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'Spaceman' Dale ends Ding dream
Chinese sensation Ding Junhui received a harsh lesson in life as a professional as he was crushed in the first round of the Travis Perkins UK Championship in York on Tuesday. The 17-year-old from Shanghai, who has been described as a potential Tiger Woods of snooker, lost 9-3 to Dominic Dale at York's Barbican Centre having trailed 7-1 after the opening session. Ding is widely considered the brightest young star in the game and took the World Under-21 Championship when just 15. He beat Jimmy White at last week's British Open in Brighton and was rated by the bookmakers as having an equal chance of winning this event to world number nine Stephen Lee. But his opponent, though far from consistent, is capable of beating anyone on his day as he proved by capturing the 1997 Grand Prix and Dale was in terrific form, knocking in breaks of 72, 98, 68, 74 and 101. "I knew when I arrived here that I had a very tough draw," said the quirky Welshman, nicknamed the 'Spaceman' for his occasionally offbeat behaviour. "Ding is very well schooled technically but he is not an experienced match player and I aimed to exploit that by getting my preparation right and not giving him any free chances. But saying that I couldn't have played much better." Dale will meet six-times former world champion Steve Davis in the last 32 on Thursday. John Parrott showed glimpses of his best form to oust Thailand's James Wattana 9-5. The match would have made a tasty final a few years ago but the waning fortunes of the pair are symbolised by the fact they were battling it out for a place in the last 32 against Hong Kong's Marco Fu. Parrott, the former Question of Sport captain, put on a decent performance, knocking in breaks of 113 and 72 before wrapping it up with a 124, while the 'Thaiphoon' knocked in a 118 himself to show he is no back-number. "I've got the monkey off my back," said the Merseysider, who had not beaten Wattana since the mid 1990s. "Ever since my father died about a year ago I've been struggling because that hit me hard. But I've started to find a bit of form again." Robert Milkins was a comprehensive 9-3 victor over Sean Storey, while Ricky Walden drew away from Michael Holt in convincing style 9-4. Earlier, Ryan Day edged out Drew Henry 9-8, while up-and-coming Australian Neil Robertson got the better of former World Championship semi-finalist Joe Swail 9-7. Mark Selby was a 9-3 winner over Tony Drago, while Mark King recorded a 9-7 success over Finland's Robin Hull, and there was another early defeat for last month's Grand Prix runner-up Ian McCulloch. The world number 17 from Preston, beaten in the first round of last week's British Open in Brighton, went out 9-4 to Barry Hawkins. |
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