Liam Pitchford held his nerve to win a deciding game 12-10 against the higher-ranked Kirill Gerassimenko at the WTT Star Contender Doha – but then went out to world No 19 Quadri Aruna.

Pitchford (WR 57) took the first game 11-8 with three points in a row from 8-8, but world No 39 Gerassimenko, from Kazakhstan, levelled when he took five in a row to win the second 11-9.

The pivotal third could have gone either way as Pitchford saved two game points at 10-8 and another at 11-10, before taking his own first opportunity to win the game 13-11.

But his opponent again hit back by taking seven out of eight points to turn a 5-4 deficit into an 11-6 win in game four.

Pitchford made a slow start in the decider and trailed 4-1. After levelling at 4-4, he was again behind at 7-5, but a run of four points turned the tide in his favour. And although his missed two match points at 10-8, he took the next chance, winning the game 12-10.

Pitchford then faced world No 19 and fifth seed Quadri Aruna, an opponent he had beaten in both their previous career meetings – at the 2014 World Championships and more recently at the Star Contender Bangkok in 2023.

It look as if Pitchford was well placed to extend that record when he took the first game 12-10, benefitting from Aruna hitting both his serves into the net at 8-8, but being good value for his lead.

But Pitchford paid for making a slow start to each of the next two games, allowing his opponent to lead by three points at the midway stage and, although he saved game points in both, losing 11-9 on each occasion.

It was similar in the fourth as Pitchford trailed 6-3 – but six points in a row raised hopes that he had captured the momentum. But the Nigerian got on a run of his own with the next five points to seal his place in the last 16.

In the Mixed Doubles, Pitchford & Hursey had a second defeat in a deciding fifth game. Despite losing 3-2 in the qualifying round, they were awarded a ‘lucky loser’ place in the main draw and lost out to Spanish second seeds Alvaro Robles & Maria Xiao.

In the Women’s Singles last 64, Hursey (WR 158) was defeated 3-1 (1-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-6) by Thailand’s Orawan Paranang (WR 47).

Follow the event on the WTT YouTube channel.

Results

Men’s Singles
Round of 64
Liam Pitchford bt Kirill Gerassimenko (KAZ) 3-2 (11-8, 9-11, 13-11, 6-11, 12-10)

Round of 32
Quadri Aruna (NGR) bt Pitchford 3-1 (10-12, 11-9, 11-9, 11-9)

Mixed Doubles
Round of 16
Alvaro Robles & Maria Xiao (ESP) bt Pitchford & Hursey 3-2 (8-11, 12-10, 11-9, 4-11, 11-6)