Anne Hursey (Photo WTT)
Welsh 19-year-old ace Anna Hursey is through to the quarterfinals of a WTT Series event for the first time, showing tremendous resolve to defeat Wang Xiaotong 11-8, 15-13, 8-11, 3-11, 11-7 at the WTT Contender Muscat.
Hursey, who staged an impressive comeback win over Linda Bergstrom on the opening day, was quick out of the starting blocks on Thursday evening, realising she had to go for it right from the off if she was to have any chance of success against Xiaotong .
Keeping it tight to edge game one 11-8 before saving not one, not two, but three Game Points to take the second game, Hursey found herself on the cusp of an unlikely victory against one of China’s ever-growing talents. Wang’s stern response in the following two games would ask the question of Hursey, but the latter player didn’t fold, keeping her cool in the decider to take a huge leap forward in her young career.
Next up for Hursey is her biggest challenge of the week so far, with No.4 seed He Zhuojia standing between her and a dream spot in the semifinals. Posting back-to-back 3-0 wins up to this point, He Zhuojia is the red-hot favourite heading into the clash, but she won’t be taking anything for granted having seen compatriot Xiaotong exit the draw.
In the opposite half of the women’s singles draw, top seed Shi Xunyao survived a big-time scare in her last 16 encounter, with Manika Batra taking her the distance before winning 10-12, 11-2, 11-5, 14-16, 11-9).
A frustrating opening game setback was compounded a few games later as Xunyao struggled to close out the win, seeing match point opportunities slip through her fingers at 12-11, 13-12 and 14-13 deep in the fourth. Batra’s staggering recovery in the decider from 9-2 down to 10-9 would pile even more pressure on Xunyao , who saw three more match points come and go. However, defending champion Xunyao would raise her fist in celebration, as Batra sent the third ball long at 10-9 to leave the arena in dejection.
The men’s singles top seed was also pushed to the limit with Lin Shidong requiring a last-ditch effort to deny wildcard entry Vladimir Sidorenko 11-4, 7-11, 13-11, 7-11, 11-8.
However, there were some notable exits for seeded players. No.3 seed Xiang Peng was dealt defeat at the hands of Anton Kallberg, who claimed a 11-5, 11-8, 6-11, 11-7 victory, while the player seeded fourth, Benedikt Duda, lost out to Wen Ruibo 11-8, 11-7, 11-9.
