Welsh open - Day Two
The action hots upop on day two with local favourite and world champion taking to the baize in Newport
Mark Williams v Marco Fu
Williams Calls On Welsh Players To Make It Big In Newport
Mark Williams has called on the home players to make some impression in this year's Wyldecrest Parks Welsh Open.
The former double world champion made easy work of what looked to be a tough match on paper, against Masters runner-up Marco Fu, although he is puzzled how the man from Hong Kong is not among the elite top 16.
It took Williams, who won the German Masters last week, only 49 minutes to reach round two where he plays Stoke's Jamie Cope.
Williams hit breaks of 51, 100 and 120, and looked confident of adding to his two previous Welsh crowns, although he said, “I won’t be making any rash predictions about how far I can go, the best thing is just playing with confidence and competing again.
"What pleased me most was carrying on the form I showed in Germany .It’s easy to relax a bit after winning a tournament, but I have kept it going and will try to do that for as long as I can.
"I felt very comfortable out there, like I normally do. Apart from the first frame I didn’t give him much of a chance, and felt very confident.
“Marco is the toughest opponent you can get in a last 32 match, and he should be in the top 16.
“I can’t understand why he isn’t, but then I was there myself and you can just let it slip for a while and you’re out.
“It was a big game for him, he was under pressure as if he beat me that might have guaranteed him in the 16 and not having to qualify for the Crucible. I punished his mistakes.
“It was good to see a couple of other Welsh wins on Monday. We haven’t done anything in this tournament for years the three of us, Matthew, Ryan and myself.
“But there’s no point in keeping on talking about it, one of us has got to go far and have a run to keep the home interest alive.
“Winning matches gives you confidence, but also how you play. I won in Germany, but I also played well at the UK despite just losing the final to John Higgins.
“I am just happy to be playing a lot better than I was, I am on a bit of a run at the moment and just want to enjoy it. I know it will come to a stop at some point.
“I love the new format, with the open-plan two tables. I have been calling for it for years, and now Barry Hearn has come in and taken the game by the scruff of the neck.
“He has done it, and it’s fantastic, the crowd can come in and sit wherever they want and watch both games. I think they should do it in Sheffield at the World Championship.”
Neil Robertson v Nigel Bond
Robertson Shoots Out Bond
World champion Neil Robertson was given a huge scare at Newport Centre when Shoot Out champion, Nigel Bond had a golden chance to take the Aussie out of the Wyldecrest Park Homes Welsh Open last night.
Bond is looking more confident since his Blackpool win and turned back the clock to the mid-nineties when he reached the World Championships final to hit an excellent 102 break in the opening frame, before adding the second as well.
And Derby ace Bond played two great shots in frame three on the blue and the pink to give himself a chance to go 3-0.
He had a difficult black to the middle pocket from the bottom cushion and could have played safe. But he took the bull by the horns and went for the tight cut only to hit the far corner of the pocket and watch the black roll out to an unmissable position for Robertson to snatch the frame 69-68.
It was a huge turning point and Robertson seized the initiative with both hands smashing in a break of 81 in the fourth frame and a cracking 130 in the next before coming from 56-1 down to rub salt into Bond's wound with a 61 break and get a 4-2 victory.
The Aussie said: "Actually, he didn't play badly at all. Nigel started fantastically well but when I got my chance, I think I played well.
"I was under a lot of pressure and the match was good quality with close frames. When I was stuck in my chair and he potted that pink, I thought the black was in but it bounced out and gave me my chance."
Mark Selby v Stuart Bingham
Selby Nearly Comes a Cropper
Mark Selby almost became the first big casualty of the Wyldecrest Parks Welsh Open on Tuesday.
It required significant determination and nerve for the ‘Jester from Leicester’ to claw his way over the finish line and deny Basildon's Stuart Bingham a place in round two.
Selby was never behind in the match, opening up a 2-0 lead with breaks of 95 and 74 before adding a 96 in frame five to lead 3-2.
But Bingham, fighting for a place in the top-16 hit back with a break of 77 in the sixth to draw level at 3-3, setting-up a final frame shoot-out.
And the Essex man looked like causing the big upset when he began thumping in the reds before breaking down on 52. Even so, Selby could not take advantage and scored just 15 before letting his opponent in again.
However, Bingham only managed one red, gave former world champion Selby a lifeline and sat annoyed in his chair as the Leicester ace rattled in a 52 break to win 4-3.
Selby admitted he had to pull out the stops, saying: "It's a little while since I have been put under pressure like that. But it is nice to be put under that pressure and do well. Stuart played quite well, take nothing away from him."
The relentless pace of the snooker circuit at the moment, with tournaments week in and week out, though, may take its' toll on players, reckons Selby.
"Eighteen months ago, we were screaming out for more tournaments. Now that we have got them, we have to be careful that we don't burn out. Everyone in all sport suffers that if they keep playing all the time."
But he doesn't think it is quite the case yet of players, like in golf, choosing when not to take part in events, even though Ronnie O'Sullivan missed the German Masters last week.
"Ronnie didn't play in the German Masters and it was a great shame," he added.
