England's Connor Green and Wales's Anna Hursey are in the mixed doubles final at WTT Contender Istanbul after beating South Korea's Lim Yunoh and Joo Cheonhui 7-11, 13-11, 11-3, 15-17, 11-5 on Friday evening.
They play Russia's Evgeny Tikhonov and Maria Panfilova, the fourth seeds, for the title on Saturday at about 3.50pm UK time. The Russians beat China's Huang Youzheng and Qin Yuxuan 11-3, 7-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-9 in the first semi-final.
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Green and Hursey hold their nerve
The Koreans took the first game 11-7. Green and Hursey, the third seeds, edged the second 13-11 and lost only three points in the third, then lost a fourth game that ran to 17-15. They led 6-2 early in the decider and won it 11-5 after 51 minutes.
It was their second comeback of the day. In the morning they lost the first two games of their quarter-final to Brazil's Guilherme Teodoro and Giulia Takahashi before winning the last three, and they have now won all three of their matches in the event.
Green, 20 and ranked 118th in the world, went out in singles qualifying on Wednesday. Hursey, the world No 38, lost to the top seed, Honoka Hashimoto, in the singles last 16 earlier on Friday.
Joo had a long day of her own. The world No 17 and second seed in the women's singles beat Austria's Sofia Polcanova 11-3, 11-9, 13-11 in the afternoon to reach the quarter-finals, and she and Kim Nayeong are in the women's doubles semi-finals.
China down to two singles players
Huang and Qin's defeat completed a hard day for China. Both had already lost in the singles in the morning, and in the afternoon Chen Junsong, the world No 89, was beaten 11-9, 11-3, 11-9 in 24 minutes by Kazakhstan's Fang Bo, ranked 160th. That leaves Li Tianyang as the only Chinese man in the quarter-finals and Zong Geman as the only Chinese woman.
Li, the 19-year-old defender and fifth seed, needed five games to get past Turkey's Abdullah Yigenler, ranked 177th, winning 7-11, 11-8, 11-4, 10-12, 11-6 in 46 minutes. Yigenler's defeat, and Ece Harac's 11-5, 11-4, 11-4 loss to Japan's Kaho Akae in under 20 minutes, mean there are no Turkish players left in the singles.
Kang outlasts Artemenko
The longest singles match of the day was the 54 minutes South Korea's Kang Dongsoo needed to beat Nikita Artemenko 11-9, 11-9, 9-11, 9-11, 11-4. Artemenko, ranked 76th, had come from two games to one down to knock out England's Tom Jarvis on Thursday. Kang, ranked 120th, won the first two games, lost the next two and took the decider 11-4.
Sweden's Elias Ranefur, the third seed and the highest seed left in the men's draw, led Australia's Aditya Sareen two games to love and lost the third 15-13 and the fourth 11-7 before winning the decider 11-7. Sareen had come through qualifying.
In the women's draw, Japan's Miu Hirano, the seventh seed, came from 2-1 down to beat Croatia's Hana Arapovic 8-11, 11-5, 5-11, 11-7, 11-5, and Brazil's Bruna Takahashi, the eighth seed, beat Ukraine's Veronika Matiunina 11-6, 11-8, 11-6 in 19 minutes. Takahashi plays Hashimoto next.
Two second seeds went out in the doubles quarter-finals. In the men's, Kang and Lim beat Brazil's Leonardo Iizuka and Guilherme Teodoro 12-10 in the fifth game. In the women's, France's Jia Nan Yuan and Prithika Pavade beat Romania's Elizabeta Samara and Bernadette Szőcs 11-7, 11-3, 12-10.
Friday afternoon and evening results
- Mixed doubles, semi-finals: Connor Green / Anna Hursey (ENG/WAL) bt Lim Yunoh / Joo Cheonhui (KOR) 7-11, 13-11, 11-3, 15-17, 11-5; Evgeny Tikhonov / Maria Panfilova (RUS) bt Huang Youzheng / Qin Yuxuan (CHN) 11-3, 7-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-9
- Women's singles, last 16: Joo Cheonhui (KOR) bt Sofia Polcanova (AUT) 11-3, 11-9, 13-11; Kaho Akae (JPN) bt Ece Harac (TUR) 11-5, 11-4, 11-4; Miu Hirano (JPN) bt Hana Arapovic (CRO) 8-11, 11-5, 5-11, 11-7, 11-5; Bruna Takahashi (BRA) bt Veronika Matiunina (UKR) 11-6, 11-8, 11-6
- Men's singles, last 16: Li Tianyang (CHN) bt Abdullah Yigenler (TUR) 7-11, 11-8, 11-4, 10-12, 11-6; Kang Dongsoo (KOR) bt Nikita Artemenko (RUS) 11-9, 11-9, 9-11, 9-11, 11-4; Elias Ranefur (SWE) bt Aditya Sareen (AUS) 11-9, 11-2, 13-15, 7-11, 11-7; Fang Bo (KAZ) bt Chen Junsong (CHN) 11-9, 11-3, 11-9
- Men's doubles, quarter-finals: Kang Dongsoo / Lim Yunoh (KOR) bt Leonardo Iizuka / Guilherme Teodoro (BRA) 7-11, 11-9, 11-6, 12-14, 12-10; Petyo Krastev / Yoan Velichkov (BUL) bt Danilo Faso / Gorkem Ocal (ITA/TUR) 11-5, 11-9, 7-11, 11-8; Luka Mladenovic / Mael Van Dessel (LUX) bt Evgeny Tikhonov / Dmitrii Vinogradov (RUS) 11-9, 11-7, 11-9
- Women's doubles, quarter-finals: Honoka Hashimoto / Miyu Nagasaki (JPN) bt Qin Yuxuan / Zong Geman (CHN) 8-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-8; Jia Nan Yuan / Prithika Pavade (FRA) bt Elizabeta Samara / Bernadette Szőcs (ROU) 11-7, 11-3, 12-10
Saturday
The doubles semi-finals start at about 7am UK time. The singles quarter-finals follow from about 8.10am: Ricardo Walther against Borgar Haug and Fang against Lubomir Jancarik; Zong against Hirano and Saki Shibata against Akae at 8.45am; Hashimoto against Takahashi and Szőcs against Joo at 9.20am; and Kang against Ranefur and Li against Ryoichi Yoshiyama at 9.55am. Green and Hursey's final is at about 3.50pm. Times are approximate, and every match is on WTT's YouTube channel and Eleven's event page.
