Kane Waselenchuk, the #1 player on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT), lost on court for the first time since September 2013, as he pulled out of the fifth game of the Florida pro stop in Sarasota, Florida against Jake Bredenbeck, who won as a result: 4-11, 11-13, 11-9, 12-10, 1-0, injury forfeit. Waselenchuk had hernia surgery a few weeks ago, and apparently was not fully recovered from that.
Waselenchuk began the game with a more controlled style, and it looked like that could be enough against the young American, as Waselenchuk won game one, 11-4. However, in game two Bredembeck was toe to toe with Waselenchuk, and had two game points against the top seed at 11-10, but failed to convert either of them as Waselenchuk came back to take game two 13-11, ending it with a backhand reverse pinch from shoulder high.
In game three, Bredenbeck took the early lead at 3-0, but Waselenchuk came back with six unanswered points to lead 6-3. He continued to lead at 7-5, but then Bredenbeck went on a run with his powerful drive serves, scoring five straight points to lead 10-7. Waselenchuk did get the serve back and scored two points before Bredenbeck took the serve back with a return winner, and finished the game out at 11-9.
One of the exchanges of the match happened early in game three when Waselenchuk was in the front court and slammed the ball down, so it bounced high. Bredenbeck was able to flick it with a backhand over his head, which was great, but it came straight to Waselenchuk who quickly reacted and short-hopped a winner.
In game four, Bredenbeck took a 6-0. However, Waselenchuk came back to tie it at 7-7, and again at 9-9. Bredenbeck got to 10 first, but Waselenchuk again tied it at 10-10 with a drive Z to the left that was an ace. After a few sideouts, Bredenbeck served, and forced a return skip from Waselenchuk, and then on second serve Bredenbeck hit a half lob to the left, and Waselenchuk tried to hit a forehand pinch shot to the left corner, but the result was a big skip giving Bredenbeck game four 12-10.
At 7-7 in game four, Waselenchuk took a brief period of injury time, although there did not seem to be any incident that caused him an injury. He took some more between games four and five, and one had to think that his hernia condition and surgery he had to correct it were weighing on him.
This seemed to be confirmed as Waselenchuk withdrew from the match after two rallies with Bredenbeck leading 1-0.
The win gives Bredenbeck a berth in the quarterfinals, where he’ll play Sebastian Franco, who was a winner against Felipe Camacho, 11-5, 11-7, 5-11, 11-7, so it’s a good chance for one of them to get into the semi-finals. So far this season Franco has made the semis three times, and Bredenbeck has done it once. But prior to this season neither of them had been a semi-finalist on tour.
Mario Mercado was also an upset winner in the 16s, as he defeated 6th seed Jansen Allen, 10-12, 11-7, 11-2, 11-5. Mercado will play 3rd seed Alvaro Beltran in the quarterfinals, as Beltran beat Alejandro Herrera, 12-10, 11-9, 9-11, 11-3, in the 16s.
Finally, IRT #2 Rocky Carson defeated Andree Parrilla, 11-5, 11-4, 11-6, and will play 7th seed Marco Rojas, a winner over Robert Collins, 11-9, 11-3, 11-1, in the quarters.
The quarterfinals will be streamed live Friday from 4 PM EDT via the IRT Network. The semi-finals will be 11 AM and Noon Saturday with the final Saturday night at 7:00 PM. All times Eastern.
2016 IRT Florida Tournament, April 28-May 1
Sarasota, Florida
Round of 16 - Friday
Jake Bredenbeck d. 1) Kane Waselenchuk, 4-11, 11-13, 11-9, 12-10, 1-0, injury forfeit
Sebastian Franco d. 8) Felipe Camacho, 11-5, 11-7, 5-11, 11-7
5) Jose Rojas d. Mauricio Zelada, 11-1, 11-6, 11-9
4) Daniel De La Rosa d. Cliff Swain, 11-7, 11-8, 11-4
3) Alvaro Beltran d. Alejandro Herrera, 12-10, 11-9, 9-11, 11-3
Mario Mercado d. 6) Jansen Allen, 10-12, 11-7, 11-2, 11-5
7) Marco Rojas d. Robert Collins, 11-9, 11-3, 11-1
2) Rocky Carson d. Andree Parrilla, 11-5, 11-4, 11-6
Quarterfinals - Friday
Sebastian Franco v. Jake Bredenbeck
4) Daniel De La Rosa v. 5) Jose Rojas
3) Alvaro Beltran v. Mario Mercado
2) Rocky Carson v. 7) Marco Rojas
Follow the bouncing ball….
Friday, April 29, 2016
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