(Match reports by Robert Valdovinos)
Martin Knight bt. Josue Enriquez (11-2, 11-7, and 11-5) in 36 minutes
In another dominant display by the #1 tournament seed, Martin Knight beat Josue Enriquez in straight games to advance to the semifinals of the Rochester Pro-Am. The first game used a steady dose of drop shots to quickly beat the Guatemalan in 10 minutes of play. The second game was closer but did not end with a different result, Martin put Josue under a ton of pressure to finish the job at 11-7. Martin was a model of consistency during the third, using his length to put Josue under duress and used his precise shots to earn his points. It was an all-around great evening for Martin.
Clinton Leeuw bt. Thoboki Mohohlo (11-13, 11-4, 11-7, 7-11, and 11-9) in 57 minutes
In a battle between two similar styles, Clinton proved to be a better player by beating Thoboki in four games to meet Martin Knight in tomorrow’s semifinal. The first game remained close throughout its entirety as both players used a variation of squash techniques to take it to extra point, with Thoboki surfacing as the winner of the first game. In an act of true sportsmanship, Thoboki sailed a serve eight feet over the side wall, after the referee called a questionable let at 10-7 game ball for Thoboki. In the second, Clinton showed why he was the favorite coming into the match, he jumped to a quick lead and never looked back. The third followed a similar pattern, Clinton started to cut a majority of Thoboki’s shots to increase the tempo of the game, he won 11-7. In the fourth, Thoboki took the court by storm with his confidence and used a series of string of points to sneak out a close win at 11-7. These two excellent players brought all their intensity to the fifth game, as Clinton narrowly beat Thoboki with the help of an unforced error to cap his night.
Lewis Walters bt. Faraz Khan (11-6, 11-7, and 11-6) in 44 minutes
Being the last player with roots to the University of Rochester and with the home crowd on his side, Faraz Khan fell in three games against Lewis Walters of Jamaica. In the first, Faraz seemed to smack the ball with mighty strength, but Lewis worked him around the T and continued to bring the ball to the back to of the court. Faraz did not put pressure on Lewis and fell at 11-6. The second saw Faraz pull closer to Lewis as he built an early lead, but could not continue the pressure. He lost focused and even worse, lost 11-7 in the second. The third saw Faraz change his technique a bit, but Lewis’ outstanding length against the wall proved fatal. Lewis Walters beat Faraz Khan at in the fifth to advance to the semifinals.
Jan Van Der Herrewegen bt. Jesus Camacho (15-13, 8-11, 11-9, 7-11, and 11-9 ) in 122 minutes
The longest match of the day included again Jesus Camacho who fell in 5 games to the No. 2 seeded Jan Van Der Herrewegen. The match started with both players testing each other’s game with long rallies in the back of the court. After over 20 minutes of the first game, Van Der Herrewegen managed to close the game at 15-13 after having two game balls. Camacho came back on court with a more aggressive style which paid off and put the Mexican tied at 1-1. In the 3rd and 4th game both players were very cautious and pushed the game to its first 90 minutes of play. In the 5th Camacho seemed to have his confidence up and started going for winning shots of his volleys but a string of errors and a couple of what it seemed to be “harsh calls” put him down to 10-8. Camacho took an injury break to clean up blood from his right hand before coming back on court and scoring one more point. Van Der Herrewegen kept a fast tempo and closed the game with a tight ball on the forehand side that Camacho could not return. Today, Van Der Herrewegen will face Lewis Walters in the semifinals.
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