Louisville Open RD2: Gobbi, Hussein and Irfan Down Seeds

There were a hat-trick of surprise results in the second round of the Sam Aguiar Louisville Open, as Pakistan’s Muhammad Ashab Irfan, Brazil’s Diego Gobbi and Egyptian Aly Hussein all defeated seeded opposition to make it through to the last eight of the Challenger 10 level tournament.

The three players all came into the event in Louisville, Kentucky unseeded, and Irfan took on No.6 seed Josue Enriquez for a place in the quarters. After winning the first game, the Pakistani then found himself 2-1 down after the third, but he was able to regroup to win a tight fourth 11-9, before then clinching victory with a 12-10 tie-break win in the fifth game, to set up a clash with the tournament’s top seed, USA’s Timothy Brownell, in the last eight.

In the top half of the draw, Brazil’s Diego Gobbi downed No.7 seed Noor Zaman, who featured for Pakistan at the WSF World Junior Championships last month, in straight games, needing just 19 minutes to advance to the quarter finals. He will be joined by Egypt’s Aly Hussein, who defeated No.8 seed Guilherme Melo, also in straight games.

The rest of the top five seeds all safely made it through to the quarter finals in Louisville, with No.2 seed Alfredo Avila set to take on Gobbi, while Hussein will now do battle with No.4 seed Daniel Mekbib of the Czech Republic. The last quarter final will see No.3 seed Andrew Douglas and No.5 seed Seif Shenawy go head-to-head.

The quarter finals of the Sam Aguiar Louisville Open will take place on Thursday, September 8 at both the Pendennis Club and the Louisville Boating Club, with the last eight doing battle to make it through to the semi-finals. You can keep up to date with live scores from the Challenger 10 level competition here.

Second Round Results: Sam Aguiar Louisville Open
[2] Alfredo Avila (MEX) bt Sanjay Jeeva (MAS) 3-0: 12-10, 11-8, 11-7 (41m)
Diego Gobbi (BRA) bt [7] Noor Zaman (PAK) 3-0: 11-8, 11-2, 11-7 (19m)
Aly Hussein (EGY) bt [8] Guilherme Melo (BRA) 3-0: 11-9, 11-7, 11-8 (47m)
[4] Daniel Mekbib (CZE) bt Abhishek Agarwal (IND) 3-1: 11-4, 11-2, 6-11, 11-8 (42m)
[3] Andrew Douglas (USA) bt Veer Chotrani (IND) 3-2: 8-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-7, 11-7 (60m)
[5] Seif Shenawy (EGY) bt Mark Broekman (ENG) 3-1: 11-9, 11-13, 11-8, 11-9 (36m)
Muhammad Ashab Irfan (PAK) bt [6] Josue Enriquez (GUA) 3-2: 11-6, 4-11, 8-11, 11-9, 12-10 (75m)
[1] Timothy Brownell (USA) bt Nasir Iqbal (PAK) 3-1: 11-9, 7-11, 12-10, 11-9 (58m)

Quarter Final Draw: To Be Played Thursday, September 8
[2] Alfredo Avila (MEX) v Diego Gobbi (BRA)
Aly Hussein (EGY) v [4] Daniel Mekbib (CZE)
[3] Andrew Douglas (USA) v [5] Seif Shenawy (EGY)
Muhammad Ashab Irfan (PAK) v [1] Timothy Brownell (USA)