Withington run continues

The semi-finalists of the Pittsburgh Open were decided yesterday with England’s Finnlay Withington joining the top three seeds in the final four after another impressive performance saw him continue his run in the Silver level event.

Withington had defeated No.4 seed Yahya Elnawasany in the second round and yesterday, scored another ranking upset, beating Mohamed ElSherbini in straight games to reach his first ever Silver semi-final. 

The Manchester-born Englishman took the first game 11-7, showing his skill and flair paired with incredible movement. From there, ElSherbini showed little resistance to the play of Withington as he converted 11-2, 11-5 to book his spot in the semis in 38 minutes.

He’ll now face compatriot Marwan ElShorbagy for a spot in the final after the two-time runner up overcame Colombia’s Juan Vargas in four games. 

The top half of the draw will see a semi-final meeting between top seed Joel Makin and No.3 seed Leonel Cardenas. 

The Mexican was first victor on day three, as he ended home hopes, beating Timothy Brownell in straight games to advance to the final four. Cardenas saved a game ball in game one at 11-10 down but recovered strongly to steal the game 13-11 before going on to win 11-5, 11-8 in games two and three.

Top seed Makin booked his semi-final place with a straight games win over Egypt’s Adam Hawal. The Welshman made life difficult for the Egyptian from the outset and recorded an 11-4, 11-8, 11-5 victory over Hawal in 44 minutes.

Quarter-final results

[1] Joel Makin (WAL) bt Adam Hawal (EGY) 3-0: 11-4, 11-8, 11-5 (44m)

[3] Leonel Cardenas (MEX) bt [6] Timothy Brownell (USA) 3-0: 13-11, 11-5, 11-8 (45m)

Finnlay Withington (ENG) bt Mohamed ElSherbini (SLO) 3-0: 11-7, 11-2, 11-5 (38m)

[2] Marwan ElShorbagy (ENG) bt [7] Juan Vargas (COL) 3-1: 11-5, 5-11, 11-5, 11-7 (42m)