Rochester ProAm Preview: Broekman Excited For More Tour Events

The only event not to take place on European soil this week will be the Rochester ProAm, with action taking place across two venues at the American city, starting from Wednesday, April 6.

After winning the White Oaks Classic at the weekend, Czech Republic’s Daniel Mekbib comes into this Challenger 5 level competition as the top seed, and he will be aiming for back-to-back wins.

Egypt’s Aly Hussein, England’s Mark Broekman and Mexican Miled Zarazua make up the rest of the top four seeds, in an international draw. We spoke to the Englishman prior to the event, and although he has not been able to train as much as he would have liked, he believes he is pretty close to being ready once the tournament starts.

“I have just finished my high school coaching season so getting in a good block of consistent training has been difficult,” he explained.

“Having said that, I don’t think I am far off feeling match ready, and I am excited to be playing some PSA Tour events again.

“Since COVID, the rankings for Challenger Tour players have been very jumbled up. There are some very dangerous lower ranked players and even wildcards in this event that could go far in the tournament.”

Broekman made it into the top 150 in the world rankings at the back end of 2021, something he says was a big goal of his. However, anything further than that in the rankings would be a bonus for the 29-year-old.

“Yes, being officially a top 150 ranked PSA squash player was a huge goal for me so I was happy to achieve that late last year,” he admitted.

“The Tour has so much depth now that top 100 may be a stretch. I love to travel, meet new people, and compete whenever possible, this for me is why I still want to play, a higher world ranking is just a bonus for me at this stage.”

The event takes place from Wednesday, April 6 to Sunday, April 10 at the Genesee Valley Club and University of Rochester. Follow the PSA Challenger Tour on *Twitter* and *Facebook* for daily updates from the event.

First Round Draw: Rochester ProAm
[1] Daniel Mekbib (CZE) – [Bye]
Mohamed Nabil (EGY) v [9/16] Andres Villamizar (COL)
[9/16] Chris Fuller (ENG) v Daren Ramsey (ENG)
[7] Allan Nunez (MEX) – [Bye]
[6] Alejandro Reyes (MEX) – [Bye]
Muhammad Ibrahim Noorani (PAK) v [9/16] Muhammad Farhan Hashmi (PAK)
[9/16] Asyraf Azan (MAS) v [WC] Quinlan Jeudy (USA)
[3] Mark Broekman (ENG) – [Bye]
[4] Miled Zarazua (MEX) – [Bye]
[WC] Veer Chotrani (IND) v [9/16] Cory McCartney (CAN)
[9/16] Karim Elbarbary (EGY) v [WC} Mario Yanez (MEX)
[8] Tobias Weggen (GER) – [Bye]
[5] Nicholas Calvert (AUS) – [Bye]
Sanjay Jeeva (MAS) v [9/16] Darosham Khan (CAN)
[9/16] Lewis Doughty (ENG) v [WC] Yash Fadte (IND)
[2] Aly Hussein (EGY) – [Bye]