Trinidad and Tobago’s France-based professional Dexter St Louis yesterday survived a scare from 13-year-old United States of America player Kunal Chodri before escaping with a hard fought 4-3 win.
In what was described as a battle of the generations, the 45-year-old St Louis trailed 0-3 in the seventh game before a shrewdly taken time out saved the day.
The southpaw St Louis had dropped the first two games before roaring back to take the next three. He then lost the sixth and trailed at the start of the seventh before coming back to eke out an 8-11, 18-20, 11-7, 11-4, 11-3, 7-11, 11-8 victory over the 2011 World Hopes Cadet player.
However St Louis’ luck ran out when he was eliminated in the final round before entering the main draw losing to Daniel Kosiba of Hungary 2-4.
Kosiba won 11-4, 5-11, 9-11, 11-9, 11-6, and 11-7
Meanwhile Guyana’s Paul David and Christopher Franklin yesterday lost their men’s doubles encounter 3-00 to Hamad Buhijji and Mohamed Bushelaibi 11-9, 18-16, 11-6 while Chelsea Edghill lost her final group singles match to France’s 15-year-old Marie Migot 11-4, 11-1, 11-8, 11-3.
Migot advanced from the group after defeating Colombia’s Johana Araque 11-3, 11-6, 11-4 and 11-8.
The main draw of the men’s and women’s competition will get underway this morning along with play in the men’s and women’s doubles and mixed doubles events.
In the men’s singles competition the top seed is China’s Xu Xin while Ning Ding of China is the top seed in the women’s singles competition.
