Tom Jarvis fell at the first hurdle of the WTT United States Smash in Las Vegas, going out in three to Taehyun Kim of Malta.

Left-handed Kim (WR 135) won the first three points of the match and although Jarvis closed to 5-6, another run of three gave Kim the buffer to go on and win the game 11-8.

Tom (WR 79) led for much of the second, including building up a 9-5 and then a 10-7 lead. However, Kim hit back with five successive points to steal the game.

That broke the back of the match and the South Korea-born Maltese dominated the third, taking it 11-3.

Liam Pitchford is seeded into the main draw, while he & Anna Hursey will compete in the Mixed Doubles – the draws are not yet out.

Result

Men’s Singles
Qualifying round 1
Taehyun Kim (MLT) bt Tom Jarvis 3-0 (11-8, 12-10, 11-3)