Tin-Tin Ho reached the last 16 in the cadet girls singles as she continued her dream of winning the European Youth Championships.
The European number 5 will face the number 12 Marion Chomis (FRA) tomorrow after beating Greek competitor Filia Emiri 4-1 in the last 32.
Both herself and Helshan Weerasinghe reached the last 32 with comprehensive 4-0 wins over Dzenita Salihovic (BIH) and Fredrik Meringdal (NOR) respectively.
While Ho continued that form to beat Emiri, Weerasinghe found his game wanting as he was beaten in straight games by Russian defender Maxim Chaplygin.
A rarity on the circuit, Chaplygin proved that defense still has its merits at the highest level as Weerasinghe’s attacking prowess was not patient or consistent enough to get past the Russian’s excellent defence.
In the 4-0 win, Chaplygin hardly played an attacking stroke but relied instead on his defensive prowess as he forced Weerasinghe to make frequent mistakes. It would appear the next stage of advancement for the young Englishman is to train against some defenders so that he is thoroughly prepared for the next occasion.
Weerasinghe did however make up for his loss with a cadet boys double victory with Czech partner Tomas Polansky against the Dutch pair of Bas Hergelink and Stellan Smid.
Despite trailing 2-1, Weerasinghe and Polansky fought back to take the final two games 11-9 and 11-6.
The same unfortunately couldn’t be said for Sam Mabey and Daniel Lawrence who spurned three match points in their defeat to Darko Jorgic and Tom Sfiligoj.
They led 2-1 and 11-10 but failed to convert in the fourth before leading 10-8 in the fifth and again succumbing to their nerves as they went down 12-10 in a dramatic and heart-breaking encounter.
The cadet girls also fell to last 32 defeats with Ho and Lois Peake losing 3-1 to Simonet and Rehorkova (SUI) while Tsaptsinos and Czech partner Dagmar Penkavova lost 3-0 to Roza Soposki and Marion Chomis from France.
The last remaining junior doubles were also defeated as George Downing and Igor Morais lost to the difficult Michal Benes and Ondrej Bajger from Czech Republic while Yolanda King and Vicky Smith lost to Karin Adamkova and Tamara Tomanova (CZE).
In the consolation events there were wins for Sam Mabey, George Downing, Igor Morais, Sam Walker, Yolanda King, Emily Bates, Jessica Dawson and Vicky Smith. While it will only ever act as a consolation prize a semi-final spot, or better, in this tournament might be viewed as a success in maintaining concentration and tournament form.
Results:
Cadet boys singles (round of 64):
Romain Ruiz (FRA) bt Daniel Lawrence 4-0 (11-5, 11-3, 11-7, 11-3)
Helshan Weerasinghe bt Fredrik Meringdal (NOR) 4-0 (11-7, 11-5, 11-7, 11-7)
Cadet girls singles (round of 64):
Tin-Tin Ho bt Dzenita Salihovic (BIH) 4-0 (11-8, 11-7, 11-5, 11-5)
Csilla Nagypal (HUN) bt Lois Peake 4-0 (11-4, 11-9, 11-2, 11-8)
Lilli Eise (GER) bt Maria Tsaptsinos 4-1 (11-8, 9-11, 11-3, 11-7, 11-6)
Cadet girls singles (round of 32):
Tin-Tin Ho bt Filia Emiri (GRE) 4-1 (14-12, 11-8, 10-12, 11-8, 11-3)
Cadet boys singles (round of 32):
Maxim Chaplygin (RUS) bt Helshan Weerasinghe 4-0 (11-6, 11-6, 11-6, 11-7)
Cadet boys doubles (round of 32):
Weerasinghe/Polansky bt Hergelink/Smid (NED) 3-2 (11-5, 6-11, 6-11, 11-9, 11-6)
Jorgic/Sfiligoj (SLO) bt Mabey/Lawrence 3-2 (11-13, 9-11, 11-6, 13-11, 12-10)
Cadet girls doubles (round of 32):
Simonet/Rehorkova (SUI) bt Ho/Peake 3-1 (11-9, 5-11, 11-4, 11-5)
Soposki/Chomis (FRA) bt Tsaptsinos/Penkavova (CZE) 3-0 (11-7, 11-5, 11-6)
Junior boys doubles (round of 32):
Benes/Bajger (CZE) bt Downing/Morais 3-1 (11-13, 11-7, 11-7, 11-6)
Junior girls doubles (round of 32):
Adamkova/Tomanova (CZE) bt Smith/King 3-2 (6-11, 11-9, 8-11, 11-8, 11-7)
Cadet Boys Consolation (round of 64):
Sam Mabey bt IP Molnar (HUN) 3-1 (11-9, 11-9, 10-12, 11-5)
Junior Boys Consolation (round of 64):
George Downing bt Tomas Malek (CZE) 3-1 (3-11, 11-8, 12-10, 11-7)
Igor Morais bt Nazariy Rebeznyuk (UKR) 3-0 (14-12, 14-12, 16-14)
Sam Walker bt Valentin Nad Nemedi (SRB) 3-0 (11-8, 12-10, 11-5)
Eskil Lindholm (NOR) bt Lewis Gray 3-0 (11-6, 11-8, 11-3)
Junior Girls Consolation (round of 64):
Yolanda King bt Rubina Vardanyan (ARM) 3-0 (11-8, 11-4, 11-9)
Emily Bates bt Vivi-Mari Vastavuo (FIN) 3-0 (11-9, 11-9, 11-7)
Jessica Dawson bt Lara Stirling (SCO) 3-0 (11-7, 11-7, 11-3)
Vicky Smith bt Claudia Carassia (ITA) 3-1 (12-10, 2-11, 12-10, 11-7)