Two boys and one girl remain undefeated after day one of the Junior National Cup in Milton Keynes.
Defending champion Tom Jarvis, No 2 seed Luke Savill and top girls’ seed Denise Payet are the trio who will be looking to convert their perfect starts into silverware on day two tomorrow in the round-robin event for the best young players in the country.
Boys
Tom Jarvis and Luke Savill remain the only unbeaten players after the first day, with the top two seeds on course for a pivotal meeting in the final of the tournament.
Josh Bennett and Matt Leete looked as if they would also end with five wins from five, but were both defeated in their final matches of the day.
The best match of the first round was a seven-set marathon between James Smith and Hobson, won 12-10 in the decider by Smith, who had trailed 2-0 and 3-2 in games.
The top four all won both their opening matches, while round 2 saw a first victory for Samuel Kwan, 4-2 against Joe Clark.
Kwan then came within a couple of points of defeating Leete, taking the third seed to 9-9 in the deciding seventh, having saved a match point in the sixth, only to lose the next two points.
That same third round saw Shayan Siraj, ranked fifth, get his campaign up and running with a 4-1 success against Josh Harland.
Hobson was off the mark in round 4 as he defeated Siraj in six, and Leete again nearly lost his unbeaten record as he was taken the distance by Clark, recovering from 2-0 down to lead 3-2 and then turning the momentum again after Clark took the sixth 11-3.
Four unbeaten became two in the fifth and final round of the day. Leete’s record went at the hands of Smith, who won 4-1 to ensure his day was book-ended by fine victories.
Bennett’s defeat was far more dramatic as he came from 3-0, 5-0 down in the fourth to force a decider and then saved four match points before Hobson finally took his chance in a match which adhered to the First Rule of Table Tennis Tournaments – that the final match of the day shall go to a decider.
Clark won his first match in the fifth round, enjoying a 4-0 (8, 8, 8, 8) win over Josh Harland.
Results
Round 1
Josh Bennett bt Samuel Kwan 4-2 (11-3, 8-11, 11-3, 6-11, 11-8, 11-3)
James Smith bt James Hobson 4-3 (5-11, 6-11, 11-8, 11-5, 6-11, 11-8, 12-10)
Luke Savill bt Joe Clark 4-1 (5-11, 11-6, 11-6, 13-11, 11-9)
Matt Leete bt Shayan Siraj 4-1 (11-5, 11-3, 8-11, 11-4, 11-7)
Tom Jarvis bt Josh Harland 4-1 (11-8, 11-4, 11-2, 11-13, 11-8)
Round 2
Leete bt Harland 4-2 (6-11, 13-11, 11-3, 9-11, 11-6, 11-3)
Bennett bt Siraj 4-1 (11-9, 11-3, 11-7, 10-12, 11-5)
Jarvis bt Hobson 4-0 (11-9, 11-7, 11-9, 11-6)
Savill bt Smith 4-0 (11-4, 11-6, 14-12, 12-10)
Kwan bt Clark 4-2 (6-11, 11-6, 11-7, 11-3, 11-13, 11-6)
Round 3
Bennett bt Smith 4-1 (11-8, 11-7, 9-11, 11-7, 11-4)
Jarvis bt Clark 4-0 (11-2, 11-6, 11-8, 13-11)
Leete bt Kwan 4-3 (11-8, 7-11, 6-11, 11-6, 11-7, 10-12, 11-9)
Siraj bt Harland 4-1 (11-7, 11-4, 14-12, 8-11, 12-10)
Savill bt Hobson 4-1 (10-12, 12-10, 11-7, 11-4, 11-7)
Round 4
Hobson bt Siraj 4-2 (4-11, 12-10, 11-8, 7-11, 11-8, 11-9)
Savill bt Kwan 4-1 (11-6, 11-5, 11-9, 8-11, 11-8)
Bennett bt Harland 4-0 (11-6, 11-6, 11-5, 11-7)
Jarvis bt Smith 4-0 (11-9, 11-4, 11-2, 11-8)
Leete bt Clark 4-3 (9-11, 8-11, 11-7, 11-7, 11-5, 3-11, 11-5)
Round 5
Jarvis bt Kwan 4-0 (11-4, 11-6, 11-6, 11-3)
Clark bt Harland 4-0 (11-8, 11-8, 11-8, 11-8)
Smith bt Leete 4-1 (11-7, 8-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-9)
Hobson bt Bennett 4-3 (11-8, 11-9, 11-9, 7-11, 9-11, 7-11, 11-9)
Savill bt Siraj 4-1 (11-9, 11-5, 11-7, 11-13, 11-9)
Girls
Can anybody stop Denise Payet? The top seed won all five matches on day one and, with no other players unbeaten, is in pole position to add the Junior event to the Cadet title she won last year.
Fourth seed Charlotte Bardsley and fifth seed Zahna Hall both withdrew on the morning of the competition with injury and illness respectively, leaving eight in the field.
The first round saw the first upset as Sarah Menghistab, seeded sixth of the remaining players, came from 2-0 down to defeat second seed Kate Cheer in six.
Cheer was again on the wrong end of a 4-2 scoreline in round two, this time at the hands of Jasmin Wong before getting herself off the mark in round 3 against Ruby Chan.
Mollie Patterson, who entered the fray in round two, beating Menghistab, added two significant scalps – third seed Duhan in the third round and second seed Cheer in the fourth – to emerge as the player most likely to threaten Payet’s supremacy.
They met in the day’s final round and when Patterson battled back from 2-0 down to level, it was very much in the balance. Payet won the fifth 11-3 and led the next 6-2. Patterson clawed back to 8-8 but three on the spin won it for Payet.
It all means it is the top seed’s to lose on day two, though Duhan, with three wins from four and due to play Payet in the penultimate round on Sunday, may yet have a say.
Results
Round 1
Denise Payet bt Sophie Barlow 4-1 (5-11, 11-6, 11-3, 11-6, 11-5)
Sarah Menghistab bt Kate Cheer 4-2 (6-11, 8-11, 11-5, 11-8, 11-7, 11-7)
Jasmin Wong bt Ruby Chan 4-2 (11-8, 11-7, 4-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-9)
Round 2
Gauri Duhan bt Barlow 4-0 (11-9, 13-11, 11-7, 11-5)
Payet bt Chan 4-0 (11-8, 11-8, 11-9, 11-6)
Wong bt Cheer 4-2 (13-11, 8-11, 7-11, 11-6, 13-11, 11-7)
Mollie Patterson bt Menghistab 4-1 (11-7, 8-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-7)
Round 3
Payet bt Meghistab 4-0 (12-10, 11-5, 11-6, 11-4)
Patterson bt Duhan 4-1 (11-2, 11-7, 7-11, 11-4, 11-9)
Cheer bt Chan 4-1 (11-8, 11-5, 5-11, 11-3, 11-7)
Round 4
Patterson bt Cheer 4-1 (6-11, 13-11, 11-3, 11-9, 11-2)
Payet bt Wong 4-1 (11-6, 11-8, 8-11, 11-6, 11-8)
Duhan bt Menghistab 4-1 (12-14, 11-1, 11-7, 11-4, 11-6)
Round 5
Payet bt Patterson 4-2 (11-7, 11-6, 9-11, 3011, 11-3, 11-8)
Menghistab bt Barlow 4-2 (11-6, 11-8, 11-6, 9-11, 8-11, 11-9)
Duhan bt Wong 4-0 (11-7, 11-5, 15-13, 13-11)