meanwhile, Frenchman Marche and Egyptian Meguid lost out to Hong Kong's Tsz Fung Yip and Scotland's Alan Clyne, respectively.

Yip's reward is a main draw clash with world No.7 Ali Farag, while Clyne will need to navigate his way past three-time World Champion Nick Matthew, the 2012 winner from England.

England's world No.38 Declan James upset Hong Kong's Leo Au to set up a main draw meeting with defending champion Mohamed Elshorbagy, while New Zealand's Paul Coll continued his recent good form, beating compatriot Campbell Grayson to secure a maiden Tournament of Champions main draw berth against England's Chris Simpson.

Botswana's former world No.12 Alister Walker saw his qualifying campaign come to an end at the hands of Switzerland's Nicolas Mueller, while there were also wins for Nafiizwan Adnan and Tom Richards as qualification drew to a close.