Acuña knocks off Landa in 16s at 2021 IRT Sarasota Open

Andres Acuña pulled off a big upset in the Round of 16 at the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) 2021 Sarasota Open presented by Team Dovetail in Sarasota, Florida, as he defeated IRT #2 Alejandro Landa, 15-14, 15-7. Next up for Acuña is 7th seed Conrrado Moscoso, who defeated 10th seed Mario Mercado, 15-14, 15-13. Mercado won last weekend at the Arizona Open, so there won’t be a repeat winner this week.

In other action, IRT #1 Daniel De La Rosa won his Round of 16 match in two straight games, defeating 16th seed Sebastian Fernandez, 15-6, 15-7. He’ll face 8th seed Jake Bredenbeck in the quarterfinals Saturday, as Bredenbeck beat 9th seed Alvaro Beltran, 15-6, 15-3.

Third seed Samuel Murray was almost pushed to a tie-breaker by 14th seed Eduardo Garay, as he trailed the whole way in game two. But Murray came back to tie Garay at 14, and then win it, 15-14, and the match in two games, 15-3, 15-14.

Murray will play 6th seed Rocky Carson in the quarters, as Carson beat 11th seed Carlos Keller, 15-1, 15-4, a surprisingly wide margin. In the other quarterfinal, it will be former doubles partners Parrilla and Portillo facing off, as 4th seed Parrilla defeated 13th seed Adam Manilla, 15-11, 15-3, and 5th seed Portillo beat 12th seed Sebastian Franco, 15-11, 15-0.

The quarterfinals will be Saturday at 10 and 11 AM with the semi-finals at 5 and 6 PM, and the final at 11 AM Sunday. All times are Eastern. Look for the action via the IRT YouTube channel., as well as its Facebook page.

2021 IRT Sarasota Open presented by Team Dovetail
November 18-21, 2021 - Sarasota, Florida

IRT Singles - Round of 16 - Friday

1) Daniel De La Rosa d. 16) Sebastian Fernandez, 15-6, 15-7
8) Jake Bredenbeck d. 9) Alvaro Beltran, 15-6, 15-3

5) Eduardo Portillo d. 12) Sebastian Franco, 15-11, 15-0
4) Andree Parrilla d. 13) Adam Manilla, 15-11, 15-3

3) Samuel Murray d. 14) Eduardo Garay, 15-3, 15-14
6) Rocky Carson d. 11) Carlos Keller, 15-1, 15-4

7) Conrrado Moscoso d. 10) Mario Mercado, 15-14, 15-13
15) Andres Acuña d. 2) Alejandro Landa, 15-14, 15-7

IRT Singles - Quarterfinals - Saturday

1) Daniel De La Rosa v. 8) Jake Bredenbeck - 11 AM
4) Andree Parrilla v. 5) Eduardo Portillo 11 AM

3) Samuel Murray v. 6) Rocky Carson - 10 AM
7) Conrrado Moscoso v. 15) Andres Acuña - 10 AM

Follow the bouncing ball….