Liam Pitchford held his nerve to win a deciding game 12-10 against the higher-ranked Kirill Gerassimenko at the WTT Star Contender Doha.

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.

He next faces fifth seed Quadri Aruna of Nigeria (WR 19) in the last 32 on Thursday.

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)

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)