Sam Walker suffered disappointment at the Japan Open in Kobe, being beaten in the first round of all three competitions he entered.

In the Men’s Singles, a fine comeback from 3-0 down could not prevent him being beaten 4-2 by Russia’s Alexey Liventsov (7-11, 7-11, 5-11, 11-9, 11-5, 7-11).

In the under-21s, Walker again saw a fightback snuffed out, this time by Shodai Sakane of the host country, who won 3-2 (11-7, 11-3, 3-11, 8-11, 11-7).

And in the doubles, Walker and partner Enzo Angles of France were defeated 3-0 by Ahmet Li of Turkey and Eugene Wang of Canada (5-11, 8-11, 9-11).

Paul Stimpson
June 29, 2015