Aileen de Graaf 2-0 Casey Gallagher
World Masters Champion Aileen De Graaf made it through to the quarter-finals of the women’s section, with a straight-sets victory over England’s Casey Gallagher, on Monday evening at the Lakeside. De Graaf averaged a shade under 82, and posted 17 scores of 100 or more in the contest.
De Graaf eased into a 2-0 advantage in the opening set, as Gallagher struggled to find her feet. Aileen converted finishes of 32 and 68 to claim the opening two legs, although Casey responded with a 56 checkout, to maintain her hopes of mounting an early comeback. Nevertheless, the Dutch ace clinched the set in the fourth leg, posting D20 for a solid 17-darter.
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The early exchanges of the second set were attritional, with Gallagher holding throw in 22 darts, courtesy of pinning D15. However, De Graaf posted a comfortable hold, hitting D20 for a 19-darter. Despite this, Gallagher responded well, and followed up a 140 with a calm 46 finish to reclaim the initiative in the set.
De Graaf was desperate to avoid the same fate suffered by Anastasia Dobromyslova and Fallon Sherrock earlier in the tournament, and the 25-year-old produced the best leg of the match to force a fifth and decisive leg in the set. Gallagher posted successive visits of 134 and 140 to threaten a break, but Aileen demonstrated impressive resistance, posting D8 for a fine 13-darter.
Casey needed to hold throw to force a third and deciding set, but she failed to find a big treble with her opening nine darts, and she was ruthlessly punished by De Graaf, who left 78 after just 12 darts. Aileen endured some double-trouble, which had plagued her throughout the contest, but she eventually sealed the win with D4, to set up a quarter-final clash against her compatriot, Anca Zijlstra.
World Masters Champion Aileen De Graaf made it through to the quarter-finals of the women’s section, with a straight-sets victory over England’s Casey Gallagher, on Monday evening at the Lakeside. De Graaf averaged a shade under 82, and posted 17 scores of 100 or more in the contest.
De Graaf eased into a 2-0 advantage in the opening set, as Gallagher struggled to find her feet. Aileen converted finishes of 32 and 68 to claim the opening two legs, although Casey responded with a 56 checkout, to maintain her hopes of mounting an early comeback. Nevertheless, the Dutch ace clinched the set in the fourth leg, posting D20 for a solid 17-darter.
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The early exchanges of the second set were attritional, with Gallagher holding throw in 22 darts, courtesy of pinning D15. However, De Graaf posted a comfortable hold, hitting D20 for a 19-darter. Despite this, Gallagher responded well, and followed up a 140 with a calm 46 finish to reclaim the initiative in the set.
De Graaf was desperate to avoid the same fate suffered by Anastasia Dobromyslova and Fallon Sherrock earlier in the tournament, and the 25-year-old produced the best leg of the match to force a fifth and decisive leg in the set. Gallagher posted successive visits of 134 and 140 to threaten a break, but Aileen demonstrated impressive resistance, posting D8 for a fine 13-darter.
Casey needed to hold throw to force a third and deciding set, but she failed to find a big treble with her opening nine darts, and she was ruthlessly punished by De Graaf, who left 78 after just 12 darts. Aileen endured some double-trouble, which had plagued her throughout the contest, but she eventually sealed the win with D4, to set up a quarter-final clash against her compatriot, Anca Zijlstra.
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