Men’s State Singles Knockout Preview and Sectional Results
Played Sunday 21st January 2018 After last week’s sectional round we’re down to the final 76 participants in the Men’s State Singles. We’re now into the knockout stages where the pressure ramps up with a loss taking you out of the competition. There are big names littered throughout the draw as we’ll see throughout this preview.
The top quarter of the draw looks quite congested with a number of state squad members likely to play each other relatively early. Players such as Dave Rankin, Matt Mitchell, Cody Packer and Charlie Slavich are all big names but all face tough runs in just to get to the semi-finals. Packer in particular could end up with a tough run of Matt France, Scott Edmonds, Slavich to get to the semis with all of those players having legitimate claims in their own right. Other previously unmentioned chances in this part of the draw could be Sean Mawdsley and Brad Ball.
The next quarter of the draw might be the nicest for the big names with not many stars. Only three state squad members are in this part of the draw in Daniel Patterson, Miles Kemp and Ryan Moyle. Other solid players in this section however are Gavin Faulkner, Matthew Ayres and Nick Reagan. The first round match between Moyle and Faulkner promises to be a great start to the weekend. The biggest chances in this quarter of the draw would be former runner up Patterson, the winner of Moyle/Faulkner and Ayres.
Quarter three is a very even section with lots of solid players but a few names standout. The first is the defending champion Blake Nairn who looked very comfortable getting through his section. Another is Daniel Brown who has a plethora of titles to his name but is still looking for a singles win in his trophy cabinet. He has a tough start to his knockout campaign with former winner Stuart Bainbridge. Section three also contains a lot of good smokeys in the likes of Travis Vallance, Bruce Eagles, Kevin Pickering and Linton Pike.
The bottom section of the draw is probably the most stacked this year with a number of state players and big names. Players in this section of the draw include Warren Holt, John Slavich, Daniel Trewhella, Clive Adams, Lewis Grigg, Kyle McIlroy, Bill Brandsma and Shane Knott. There are some great first round matches set to be played with Adams vs Grigg, Brandsma vs McIlroy and Stein Davies vs Darren Rowland standouts. The winners of Adams/Grigg and Brandsma/McIlroy will then play each other before likely facing Shane Knott in possibly the toughest stretch in the draw. Whoever gets out of this part of the draw will know they deserve it.
Play continues Saturday 27th January 2018 with the Alignment Round and two Knockout Rounds.
Section Winners 1 to 12 are to report to Bassendean by 9.00 am for a 9.15 am start
Section Winners 13 to 26 are to report to Bassendean at 10.30 am
Section Winners 27 to 50 are to report to Osborne Park at 10.30 am
Section Winners 51 to 64 are to report to Doubleview at 10.30 am
Section Winners 65 to 76 are to report to Doubleview by 9.00 am for a 9.15 am start
Full Sectional Results
Full Knockout Schedule
