Louisville Open: Mekbib Halts Gordon to Reach Last Eight

World No.102 Daniel Mekbib was the only non-seeded player to secure victory in round two of the Louisville Open, PSA Challenger 20 event as he took out No.8 seed Christopher Gordon in straight games at the Louisville Boatclub.

Mekbib and Gordon were meeting for only the second time on the PSA Tour, with Mekbib winning their previous encounter at the 2020 Oregon Open. History repeated itself as the Czech 31-year-old completed a 12-10, 11-7, 11-4 victory in 33 minutes.

Mekbib will face another player from the United States – Faraz Khan – in the quarter-finals, with Khan dispatching Malaysia’s Sanjay Jeeva 3-2.

Meanwhile, top seed Leonel Cardenas was tested against World No.123 Veer Chotrani but came back from 2-1 down to secure an 6-11, 12-10, 4-11, 11-9, 11-4 win. The Mexican will take on Colombia’s Juan Camilo Vargas for a place in the semi-finals. Vargas overcame New Zealand’s Temwa Chileshe in straight games.

Chileshe’s twin brother – Lwamba – also saw his tournament come to an end at the hands of No.2 seed Timothy Brownell, falling to a 3-0 defeat. Brownell’s next opponent will be Egypt’s Ibrahim Elkabbani, who required five games to see off the threat of Colombia’s Andres Herrera.

The other quarter-final match will feature No.3 seed Leandro Romiglio and No.5 seed Rui Soares after they completed respective wins over Egypt’s Aly Hussein and Frenchman Edwin Clain.

Results – Second Round: 2023 Louisville Open

[1] Leonel Cardenas (MEX) bt Veer Chotrani (IND) 3-2: 6-11, 12-10, 4-11, 11-9, 11-4 (62m)

[6] Juan Camilo Vargas (COL) bt [9/16] Temwa Chileshe (NZL) 3-0: 11-6, 11-8, 11-6 (32m)

[5] Rui Soares (POR) bt [9/16] Edwin Clain (FRA) 3-1: 11-3, 4-11, 11-5, 11-8 (42m)

[3] Leandro Romiglio (ARG) bt [9/16] Aly Hussein (EGY) 3-2: 6-11, 4-11, 13-11, 11-8, 11-3 (95m)

[4] Faraz Khan (USA) bt [9/16] Sanjay Jeeva (MAS) 3-2: 7-11, 9-11, 13-11, 11-7, 11-6 (63m)

Daniel Mekbib (CZE) bt [8] Christopher Gordon (USA) 3-0: 12-10, 11-7, 11-4 (33m)

[7] Ibrahim Elkabbani (EGY) bt [9/16] Andrés Herrera (COL) 3-2: 2-11, 11-7, 11-6, 8-11, 11-7 (70m)

[2] Timothy Brownell (USA) bt [9/16] Lwamba Chileshe (NZL) 3-0: 11-9, 11-6, 11-6 (34m)

Draw – Quarter-Finals

[1] Leonel Cardenas (MEX) v [6] Juan Camilo Vargas (COL)

[5] Rui Soares (POR) v [3] Leandro Romiglio (ARG)

[4] Faraz Khan (USA) v Daniel Mekbib (CZE)

[7] Ibrahim Elkabbani (EGY) v [2] Timothy Brownell (USA)