Connor Green & Tin-Tin Ho reached their second successive WTT Feeder Mixed Doubles final but could not make it back-to-back titles as they had to settle for silver at WTT Feeder Otocec in Slovenia.

Tom Jarvis suffered an agonising defeat in the Men’s Singles semi-finals, while Green went out to the third seed in a thrilling quarter-final and Ho defeated the second seed in the Women’s Singles.

WTT Feeder Dusseldorf champions Green & Ho, seeded second, were up against fourth seeds Keishi Hagihara & Kotomi Omoda of Japan in the final.

They never managed to get a lead in the first game, which their opponents won 11-8, but they did lead early in the second and at 9-9 it was anyone’s game – but it was the Japanese who took it to move one game away from gold.

Green & Ho hit back in the third, taking five points in a row from 7-6 down, and they led the fourth 5-3. However, they managed only one more point as Hagihara & Omoda put together two runs of four successive points to take the title.

Earlier, the English pair won through two rounds against Slovenian and Indian opponents to reach the semi-finals, where they breezed past Brin Vovk Petrovski & Sara Tokic of the host nation 3-0 (11-7, 11-6, 11-9).

In the Men’s Singles, Jarvis (WR 68) was seeded fourth and reached the semi-finals, where he faces Sweden’s experienced Mattias Karlsson, the eighth seed. The 2019 World Championships singles silver medallist and 2021 doubles gold medallist is currently ranked 110.

The pair traded the first four games, Jarvis hitting back from behind on each occasion. The two games won by Karlsson had seen him notch a six-point run, but it was different in the decider as no player scored more than two in a row.

Both profited from some luck at times, Jarvis probably having the lion’s share, but it was Karlsson who had the bulk of the match points. Jarvis saved them at 10-9 and 11-10 before Karlsson save Jarvis’ sole match point at 12-11. Jarvis saved two more, but Karlsson finally took his fifth chance to go through to the final and leave Jarvis still searching for a first WTT singles title.

Earlier, Green (WR 259) got through the first round with relative ease against lower-ranked Maxime Antoine Michard of France to set up a tie against Leonardo Iizuka (WR 122) of Brazil, the 10th seed.

Green twice led the match but was pegged back each time, missing out on two match points at 10-8 in the fourth, which Iizuka took 12-10.

But Green recovered from that disappointment to lead all the way in the decider, going 4-0 and 8-3 up and taking it 11-6 to set up a last-16 tie against Germany’s Kay Stumper (WR 107), the seventh seed.

Having lost the first game 11-8, Green hit back with three points in a row at the end of the second, winning it 11-9. A run of five points from 5-4 down in the third then set the platform to win it 11-7 and move in front. The fourth saw both players lead, but it was Green who got to 10 first and although he couldn’t take his first match point, he took the second.

His next match was against third seed Kazuki Hamada (WR 63) of Japan and it turned into an absolute thriller.

Hamada took the first 11-9, staying in front in the second half of the game, but Green took charge of the second with a run of six points and went on to win 11-7.

Hamada then reversed the momentum and won the third 11-4, before another run of six saw Green level again in the fourth, 11-6. The decider contained 34 points and both players had match points – Green at 10-8, 11-10, 14-13 and 15-14 and Hamada at 12-11, 13-12 and 16-15. All were saved before Hamada finally broke Green’s heart to take the game 18-16 and go through to the semi-finals.

In his earlier rounds, Jarvis (WR 68) had a bye into the last 32, where he defeated qualifier David Szantosi of Hungary, recovering a 2-1 deficit to win 3-2 – 11-8 in the decider.

He next played 14th seed Lin Yen-Chun (WR 146) of Chinese Taipei and it turned into a dramatic match. Jarvis saved two game points in the first before losing it 13-11, but he hit back as he was never behind in the second or third, which he won 7 and 9.

From 8-8 in the fourth, Lin won the next three points to level the match, but Jarvis steadily pulled ahead in the decider to bring up six match points. Four were saved, but Jarvis finally took his chance, letting out a bellow as he completed victory.

Jarvis faced Chang Yu-An (WR 82), the fifth seed also from Chinese Taipei, in the quarters. Chang’s run of six points from 5-4 down set him up to win the first, though it was an 11-9 margin in the end as Jarvis saved four game points.

The Englishman hit back to take the second 11-8 and he took the third 13-11 after both players had missed a game point. He then showed tremendous heart in the fourth to save two game points at 10-8 down and then a further two, before taking his first match point in winning the game 14-12 to set up that semi-final against Karlsson.

Sam Walker (WR 221) was knocked out in the Round of 64 in five games by Mihai Bobocica of Italy (WR 206).

In the Women’s Singles, having got past Katarina Strazar of the host nation in three straight in the Round of 64, Ho was up against Lea Rakovac of Croatia in the last 32.

Ho (WR 181) edged a tight first 11-9 and then led throughout the second, taking it 11-7.

The third saw Ho fight back from 6-2 down to level at 8-8 and from then on, both players traded chances to win the game. Ho saved five game points and missed two match points before Rakovac finally clinched the game 18-16.

When she then took the first three points of the fourth game, it look as if the momentum might shift, but Ho fought back and five points in a row to go 8-4 up put her back in charge and she went on to take the game and the match.

Her opponent in the last 16 was Japanese 15th seed Kotomi Omoda (WR 131), and Ho was unfortunate to miss out in three close games.

Ho had four chances to win the first game, and also saved two game points before her opponent eventually won it 17-15. The second saw Omoda always in front in winning 11-7, but Ho was in front 9-7 in the third before Omoda won the next four points to seal her quarter-final place.

In the Men’s Doubles, Green & Walker lost out in three to Japanese fourth seeds Kazuki Hamada & Kanta Tokuda in the first round.

Results

Men’s Singles
Round of 64
Connor Green bt Maxime Antoine Michard (FRA) 3-1 (11-8, 11-7, 4-11, 11-6)
Mihai Bobocica (ITA) bt Sam Walker 3-2 (14-12, 9-11, 11-8, 7-11, 11-4)

Round of 32
Tom Jarvis bt David Szantosi (HUN) 3-2 (11-6, 9-11, 8-11, 11-7, 11-8)
Green bt Leonardo Iizuka (BRA) 3-2 (11-9, 5-11, 11-7, 10-12, 11-6)

Round of 16
Jarvis bt Lin Yen-Chun (TPE) 3-2 (11-13, 11-7, 11-9, 8-11, 11-8)
Green bt Kay Stumper (GER) 3-1 (8-11, 11-9, 11-7, 12-10)

Quarter-finals
Jarvis bt Chang Yu-An (TPE) 3-1 (9-11, 11-8, 13-11, 14-12)
Kazuki Hamada (JPN) bt Green 3-2 (11-9, 7-11, 11-4, 6-11, 18-16)

Semi-finals
Mattias Karlsson (SWE) bt Jarvis 3-2 (11-8, 9-11, 1-7, 8-11, 16-14)

Women’s Singles
Round of 64
Tin-Tin Ho bt Katarina Strazar (SLO) 3-0 (11-6, 12-10, 11-3)

Round of 32
Ho bt Lea Rakovac (CRO) 3-1 (11-9, 11-7, 16-18, 11-7)

Round of 16
Kotomi Omoda (JPN) bt Ho 3-0 (17-15, 11-7, 11-9)

Men’s Doubles
Round of 16
Kazuki Hamada & Kanta Tokuda (JPN) bt Connor Green & Sam Walker 3-0 (13-11, 11-8, 11-5)

Mixed Doubles
Round of 16
Connor Green & Tin-Tin Ho bt Miha Podobnik & Katarina Strazar (SLO) 3-0 (11-5, 11-5, 13-11)

Quarter-finals
Green & Ho bt Riyan Dutta & Hardee Patel (IND) 3-1 (11-4, 8-11, 13-11, 11-5)

Semi-finals
Green & Ho bt Brin Vovk Petrovski & Sara Tokic (SLO) 3-0 (11-7, 11-6, 11-9)

Final
Keishi Hagihara & Kotomi Omoda (JPN) bt Green & Ho 3-1 (11-8, 11-9, 7-11, 11-6)