Egyptians El Hindi & El Sherbini To Battle For PST Providence Title
from Tour Media
March 31. 2012 - Egypt's Mohamed El Sherbini and Wael El Hindi advanced to the championship match of the Providence Open with wins over Americans Adrian Leanza and Ned Marks in Saturday evening's semi-finals.
Hindi's match featured the veteran shot maker dazzling the crowd with uncommon angled shots and top-spin shots that delighted the crowd at Brown University's Brodsky Squash Pavillion.
"Every time I see Hindi play, he brings something new to the court," said PST Commissioner Joe McManus. "And he looks to be in good form." Hindi won the match in a comfortable three games.
Sherbini's match took longer, but he looked comfortable at all times. Adrian Leanza, his opponent, last faced Sherbini in the quarter finals of the Cleveland Classic. The result in Cleveland was the same as tonight's, Sherbini in four.
Sherbini was very patient throughout the match. He forced Leanza to retrieve lobs and pick up drops. The American, who posesses legendary fitness was quite willing to return the shots. However, Sherbini seemed ready to return yet another, and another. It was a very clean and well played match. But the outcome never seemed in doubt tonight.
The finals pits two very similar players together. And this is no accident. Sherbini, who is still a teenager, grew up in Egypt idolizing now 31-year old Hindi.
"I know him well," said El Hindi. "We talk, we Skype, we text. We're close." The two, however, have never played each other in a competitive match. And no one is making any predictions.
"Make no mistake," said McManus, "every PST player will check their Facebook account Sunday night to see what happened in Providence."
Semi-final Results
Mohamed El Sherbini beat Adrian Leanza 11-5, 7-11, 11-6, 11-8
Wael El Hindi beat Ned Marks 11-6, 11-5, 11-7
Quarterfinal Report:
Mohamed El Sherbini and Eric "the Dalai" Lamsa opened the the quarter final round of the Providence Open today. Sherbini has not competed in PST action since December, but looked strong and confident taking the court. The opening game was tight as "the Dalai" hit several nicks that caught the young Egyptian off guard. However, this match belonged to Sherbini, who won in three.
Adrian Leanza and Andrew Kriete then took the court. Both are former #1 players on their college teams, Brown and Amherst. Both are young and fit. The pace of play was fast throughout the first two games as each tried to put the other player to the back glass. Both players like long rallies and want to wear their opponent down. Today, Leanza was the successful one in this regard. Although the first two games were fantastically close and well fought, game three was all Leanza as he cruised to a comfortable 11-4 victory and won the match in three games.
The Wilkinson v. Marks match was the longest and most intense of the day. Wilkinson started slow and hit many unforced tins. Marks took full advantage as he cruised to an 11-5 victory in game 1. The next three games were a see-saw battle. Both players are very clean players, who moved well around each other. An example of how fairly the players, were playng, the referee awarded a point to WIlkinson for a double bounce played by Marks. However, WIlkinson didn't accept the point because he thought Marks had picked up the shot cleanly. The appreciative crowd gave Wilkinson a warm applause for his integrity.
Marks closed out game two 11-9. But Wilkinson was showing life. After talking to his coaching team, he returned to the court and found better length on his drives. Games three and four were closely fought but went to Wilkinson 11-9, 11-8. Game five was all Marks though, as Wilkinson returned to hitting unforced errors. The score was 11-5.
PST's new star Wael El Hindi took to the court in the final match to face Brown University Captain Brad Thompson. Young Thompson earned a spot in the main draw with a qualifying round victory on Friday night. Although Thompson played well, El Hindi was too strong. The match went to the veteran Egyptian in three games.
Quarter final Results
Mohamed El Sherbini beat Eric Lamsa 12-10, 11-6, 11-4
Adrian Leanza beat Andrew Kriete 11-9, 13-11, 11-4
Ned Marks beat Sean Wilkinson 11-5, 11-9, 9-11, 8-11, 11-5
Wael El Hindi beat Bradbury Thompson 11-7, 11-7, 11-3
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