WLJ Capital Boston Open 2018
24-28 Oct, Framingham, Usa, $11k

[7] Robertino Pezzota (Arg) 3-0 [4] Alfredo Avila (Mex)
             11-9, 13-11, 11-9

Full house here in Boston and the crowd was anticipating a great final and looking forward to it.

First game started at the very high pace it was expected to be at. Neither player could get more than a one-point lead. Robertino using his signature forehand volley drop shot that he has been punishing all players with all tournament, Alredo using his basic, high pressure game to force errors out of Robertino’s backhand. Robertino manages to win the first 11/9.

Alfredo come back firing second game and always kept a one or 2-point lead. He stretched the court and moved Robertino around in every corner. But juts when you think the Argentinian would give up, he keeps coming back stronger. Multiple exchanges of BRUTAL rallies and Robertino is NOT GIVING UP. He still manages somehow to take the 2nd game 13/11.

3rd game was no different than 2nd and 3rd games. Alfredo didn’t do anything wrong, Robertino did EVERYTHING right. He lunged every inch of the court and made no errors. Robertino wins the 3rd game, match and tournament.

Live Scoring

Photos by Matthew Pace

* = 9/16 seed

Semi-Finals

Roberto Pezzotta and Alfredo Avila set to meet at a the WLJ Capital Boston Open 2018. The route to the final was NOT easy for either players.

Roberto Pezotta 3-1 Carlos Carnes

Roberto started the match at the same high pace play he maintained throughout the tournament. First game, play was level but Roberto managed to close the game out by hitting 2 good winners at 8-8. Second game was a carbon copy of the first game but with more physical interference and contact.

Roberto managed to keep a 2-point lead through out the game but Carlos dug in very deep to level the game at 9-9. After an exchange of a few fast and furious rallies and a couple errors from Robertino who seemed a bit tired, Carlos takes the 2nd game 13-11.

3rd game was level to 6-6, both players seemed to have heavy legs but Roberto was mentally tougher, played more disciplined squash then hit 4 winner boasts to snatch the game 11-6.

4th fourth was level with close to no errors from both players. Both players exchanged very long, physically and mentally brutal rallies. Roberto takes the fourth 13/11 after two errors from Carlos at the tie break.

Alfredo Avila 3-1 Mohamed El Sherbini

Another amazing performance from Alfredo who seems to be unstoppable at the moment. Very aggressive, tight squash.

He retrieved every shot Sherbini attempted to put away, extended the rallies and forced errors out of Sherbini. First 3 games were very tight.

Sherbini retires at 2/1 8/1 down with a leg injury.

Live Scoring

Photos by Matthew Pace

Quarter-Finals

Mohamed el Sherbini 3-1 Mario Yanez

First game of the evening between the number one seed Mohamed El Sherbini and Mario Yanez of Mexico . First game was very tight and went to Mario after a few unforced errors by Sherbini during the tie break. Sherbini came back firing the second game, upped the pace and forced more errors out of Mario who seemed less sharp mentally and physically.

Third and fourth game saw “exhibition” style squash, both players worked all four corners every rally and hit every shot in the book. Sherbini was the sharper side and moved on to the semis in four.

Alfredo Avila 3-2 Victor Crounin

Good first game between two very consistent, fit players. After an exchange of very long rallies and very ‘safe’ squash, Victor fought back from 2/8 down to take the first 12/10.

Victor always had the upper hand during the second game. Game experienced a long stoppage after Alfredo twisted his ankle. Play was resumed after Alfredo got some medical assistance, Victor takes second game 11/6.
Alfredo came back more focused in the third and tried to get back in the game, he played very aggressive squash and made zero errors all game to win 11/8. GAME ON!

Huge come back from Alfredo winning 4th and 5th. Alfredo’s experience made all the difference as Victor fell into committing way too many unforced errors. Alfredo advances to Semi finals to set up an encounter with number one seed Mohamed el Sherbini.


Robertino Pezzotta 3-0 Shawn Delierre

The ‘Fast’ and the ‘Furious’ is the only way to describe the first two game. Both players went for a very high pace game during the first and second. Play seemed a bit ‘scattered’ and sometime messy from both players but Robertino seemed to be able to close out the rallies and hit right winners.

Shawn went in the third and tried to ‘tidy up’ the game by playing more basic, deep and tight but Robertino was the sharper player Tonight.

Carlos Cornes 3- Chris Binnie

Comments: One side game as Carlos dominated games one and two. Chris retired in the third due to a foot injury.

Live Scoring

Photos by Matthew Pace

Day Two

Day 2 Summary: Late night here in Boston. Two upsets as Carlos Ribadas takes out second seed Chris Grodon in 4, and Mario Yanez comes back from 0/2 to save 5 match balls and snatches a 3/2 win against Bernat Jaume.

Mohamed ElSherbini 3-0 Nicholas Sachvie

Mohamed played a very controlled and tight game to win 3-0. He played every shot in the book and played all the winning shots at the right time to leave Nick very little chance to get a head of Mohamed. While the first 2 games were very quick, the third game was tight and the end Mohamed managed to squeeze through.

Mario Yanez 3-2 Bernat Jaume

Score line shows how tight this one was. Mario managed to squeezed a well-deserved win after being 2/0 5/10 down. Game 1 and 2 saw Bernat more comfortable playing at the high pace game he liked, first 2 games were still tight but Bernat managed to put enough pressure on Mario and squeeze more errors out of him.

Third game was no different and saw Bernat go 10/5 match ball before losing his focus and making a few unforced errors. Mario dug in very deep to comeback and win the third. Mario slowed down the pace and played very consistent squash in the fourth and fifth and managed to make huge comeback and a well-deserved win.

Victor Crouin 3-0 Faraz Khan

Victor played a very solid 3 games leaving Faraz with no chance. Victor retrieved and played all the important shots which left Faraz always playing catch up in his games.

Alfredo Avila 3-1 Shahjahan Khan

Alfredo was the better player the first 2 games, he dictated the pace, was more aggressive and made very few errors. Shah came back more consistent in the third and managed to win the game before losing the fifth.

Shawn Delierre w/oZac Alexander
Zac Alexander pulled out of tournament due to hip injury.

Robertino Pezzota 3-2 Timmy Brownell

Robertino was the better player the entire match, he was sharper and more fit. Timmy didn’t have the legs to dig deeper as he seemed tired from his long match the night before. Good experience for Timmy and deserved win for Robertino.

Christopher Binnie 3-0 Josue Enriquez

Binnie came out with a plan and stuck with it beating Josue in 3 sets. First set was quick with the rallies very short but Josue nearly had the second but Binnie had the edge with a good winning shot that gave him a 2 love lead. The third he was 10-4 up made 3 errors and then won on a drop to clinch a 3-0 win

Carlos Cornes 3-1 Christopher Gordon

Very physical encounter between big players. After an hour of controversial calls, arguing with referees, plenty of physical contact and some good squash, Carlos managed to pull the biggest upset of the night by taking out the number 2 seed Christopher Gordon in 4.
 

Live Scoring

Photos by Matthew Pace

In The 4th and 5th game, Timmy started playing more aggressive Squash, used the 17” tin better, upped the pace and put more pressure on Juan using his volley and forehand low drives.

Good Squash and great sportsmanship from both players.

Mario Yanez 3-1 Mark Broekman

In the first 2 games Mario was too good and dictated a lot of the points and controlled the pace of the game well while hitting a lot of winners.

In the third game Mark got a bit of momentum and slowed the pace down a little that suited him more and got a good run of points to take the third. The fourth game was close all the way to the end but 2 outright winners for 9/9 meant that Mario took it.

Shah Khan 3-0 Ahmed Swaify

1ST game was one sided as Shah dictated the pace and played more disciplined basic Squash and made zero errors. Ahmed came back stronger the second game, took a step up the T and started using his long reach and volleys to put some pressure on Shah but fell short during critical points.

he 3rd game saw Shah 8-2 up as he forced so many errors by squeezing the game on the backhand side. Ahmed put up a good fight and made a good comeback to level 9/9. Good exchange of rallies and a few saved match balls saw Shah win the 3rd 17-15.

Live Scoring

Photos by Matthew Pace

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