Singles quarterfinal results at 2018 IRF World Championships

You want upsets? We got upsets! Of the eight semi-finalists in Men’s and Women’s Singles at the 19th International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Championships in San José, Costa Rica only four were seeded in the top 4 in their respective draws. On the women’s side only top seed and three time defending champion Paola Longoria of Mexico won her quarterfinal match. She defeated 9th seed Adriana Riveros of Colombia, 15-7, 15-1.

Longoria will face a familiar foe in Argentina’s Maria Jose Vargas in the semi-finals. Vargas, seeded 20th, beat Bolivian 5th seed Yasmine Sabja, 15-2, 15-7.

If she wins, Longoria could face the same player in the final that she faced in the final two years ago, as the 2016 silver medalist Ana Gabriela Martinez of Guatemala, who was seeded 6th, defeated Longoria’s team-mate 3rd seed Samantha Salas (Mexico), 15-4, 15-12. Salas, who isn't playing doubles this year, has made the podium in either singles or doubles in the last four World Championships, but this loss means she won't this year for the first time since 2008, when Salas wasn't on the Mexican team.

Martinez will play 7th seed Natalia Mendez of Argentina who upset 2nd seed Rhonda Rajsich of the USA, 15-1, 15-13. The win keeps Rajsich - a two time Women’s Singles World Champion - off the podium for the second straight World Championships. Also, Mendez and Vargas are the first two South American women from the same country to make it to the semi-finals of Women’s Singles at Worlds.

In the Men’s Singles, 10th seed Sebastian Franco of Colombia upset 2nd seed Daniel De La Rosa of Mexico, 15-8, 5-15, 11-10, in the quarters. He’ll face the USA’s Charlie Pratt in the semi-finals, as Pratt beat Canada’s Samuel Murray, 15-2, 15-12.

In the other semi-final, it’s #1 versus #4, as top seed David Horn of the USA defeated 8th seed Mario Mercado of Colombia, 15-12, 15-6. Horn faces 4th seed Rodrigo Montoya from Mexico, who eked out a tie-breaker win over 5th seed Conrrado Moscoso of Bolivia, 13-15, 15-7, 11-6.

Thus, an all USA final is a possibility if Horn and Pratt win their semis. But also possible is Franco becoming only the 3rd man to win both Men’s Singles and Men’s Doubles at Worlds after American Todd O’Neill and Mexican Alvaro Beltran. He won the Men's Doubles World Championship in 2014 with Alejandro Herrera.

The live streaming of matches will continue Friday with the semi-finals in all divisions. Look for the action at the IRF Facebook page.

18th IRF World Championships
August 10-18, 2018
San José, Costa Rica

Men's Singles - Quarterfinals - Thursday

1) David Horn (USA) d. 8) Mario Mercado (Colombia), 15-12, 15-6
4) Rodrigo Montoya (Mexico) d. 5) Conrrado Moscoso (Bolivia), 13-15, 15-7, 11-6

3) Charlie Pratt (USA) d. 6) Samuel Murray (Canada), 15-2, 15-12
10) Sebastian Franco (Colombia) d. 2) Daniel De La Rosa (Mexico), 15-8, 5-15, 11-10

Men's Singles - Semi-finals - Friday

1) David Horn (USA) v. 4) Rodrigo Montoya (Mexico)
3) Charlie Pratt (USA) v. 10) Sebastian Franco (Colombia)

Women's Singles - Quarterfinals - Thursday

1) Paola Longoria (Mexico) d. 9) Adriana Riveros (Colombia), 15-7, 15-1
20) Maria Jose Vargas (Argentina) d. 5) Yasmine Sabja (Bolivia), 15-2, 15-7

6) Ana Gabriela Martinez (Guatemala) d. 3) Samantha Salas (Mexico), 15-4, 15-12
7) Natalia Mendez (Argentina) d. 2) Rhonda Rajsich (USA), 15-1, 15-13

Women's Singles - Semi-finals - Friday

1) Paola Longoria (Mexico) v. 20) Maria Jose Vargas (Argentina)
6) Ana Gabriela Martinez (Guatemala) v. 7) Natalia Mendez (Argentina)

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