Higgins embarrasses Ding at Haikou Open
Source: Xinhua/Shanghai Daily |
March 2, 2013, Saturday
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JOHN Higgins played almost flawless snooker to beat China's Ding Junhui 5-0 in just 75 minutes and earn a semifinal spot at the Haikou Open yesterday in south China's Hainan Province.
Higgins will play defending champion Mark Allen, who beat Ricky Walden 5-1.
The day's biggest upset came when Matthew Stevens defeated top-ranked Judd Trump 5-3. In the other semifinal, Stevens will play Neil Robertson, who beat Mark Selby 5-3.
Higgins piled in breaks of 141, 113, 73 and 56 to go up 4-0 up on Ding, who scored just 14 points in the first four frames. Ding had one chance to take control of the fifth frame, but missed a shot. Runs of 37 and 27 from Higgins closed out the match.
"I didn't really miss any easy shots and when I did miss I got a bit lucky," Higgins said. "Even at 4-0 down, Ding is still dangerous. He could have done the same to me as I did to him. So I was still concentrating 100 percent. Mark Allen is unbeaten in Haikou so it will be a tough match next, but I look forward to it."
Allen took control of his match with Walden when the score was 1-1. Breaks of 44, 72, 62 and 49 helped him take the next four frames with little difficulty.
Allen, who won his only ranking title here last year, said he will have to improve if he is to beat Higgins.
"I'll need to play a lot better against John, he'll be a big favorite as he's back near his best," Allen said. "But I'm not going to let go of my title easily. Every day is different and I might play better tomorrow."
Allen said he has matured as a player and that will help him in big matches.
"The matches I have won this week, I wouldn't have won a few years ago," Allen added. "I have learned to accept the way I am playing and still try hard on every shot."
Trump's loss came as a surprise because he was in good form coming into the quarterfinals. He had only lost one frame in his first two matches.
Key mistakes in frames two, three and four allowed Stevens to jump into a 3-1 lead at the break. Trump battled back to level it at 3-3 before Stevens got on a roll and took the last two frames to close out the match. He piled in 79 straight points to win the eighth frame and send Trump out of the tournament
Higgins will play defending champion Mark Allen, who beat Ricky Walden 5-1.
The day's biggest upset came when Matthew Stevens defeated top-ranked Judd Trump 5-3. In the other semifinal, Stevens will play Neil Robertson, who beat Mark Selby 5-3.
Higgins piled in breaks of 141, 113, 73 and 56 to go up 4-0 up on Ding, who scored just 14 points in the first four frames. Ding had one chance to take control of the fifth frame, but missed a shot. Runs of 37 and 27 from Higgins closed out the match.
"I didn't really miss any easy shots and when I did miss I got a bit lucky," Higgins said. "Even at 4-0 down, Ding is still dangerous. He could have done the same to me as I did to him. So I was still concentrating 100 percent. Mark Allen is unbeaten in Haikou so it will be a tough match next, but I look forward to it."
Allen took control of his match with Walden when the score was 1-1. Breaks of 44, 72, 62 and 49 helped him take the next four frames with little difficulty.
Allen, who won his only ranking title here last year, said he will have to improve if he is to beat Higgins.
"I'll need to play a lot better against John, he'll be a big favorite as he's back near his best," Allen said. "But I'm not going to let go of my title easily. Every day is different and I might play better tomorrow."
Allen said he has matured as a player and that will help him in big matches.
"The matches I have won this week, I wouldn't have won a few years ago," Allen added. "I have learned to accept the way I am playing and still try hard on every shot."
Trump's loss came as a surprise because he was in good form coming into the quarterfinals. He had only lost one frame in his first two matches.
Key mistakes in frames two, three and four allowed Stevens to jump into a 3-1 lead at the break. Trump battled back to level it at 3-3 before Stevens got on a roll and took the last two frames to close out the match. He piled in 79 straight points to win the eighth frame and send Trump out of the tournament
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