Tom Jarvis’ wait for a WTT title goes on after he was defeated in a tight four-game match by Joe Seyfried of France at WTT Feeder Dusseldorf in Germany.

Seyfried (WR 118) was unseeded but had defeated second seed Adrien Rassenfosse of Belgium in the semi-finals, having earlier also beaten the third and fifth seeds.

Fourth seed Jarvis (WR 72) was in his second Feeder singles final, having been defeated at the WTT Feeder Fremont in the USA in May 2022.

The final was a tight tussle, with both players going all out to win the title, and Jarvis had opportunities to tilt the balance his way.

Jarvis made the early running and led the first 6-1, but Seyfriend forced his way back. Jarvis was the first to game point, but the Frenchman saved it and took his chance to win the game 12-10. Jarvis hit back to win the second 11-8, taking the last three points of the game.

Jarvis built a 9-5 lead in the third, which was eroded to 9-8 before he brought up two game points. Seyfried saved those and another three and then took his own first chance, winning the game 15-13.

The fourth was also tight and again it was Jarvis who was first to game point, though only one on this occasion. Again, his opponent saved it and then took his own chance, sealing the game 12-10 and with it the title.

Jarvis had reached the final after two great wins over host-nation hopefuls. He saw off rising star Wim Verdonschot in the quarter-finals before demolishing Andre Bertelsmeier in the semis.

Verdonschot, who won his maiden WTT title in Gdansk, Poland, earlier this month took the first game thanks mainly to a run of four points from 6-6, but Jarvis hit back to take the second. He had a run of seven points from 1-2, only for his opponent to respond with a run of six to make it 8-8. But fourth seed Jarvis held firm to take the game 11-9.

11th seed Verdonschot led throughout the third, which he won 11-8, but Jarvis was never behind in taking the fourth 11-6 to send it to a decider.

After trailing early on, Jarvis took the lead at 4-3 and never relinquished it, going on to win the game 11-8 to set up a semi-final against Bertelsmeier, the eighth seed.

That turned into a nightmare for the German as Jarvis played an outstanding match, holding the upper hand throughout and on the rare occasions he was challenged, ruthlessly shutting down Bertelsmeier. The final score was 3-0 (11-3, 11-6, 11-5) as Jarvis powered into the final.

Previously, Jarvis defeated Elia Ranefur of Sweden in the round of 16. Ranefur took the opening game, 11-7 and led the second 4-0, but Jarvis powered past him by mid-game and went on to level the match 11-7.

The third saw Ranefur go from 5-3 down to 8-5 and 9-6 up before Jarvis went on a run of five to seal the game. He completed his victory 11-4 in the fourth.

What happened earlier in the competition?

Connor Green & Tin-Tin Ho saved two match points to reach the Mixed Doubles quarter-finals. Tom Jarvis started his singles campaign with a win, but there were defeats for Sam Walker and Ho.

Facing Elias Ranefur & Linda Bergstrom of Sweden in the last 16, Green & Ho lead throughout the first, apart from the opening point, taking it 11-5. But the tide appeared to have firmly turned in their opponents’ favour when the Swedish pair won the second and third for the combined loss of only seven points – including a run of 12 successive points from 2-1 down in the second.

Green & Ho had two chances to win the fourth at 10-8, but then had to save match points at 10-11 and 11-12 before they took their next game point to send it to a decider.

They were never behind in the fifth, and four successive points from 6-6 put them on the cusp of victory – they won it on their second match point.

Their opponents in the quarter-finals were the Luxembourg-Slovakia combination of Luka Mladenovic & Barbora Varady, and Green & Ho started well by taking the first game 11-8, taking the first three points and leading throughout.

However, their experienced opponents did not let them take the lead in any of the next three games, which they won 6, 6 and 3 to end the English pair’s run.

In the singles, Croatia’s Borna Petek is single-handedly ending the hopes of the English men, sinking Sam Walker in the last 64, having previously beaten Green in qualifying.

Walker (WR 176) saved a game point at 9-10 in the first, but then missed three chances of his own before Petek (WR 492) took it 15-13.

The Englishman made all the running in the second, taking it 11-4, but any thoughts of the momentum having shifted were snuffed out as Petek won six points in a row early on in the third, which he won 11-3.

Walker led the third 5-2 but saw his opponent fight back to 7-7. Three more points put Petek on the brink and, although Walker saved the first match point, he could not prevent the Croatian from going through to the last 32.

Petek had earlier defeated Green in three close games in the second qualifying round.

As the top-ranked player in qualifying, Green (WR 239) was given a bye through the first round. By contrast, his opponent had a good workout as he came from 2-0 down to defeat Tugay Yilmaz of Turkey.

Petek steadily pulled ahead in the first, though Green (pictured above) saved four game points before losing 11-9, and it was a similar story in the second, Petek winning four points in a row from 6-6 but Green saving three game points before losing, again by an 11-9 margin.

Green led a game for the first time in the third, after four in a row put him 7-5 up. But Petek fought back with four in a row of his own and, though Green levelled at 9-9, it was another 11-9 scoreline as Petek went through to the last qualifying round.

Fourth seed Jarvis entered the competition in the last 32, where he faced unranked Romain Brard of France, who has picked up some good results here and won four matches to get to this stage.

It looked like a routine win for the Englishman when he took the first two games 5 and 6, but Brard hit back, saving two match points in taking the third game 13-11. Jarvis was 4-1 down in the fourth but six successive points broke the back of the game and he moved into the last 16 to face Elias Ranefur of Sweden, the 14th seed.

In the Women’s Singles, there was no qualifying stage and Ho (WR 238) had a bye into the last 32, where she faced the 16th seed Reina Aso (WR 143) of Japan.

It was a 3-1 defeat for Ho, who led at the start of each of the first two games, but saw her higher-ranked opponent overtake her on both occasions.

Ho was on fire on the third, winning 10 points out of 11 from 1-1, but that momentum could not be sustained as Aso won the first three points and seven of the first 10 on her way to sealing victory.

Ho also faced Aso in the Women’s Doubles. Playing alongside Rachel Moret of Switzerland, they met third seeds Aso & Asuka Sasao in the last 16 and went down in four games, winning the third and leading the fourth 6-5 before the seeded pair kicked towards the finishing line.

Results

Men’s Singles
Qualifying round 2
Borna Petek (CRO) bt Connor Green 3-0 (11-9, 11-9, 11-9)

Round of 64
Borna Petek (CRO) bt Sam Walker 3-1 (15-13, 4-11, 11-3, 11-8)

Round of 32
Tom Jarvis bt Romain Brard (FRA) 3-1 (11-5, 11-6, 11-13, 11-9)

Round of 16
Elias Ranefur (SWE) 3-1 (7-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-4)

Quarter-finals
Jarvis bt Wim Verdonschot (GER) 3-2 (7-11, 11-9, 8-11, 11-6, 11-8)

Semi-finals
Jarvis bt Andre Bertelsmeier (GER) 3-0 (11-3, 11-6, 11-5)

Final
Joe Seyfried (FRA) bt Jarvis 3-1 (12-10, 8-11, 15-13, 12-10)

Women’s Singles
Round of 32
Reina Aso (JPN) bt Tin-Tin Ho 3-1 (11-6, 11-8, 2-11, 11-8)

Mixed Doubles
Round of 16
Connor Green & Tin-Tin Ho bt Elias Ranefur & Linda Bergstrom (SWE) 3-2 (11-5, 2-11, 6-11, 14-12, 11-7)

Quarter-finals
Luka Mladenovic (LUX) & Barbora Varady (SVK) bt Green & Ho 3-1 (8-11, 11-6, 11-6, 11-3)

Women’s Doubles
Round of 16
Asuka Sasao & Reina Aso (JPN) bt Tin-Tin Ho & Rachel Moret (SUI) 3-1 (11-7, 11-7, 8-11, 11-7)