Rochester ProAm: Elshafei Claims Second Win In April

April has been a good month for Egypt’s Yassin Elshafei, as he secured a second title, winning the Rochester ProAm on Sunday evening.

The Egyptian came into the Challenger 5 level competition as the top seed, and in good form having won the UCNY PSA Classic just six days earlier.

After a first round bye, the Egyptian then downed Colombia’s Nicolas Serna to start his campaign, before then also beating Hong Kong’s Matthew Lai in straight games. That put Elshafei through to the semi-finals at the University of Rochester. 

He came up against India’s Veer Chotrani, one of the surprise packages of the event, in the last four. The Indian led twice, and Elshafei had to save the match in a fourth game tie-break. He did so, and went on to win the fifth game 11-5 to book his place in another final.

There was a sense of deja vu in the final, as for the second time in 11 days, Elshafei did battle with compatriot Aly Hussein. In New York, it was a three-game contest, but it was more difficult this week. Elshafei recovered from losing the fourth game 11-2 to take the deciding game 11-8, and to secure his second victory in the space of two weeks.

Results: Rochester ProAm
Final
[1] Yassin Elshafei (EGY) bt [2] Aly Hussein (EGY) 3-2: 8-11, 11-8, 11-8, 2-11, 11-8 (68m)

Semi-Finals
[2] Aly Hussein (EGY) bt [3] Jeremias Azana (ARG) 3-0: 11-8, 11-5, 11-1 (56m)
[1] Yassin Elshafei (EGY) bt Veer Chotrani (IND) 3-2: 10-12, 11-6, 7-11, 12-10, 11-5 (57m)

Quarter Finals
[2] Aly Hussein (EGY) bt [WC] Mario Yanez (MEX) 3-0: 11-0, 11-4, 11-8 (56m)
[3] Jeremias Azana (ARG) bt [7] Diego Gobbi (BRA) 3-2: 11-6, 5-11, 8-11, 11-6, 11-6 (60m)
Veer Chotrani (IND) bt Vinicius Leao Rodrigues (BRA) 3-2: 8-11, 5-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-3 (58m)
[1] Yassin Elshafei (EGY) bt Matthew Lai (HKG) 3-0: 11-5, 11-4, 11-4 (40m)

Second Round
[2] Aly Hussein (EGY) bt Jonah Bryant (ENG) 3-0: 11-7, 11-9, 12-10 (70m)
[WC] Mario Yanez (MEX) bt [5] Connor Turk (CAN) 3-0: 11-6, 12-10, 11-1 (35m)
[7] Diego Gobbi (BRA) bt Saeed Abdul (PAK) 3-0: 11-3, 11-3, 11-5 (40m)
[3] Jeremias Azana (ARG) bt Hollis Robertson (USA) 3-1: 10-12, 11-2, 11-9, 11-6 (46m)
Veer Chotrani (IND) bt [4] Mohamed Nasser (EGY) 3-0: 11-8, 11-6, 11-7 (45m)
Vinicius Leao Rodrigues (BRA) bt [8] Harley Lam (HKG) 3-0: 11-9, 11-6, 11-5 (42m)
Matthew Lai (HKG) bt [6] Mohamed Nabil (EGY) 3-0: 11-3, 11-6, 11-9 (44m)
[1] Yassin Elshafei (EGY) bt Nicolas Serna (COL) 3-0: 11-5, 11-8, 11-8 (34m)

First Round
Jonah Bryant (ENG) bt Jayden Shortt (CAN) 3-0: 11-3, 11-7, 11-2 (35m)
[WC] Mario Yanez (MEX) bt Ahsan Ayaz (PAK) 3-0: 14-12, 11-9, 11-6 (40m)
Saeed Abdul (PAK) bt Juan Hernandez (COL) 3-0: 11-8, 11-9, 11-6 (42m)
Hollis Robertson (USA) bt Zahir Shah (PAK) 3-0: 11-5, 11-2, 15-13 (40m)
Veer Chotrani (IND) bt [WC] Marc Voloshin (USA) 3-0: 11-4, 11-8, 11-4 (38m)
Vinicius Leao Rodrigues (BRA) bt [WC] Quinlan Jeudy (USA) 3-0: 11-3, 11-3, 11-4 (37m)
Matthew Lai (HKG) bt Dylan Kachur (USA) 3-1: 11-1, 6-11, 11-1, 11-8 (43m)
Nicolas Serna (COL) bt Abdul Malik Khan (PAK) 3-1: 11-8, 11-3, 7-11, 11-4 (52m)