Gould-en Chance For Martin
Martin Gould made an inspired comeback to beat Hong Kong’s Marco Fu by ten-frames-to-eight in the first round of the Betfred.com world championship in Sheffield.
Gould trailed Fu by six-frames-to-three overnight as the world number 16 attempted to avenge the defeat inflicted by the ‘Pinner Potter’ at the same stage of the event twelve months ago.
Day two was a different story as Gould, who reached the final of the Players Tour Championship last month rattled off the opening five frames to lead 8-6.
Fu did rally and levelled at eight frames all including a century break.
Gould was not about to miss his chance and played two solid frames to claim the win finishing off with one of the best pots in Crucible history.
He will now face Judd Trump for a place in the quarter-final after the 21-year-old earlier ended the title defence of Australia’s Neil Robertson.
In 2010, Gould played two great sessions and led the eventual champion 11-5, before eventually losing in the 25th frame decider.
He will be looking to go at least one better, but it must be considered a great chance for both players to reach the last eight for the first time.
Elsewhere, former Shanghai Master Ricky Walden was involved in a dour struggle against Qatar-based Rory McLeod.
The pair could only manage eight of their scheduled frames on day one, and after sharing the first two, it was McLeod who ground his way to a 9-5 lead.
Walden managed to recover to 9-6 with only one more frame possible in their allotted time.
The Chester-based player will be hoping that they need to return after tonight’s session to finish the match off.
