English interest in the singles and doubles at the China Smash in Beijing has ended.
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Tom Jarvis met Germany’s Benedikt Duda (WR 37) in the last 64 of the Men’s Singles and it went the distance before the German claimed victory.
Jarvis (WR 46) trailed 8-5 early on, but hit back to set up game point at 10-9. That one was saved, as were two subsequent opportunities, but Jarvis clinched the game 14-12.
Duda took six successive points from 5-3 to win the second, but it was Jarvis’ turn to have a run in the third game, which he won 11-9, having gone from 5-8 down to 10-8 up.
Jarvis won the first five points of game four, but Duda took the next five and went on to win the game 11-9 on his second game point.
The German controlled the decider with five of the first six points and a later run of five to go 10-4 up – and he completed his victory on his third match point.
Liam Pitchford, playing at his third WTT tournament since returning from a hip operation and in good form with four wins out of four in the Bundesliga recently, defeated Canada’s Edward Ly (WR 109) in the first qualifying round and then put in a dominant performance to sink Poland’s Maciej Kubik (WR 111).
Cedric Nuytinck (WR 59) of Belgium was his next opponent in the third and final qualifying round and Pitchford led the first game 9-7, only for his opponent to reel off the next four points.
Left-hander Nuytinck doubled his advantage with another run of four, this time from 7-5 up, in the second game, but Pitchford flew through the third 11-3, ending it with a run of six points.
Pitchford, currently on a protected world ranking of 75, was behind but in touch for the first half of game four, and a run of three points from 8-8 sealed it and took the match to a decider.
It was Nuytinck who got the better start, leading 3-0 and prompting Pitchford to take his timeout. He closed to 4-2, but Nuytinck was hitting more winners and pulled away to 9-4, taking his own timeout at that point, and got over the line two points later.
Earlier in the competition, Pitchford was only behind to Kubik after the first point of the match and quickly took charge, building a run of five points from 2-2 on his way to taking the first game 11-5.
The second was even more emphatic as he won the first eight points and took the game 11-3, and he completed victory 11-8 in the third, moving ahead from 3-3.
Pitchford was in charge for most of his first match, against Ly. He won five of the first six points of the match and pulled clear to take the first game 11-4, finishing with four successive points. He briefly trailed in the second but again finished strongly to double his lead.
Ly reduced the arrears in the third, with three runs of three points on his way to taking it 11-5, but Pitchford regained control and, although Ly fought back from 7-4 and 9-7 down to level, Pitchford won the next two points to seal the match 3-1 (11-4, 11-7, 5-11, 11-9).
Connor Green (WR 112) was edged out by Egypt’s Youssef Abdelaziz (WR 70) in a match which went the distance in the first qualifying round.
The English youngster led for most of the first game but then had to save a game point before taking his own first chance, sealing it 12-10. Abdelaziz hit back 11-9 having been in front for most of the second game, and then went in front as he took five successive points from 5-5 in the third.
There was never more than a point in it during the fourth, right up to 8-8, but Green then won three points in a row to take it to a decider. However, his opponent won the first four points of the fifth and steadlily opened up a 10-2 lead. Green dug in to save four match points, but the deficit was too much and Abdelaziz completed a 3-2 (10-12, 11-9, 11-7, 8-11, 11-6) victory.
In the Women’s Singles, Ho (WR 80) faced Chile’s Paulina Vega (WR 149) in the first qualifying round and put on in a controlled display to win in three straight.
She always led the first and five points in a row from 4-2 broke the back of the game, which she went on to win 11-5. The second was even more dominant, winning the first three points and 10 of the first 11. She took her third game points to open up a 2-0 lead.
The third was the only time Ho was behind in a game, trailing 4-1, but she recovered to lead 6-4. Although Vega twice recovered a two-point deficit, Ho bever trailed again and completed the win 11-9.
Ho met Audrey Zarif (WR 105) of France in the second qualifying round and suffered an agonising defeat as she led 2-0 and held two match points in the third before going out in a decider.
Ho took the first game 12-10 on her second game point and then led throughout the second, winning it 11-7. The third saw HO come from 8-5 down to set up a match point at 10-9 and another at 11-10, only for Zarif to steal the game 13-11.
Ho was 7-4 up in the fourth but did not win another point as Zarif stormed back – and the French athlete had truly changed the momentum as she then won the first four points of the decider and went on to win it 11-3.
Wales’ and GB’s Anna Hursey (WR 36) was defeated 3-1 (6-11, 11-8, 11-7, 17-15) by Chien Tung-Chuan (WR 52) of Chinese Taipei in the last 64 of the Women’s Singles.
Doubles
In the Mixed, Green & Ho dug deep to defeat Gustavo Gomez & Daniela Ortega of Chile 13-11 in the fifth in the round of 32.
The first game was a routine 11-3 scoreline for Green & Ho, but the Chileans found their game in the second and the lead swapped hands on a number of occasions before Green & Ho, who had missed one game point and then saved one, took the game 13-11.
Gomez & Ortega came from 3-2 down to lead the third 7-3, and that was enough of a buffer to take it 11-6, and it was an almost identical pattern in the fourth which they took 11-7 taving traiuled 3-2 and led 7-3.
The decider saw Green & Ho change ends at 5-4, but they soon trailed 8-5 – only to then put together a run of five points to bring up two match points. Those were saved by the Chileans, who then saved another at 11-10, before Green & Ho took their fourth chance to seal the match.
The English pair then played seventh seeds Lin Yun-Ju & Cheng I-Ching of Chinese Taipei and kept pace early on. However, a run of four points from 4-4 in the first game saw Lin & Cheng take control and they went on to win in three straight (8, 5, 5).
Hursey, alongside Denmark’s Anders Lind, had a walkover against Lubomir Pistej & Tatiana Kukulkova of Slovakia in the round of 32 and faced sixth seeds Dang Qiu & Sabine Winter of Germany in the last 16. In a pulsating match, they came from 2-1 down to win 3-2 (10-12, 11-7, 12-14, 14-12, 11-7), saving a match point in the fourth.
Top seeds Lim Jonghoon & Shin Yubin of South Korea proved too strong in the quarter-finals as they won 3-0 (11-2, 11-5, 14-12) – Lind & Hursey had four game points in the third and later saved two match points before the Koreans secured their passage.
In the Men’s Doubles, Jarvis & Green faced Chen Junsong & Zhou Qihao of China in the round of 32 and, despite a durable performance in which they notably won the third game 14-12, they were beaten in four games.
The first game saw the English pair come back from 5-0 down to lead 8-7, but their opponents took the next four points, and the Chinese duo led for all but the first point of the second, which they took 11-6.
The third saw Jarvis & Green in front for much of the time, but they had to save a match point at 10-9 and another at 12-11, either side of missing their own game point – but they did take their next chance, to prolong the match. Jarvis & Green led the fourth 6-5, but could only win one more points as they went out.
Hursey is playing with China’s Shi Xunyao in the Women’s Doubles. Seeded eighth, the pair had a bye into the round of 16, where they met Chinese pair Chen Yi & Li Yihui, but it was a 3-0 (12-10, 11-5, 11-9) defeat – though they did have a game point to take the first game.
Results
Men’s Singles
Qualifying round 1
Liam Pitchford bt Edward Ly (CAN) 3-1 (11-4, 11-7, 5-11, 11-9)
Youssef Abdelaziz (EGY) bt Connor Green 3-2 (10-12, 11-9, 11-7, 8-11, 11-6)
Qualifying round 2
Pitchford bt Maciej Kubik (POL) 3-0 (11-5, 11-3, 11-8)
Qualifying round 3
Cedric Nuytinck (BEL) bt Pitchford 3-2 (11-9, 11-5, 3-11, 8-11, 11-4)
Round of 64
Benedikt Duda (GER) bt Tom Jarvis 3-2 (12-14, 11-3, 9-11, 11-9, 11-6)
Women’s Singles
Qualifying round 1
Tin-Tin Ho bt Paulina Vega (CHI) 3-0 (11-5, 11-3, 11-9)
Qualifying round 2
Audrey Zarif (FRA) bt Ho 3-2 (10-12, 7-11, 13-11, 11-7, 11-3)
Men’s Doubles
Round of 32
Chen Junsong & Zhou Qihao (CHN) bt Tom Jarvis & Connor Green 3-1 (11-8, 11-6, 12-14, 11-7)
Mixed Doubles
Round of 32
Connor Green & Tin-Tin Ho bt Gustavo Gomez & Daniela Ortega (CHI) 3-2 (11-3, 13-11, 6-11, 7-11, 13-11
Round of 16
Lin Yun-Ju & Cheng I-Ching (TPE) bt Green & Ho 3-0 (11-8, 11-5, 11-5)
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