Defeat for the Scottish champion, Kieran Merrilees, at the hands of his Great Britain training partner spoiled an otherwise positive opening day for the home challengers at the Scottish Open Grand Prix.
The 25-year-old Glaswegian, who sits more than 50 places above his English rival in the world rankings, looked to be taking control of his first-round tie with Toby Penty as he gradually drew clear in the opening game, edging 11-8 ahead by the break and winning it 21-17.
The encounter, which lasted more than an hour, was edgy and error strewn throughout, though, and the momentum shifted tellingly towards the end of the second game when Penty, who is three years Merrilees' junior, won six successive points to take it 21-15.
Merrilees, whose status as the leading Scot had certainly done him no favours in the draw, also felt hard done by on a couple of tight calls and, while he ended the sequence of lost points by claiming the first in the decider, it was the only time he led it as Penty dominated to run out a 21-11 winner.
It was the only defeat for a Scot in a main draw yesterday, with most of the day having been dedicated to qualifying rounds.
Teenager Josh Neil (21-11, 21-9 over Thomas Stanford) and 21-year-old Matthew Carder (21-6, 21-14 over George Isherwood) both swept lower-ranked English opponents aside, while the best of the men was Prestwick's Ben Torrance. The 20-year-old is 143 places below Chinese Taipei's Hsieh Yu Cheng in the world rankings but had the upper hand throughout, beating him 21-15, 21-13.
There was additional home interest in the men's first round, albeit somewhat disguised, with 17-year-old Ross Green, who represents England but is Scottish-qualified because his mother is from Oban, earning his place with two wins in the qualifying tournament before going out to the Dutchman, Nick Fransman.
The day's best performance from a home-based Scot came from Holly Newall, a teenager from Mauchline, Ayrshire, who earned her place in today's women's singles main draw. She had reached the final of the Scottish Championships earlier this year when still only 15 but rated yesterday's success the highlight of her career so far. She had begun the day on the reserve list for the qualifying event, but, given her chance, seized it, beating England's Jessica Hopton 21-18, 21-9 to set up a meeting with French 18-year-old Anne Tran.
Newall showed both quality and resolve in winning the decider 21-16 when it looked as if her momentum might have drifted. She had won the opener 21-14 but lost the second 21-18. "I felt I played well in my first match but I knew I was the underdog going into the match with Tran as she is ranked much higher," she said.
It earned her a meeting in the main draw with Swiss 27-year-old Sabrina Jaquet, who is ranked in the top 50. The women's singles starts today with Kirsty Gilmour, last year's beaten finalist, entering the fray as top seed.
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