Wildcard Shi Xunyao added to the chaos of a crazy Friday by knocking out WTT Champions Chongqing No.3 seed Chen Xingtong 7-11, 11-4, 11-7, 13-11.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These two met in the Round of 16 in Hong Kong last year, where Xingtong won 4-2. But this time, it was Xunyao\u2019s turn for revenge, as she came back from one game down to set up a quarterfinal clash with No.8 seed Miwa Harimoto.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Xunyao\u2019s stunning upset came after a crazy evening in Chongqing that started with a five-game epic between Chen Yi and Bernadette Szocs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This match was decided by the finest of margins, and fans saw a stunning six game points before the Romanian saved four match points in the decider only to be beaten 11-8, 11-13, 12-10, 7-11, 11-9.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chen Yi was 8-3 to the good in the first game, but Szocs started to build momentum, closing the gap to 9-8. While she still lost the opener, the Romanian had grown confident by exposing Chen Yi\u2019s weaknesses and getting back in the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Szocs then went 0-2 up, and then refused to be disheartened when she went 5-2 down to recover to 7-7. But as the game ticked closer to its deciding moment, Szocs grew frustrated at her own mistakes, hitting the ground when conceding. But Chen Yi, who had also made several errors, looked nervous, and she allowed Szocs to get the game\u2019s first, second and then third Game Point, before she drew the match level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At 10-6 in the third, no one was thinking that Szocs could overturn this one, but the tenacious former World No.8 started to chip away and saved two Game Points, forcing Chen Yi to use her Time Out. Szocs then stunned the crowd into silence as she returned to the table and saved two more, forcing deuce. When Chen Yi eventually won the game, the World No.7 let out a scream of relief as Szocs sank to her knees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But again, Szocs was refusing to die, and she went 4-0 up in the must-win fourth and held on to force the final game. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
You could cut the tension inside Infinity \u221e Arena with a knife at this point, and the question was whether Chen Yi could weather the storm, as Szocs had momentum in her corner. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Five in a row for the World No.7 took her to 5-2, and she was cheering every single point now, while Szocs was growing frustrated and started shouting and slapping balls away when she conceded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She had good reason to be angry; the match was slipping away from her when she had fought so hard to remain in it. But that anger spurred her on, and more drama was yet to come, as she saved a stunning four Game Points before eventually losing 11-9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, Miwa prevailed in a battle that put two of table tennis\u2019s rising stars against each other, as she beat 19-year-old Anna Hursey 13-11, 12-10, 11-7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite the straight-game victory, Hursey made life tough for the 17-year-old, with only eight points separating them, and Miwa had to save three game points to get over the line in the second.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n