Indian Open Snooker: Thepchaiya, Walden enter semis


Mumbai, March 14 (IANS): Qualifier Thepchaiya Un-Nooh from Thailand stormed into the semi-finals with a 4-2 win over veteran Englishman Mark Davis 4-2 in the Indian Open World ranking snooker tournament here on Friday.

The 29-year old Un-Nooh, ranked a modest 61, is living a dream and though he played below par for much of the match, he still had enough to subdue No.18 Davis, winner of two World six-red championships.

Un-Nooh, who beat Welshman Jamie Jones 4-1 in the previous round this morning, will take on Ricky Walden of England in the semi-finals Saturday morning.

Walden, the highest ranked player left in the draw at No.8, overcame compatriot Joe Perry 4-2 to advance to the semi-finals.

Earlier, Welshmen Mark Williams, the double World champion, and Michael White, set up a semi-final clash with fairly comfortable wins over England's Robert Milkins 4-1 and Chris Waklin 4-2, respectively.

Un-Nooh, who had beaten World No.4 and defending champion Ding Junhui of China in the first round, committed as many mistakes as Davis as the duo shared four frames before the Thai southpaw began to assert himself.

He fired 82 to take the fifth frame and finished the match with a flourish on a run of 74 in the sixth with Davis managing just seven points.

In the other quarter-final, Walden and Perry were involved in a tight scrap initially with neither able to take control of the proceedings while trading four frames.

Walden then found his rhythm and flow to post breaks of 119 and 96 that effectively destroyed Davis who spent both frames in his chair, unable to garner even a single point.

Earlier, 39-year-old, 15th ranked Williams held off Milkins, bringing into play his vast experience and craft that has made him the player to beat in this tournament.

White, only 22, but ranked 22 and who idolizes Williams, slipped past an inconsistent Wakelin of England 4-2 with a top run of 99 to set up an intriguing semi-final contest Saturday morning.

Williams, who had beaten World No.6 Judd Trump 4-3 in the pre-quarters this morning, proved far too good for Milkins who was punished for his errors by the wily old Welshman whose best effort was a 76 in the third frame.

Williams began strongly with a 51 break in the first frame and won a crucial second after making up a 20-point deficit with some delightful strokes before cracking a 76 for 3-0 lead.

Milkins staged a brief fightback by taking the fourth on a break of 54, but Williams could not be stopped in the fifth that he took with some clever percentage snooker, making every visit count.

On the next table, White, who has been having a good season with a couple of quarter-final finishes and winning the shootout competition last week, saw off a spirited challenge from Wakelin who had his chances but blew them.

White, who wears his emotions on his sleeve, played extremely well when it mattered, coming up with excellent potting and positional play to outwit 22-year old Wakelin, a Q-School product.

"I have had a good season so far and been playing well. A couple of quarter-final finishes besides winning the shootout last week have given me a lot of confidence.

"Also, I have learnt to be disciplined off the table as I used to spend a lot of time hanging out with friends, drinking and stuff. So, now I look forward to playing Williams whom I have beaten before," said White.

The results:

Quarter-finals: Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (Thailand) bt Mark Davis (England) 4-2: 79 (79)-07, 15-63, 68-00, 49-60, 107 (82)-07, 74 (74)-00; Ricky Walden (England) bt Joe Perry (England) 4-2: 59-21, 39-76, 21-66 (55), 69 (69)-01, 119 (119)-00, 107 (96)-00; Mark Williams (Wales) bt Robert Milkins (England) 4-1: 69 (51)-28, 58-45, 77 (76)-00, 00-90 (54), 67-12; Michael White (Wales) bt Chris Wakelin (England) 4-2: 00-76, 59 (55)-07, 00-82 (63), 72 (71)-22, 99 (99)-00, 55-46.

Pre-quarter-finals: Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (Thailand) bt Jamie Jones (Wales) 4-1: 17-63, 73 (55)-10, 69-58, 79 (51)-01, 123 (123)-04; Mark Davis (England) bt John Higgins (Scotland) 4-0: 77 (72)-04, 87 (87)-01, 62-32, 66 (66)-01; Ricky Walden (England) bt Tian Pengfei (China) 4-0: 64-17, 65-12, 53-40, 75 (75)-20; Joe Perry (England) bt Kyren Wilson (England) 4-3: 81-40, 15-63 (62), 42-71, 63 (55)-61, 78-00, 25-55, 79 (55)-00; Mark Williams (Wales) bt Judd Trump (England) 4-3: 92 (68)-23, 20-112 (104), 108 (108)-04, 04-73 (55), 01-67 (67), 59-25, 70 (63)-21; Robert Milkins (England) bt Graeme Dott (Scotland) 4-2: 24-81 (69), 67 (60)-06, 63-24, 73 (68)-06, 05-76, 79-07; Michael White (Wales) bt Li Hang (China) 4-2: 94 (94)-00, 08-102 (50), 118 (109)-08, 36-89, 89 (62)-23, 77 (77)-00; Chris Wakelin (England) bt Nigel Bond (England) 4-1: 70(50)-52, 73-48, 96 (96)-00, 24-69 (69), 68-56 (55).

  

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Title: Indian Open Snooker: Thepchaiya, Walden enter semis



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