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Ding, Xiao in final
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For the first time, two Chinese cueists are to meet in the final of a ranking tournament.
China’s top player Ding Junhui delighted home fans by brushing aside England’s Barry Hawkins 6-2 in the semifinals of the Shanghai Masters last night, while Xiao Guodong overcame another Englishman Michael Holt 6-3 earlier at Shanghai Indoor Stadium.
It’s Xiao’s first ranking tournament final. The 24-year-old’s 5-4 victory in the last eight over Briton Mark Davis on Friday was already a personal breakthrough, before the Chongqing native powered into the final of the 425,000-pound (US$680,150) tournament. Xiao’s best performance at ranking events was reaching the quarterfinals at last year’s PTC final.
“It’s a historical breakthrough for me,” a relatively calm Xiao said after yesterday’s game. “To me, all the games are like tasks. My task here is not finished yet, tomorrow will be a real test. That will be my goal and dream.”
Xiao won the first two frames to take a 3-1 lead into the break. Holt came back to tie it at 3-3 with runs of 113 and 64 but Xiao stayed cool and regained the lead with a 111.
Holt hit the black when solving a snooker and gave up one more frame to Xiao, before a confident 127 helped the Chinese to end the match at 6-3 and to reach the highest point of his career so far.
Xiao, who entered the Shanghai tournament as a wildcard, still regards himself as a rookie compared with the 26-year-old Ding. “Ding and lots of other players are on a higher level. The only thing I have is confidence. I’ll try my best tomorrow.”
The 39th-ranked player became the fourth Chinese to reach a ranking tournament final following Marco Fu, Ding and Liang Wenbo.
Ding, long the best-known Chinese cueist, has been receiving the most cheers from spectators in Shanghai despite his poker-faced demeanor and apparent indifference. He convincingly beat current world No. 1 Neil Robertson of Australia 5-2 in the quarterfinals.
“I won’t mind if there are more people cheering for Ding,” said Xiao. “The audience’s support is a twin-edged sword and could mean either pressure or encouragement for Ding. But for me, the more my opponent is cheered, the more I feel the need to prove myself.”
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