Sam Walker went out at the first hurdle at a strong WTT Star Contender Ljubljana.

Walker (WR 152) started in the first qualifying round, where he met Csaba Andras (WR 73) of Hungary, the 10th seed in qualifying.

Walker made a slow start as he lost the first game 11-3, but the second was much closer as Walker saved two game points and then missed two of his own before Andras sealed it 14-12.

Walker led the way in the third, pulling ahead to take it 11-6, and he led the fourth 8-5 only for Andras to reel off five points in a row to bring up two match points. Walker saved the first but could not save the second and Andras went through to the second of three qualifying rounds.

Follow the event on the WTT YouTube channel.

Tom Jarvis (WR 62) will start his campaign on Thursday, having been seeded direct to the main draw.  

The event features 12 of the world’s top 20, including top seed Felix Lebrun (WR 4), his brother Alexis, home favourite Darko Jorgic of Slovenia and world team champion Lin Shidong of China, who is the second seed.

Result

Men’s Singles
Qualifying round 1
Csaba Andras (HUN) bt Sam Walker 3-1 (11-3, 14-12, 6-11, 11-9)