Rochester ProAm RD1: Wildcard Yanez Into Second Round

Tournament wildcard Mario Yanez is through to the second round of the Rochester ProAm after beating Pakistan’s Ahsan Ayaz in straight games.

The Mexican, who is also the tournament promoter, won this event back in 2018, is the wildcard this year, and he came up against Ayaz in the opening round. Yanez won a first game tie-break 14-12, and that was crucial, as it gave him the momentum, and he went on to win in three to set up a clash with No.5 seed Connor Turk in the last 16.

The eight winners on the opening day were from eight different nations. American Hollis Robertson, featuring on home soil, got the win in his first ever Challenger Tour match. He played at the J.P. Morgan Tournament of Champions earlier this year, but on his Challenger Tour debut, he defeated Pakistan’s Zahir Shah in straight games.

England’s Jonah Bryant, Pakistan’s Saeed Abdul, India’s Veer Chotrani and Brazil’s Vinicius Leao Rodrigues also won in three, while Hong Kong’s Matthew Lai and Colombia’s Nicolas Serna booked their spots with four-game victories.

The second round of the Rochester ProAm will take place on Thursday, April 20 as the seeds come into the draw. You can keep up to date with daily updates from the tournament on the PSA Challenger Tour’s Twitter and Facebook. 

First Round Results: Rochester ProAm
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)

Second Round Draw: To Be Played Thursday, April 20
[2] Aly Hussein (EGY) v Jonah Bryant (ENG)
[WC] Mario Yanez (MEX) v [5] Connor Turk (CAN)
[7] Diego Gobbi (BRA) v Saeed Abdul (PAK)
Hollis Robertson (USA) v [3] Jeremias Azana (ARG)
[4] Mohamed Nasser (EGY) v Veer Chotrani (IND)
Vinicius Leao Rodrigues (BRA) v [8] Harley Lam (HKG)
[6] Mohamed Nabil (EGY) v Matthew Lai (HKG)
Nicolas Serna (COL) v [1] Yassin Elshafei (EGY)