Tianer Yu beat the world No 9 Junior – and another top 20 player – as she reached the quarter-finals of WTT Youth Star Contender Doha.
The England No 2, currently at No 57 on the Junior list, was drawn to face second seed and world No 9 Chen Min-Hsin of Chinese Taipei in the group stage.
It turned into a brilliant encounter as Yu recovered from losing the first to go 2-1 up, then saw her opponent edge her out 13-11 in the fourth. But Yu kept her nerve to shade the decider 12-10.
The last 16 match saw Yu, at the bottom of the draw, face Germany’s Koharu Itagaki (WR 20), the seventh seed. Having won two close games, Yu then held a match point in the third, only for Itagaki to save it and take the game 12-10.
But Yu’s response was emphatic, only allowing her opponent three points in the fourth and sealing her victory with a run of five points.
That set up a quarter-final tie with India’s Divyanshi Bhowmick, the fifth seed and world No 16 Junior. Bhowmick kept Yu at arm’s length in the first two games, bu Yu hit back 11-9 in the third. However, Bhowmick won the fourth by the same margin to move into the semi-finals.
Yu is also due to compete at the (Senior) WTT Feeder Doha which follows this event.
Tianer Yu will compete in the second of three back-to-back events in Doha when the WTT Youth Star Contender gets under way on Friday.
Having reached the last 16 at the WTT Youth Contender at the same venue, Yu is seeded to get to at least the same stage of the Under-19 Girls’ Singles this time around.
Ranked No 57 on the Junior list, she is seeded second in group 2, where she will face the second seed from Chinese Taipei, Chen Min-Hsin, ranked No 9.
The other two players in the group are Elina Fuchs (WR 105) of Austria and Yasmina El Habech (WR 656) of Lebanon, with the top two going through to the knockouts.
The event is again a strong one, with seven top-20 players and 14 from inside the top 50.
Results
Under-19 Girls’ Singles
Qualifying group 2
Tianer Yu bt Yasmina El Habech (LBN) 3-0 (11-3, 11-3, 11-2)
Yu bt Chen Min-Hsin (TPE) 3-2 (6-11, 11-4, 11-6, 11-13, 12-10)
Yu bt Elina Fuchs (AUT) 3-0 (11-3, 11-6, 11-6)
Round of 16
Yu bt Koharu Itagaki (GER) 3-1 (11-8, 11-9, 10-12, 11-3)
Quarter-finals
Divyanshi Bhowmick (IND) bt Yu 3-1 (11-7, 11-5, 9-11, 11-9)
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