The 4 favourites in each of the quarter-finals, and the plays I expected would make the semi-finals did so in winning their respective quarter-final matches on Friday in Bendigo. This included the continuation of Aussie favourite Neil Robertson's good run on home soil.
Friday's Results:
Marco Fu 5-1 Dominic Dale - Marco Fu cruised into the semi-finals in Australia with some fantastic break building to see off Dominic Dale. Fu had top breaks of 50, 60, 94, 130 and 131 in another very impressive performance, while Dale made a 112 century in the only frame that he won. Very good from Marco and thoroughly deserving of his semi-final place.
Robert Milkins 5-3 Tom Ford - This one wasn't as high scoring as I expected, with Ford's top break was 51 and Milkins 66 as the pair only made 2 50+ breaks between them. As it turned out it was a much tighter tactical affair, and I knew if that happened Milkins was the better safety player and so it proved, as he held his nerve to set-up a meeting with Fu in the semi's.
Mark Selby 5-3 Mark Davis - Mark Selby survived a scare as he saw off Mark Davis 5-3, having been 3-0 up early on to find himself at 3-3 with Davis, before Selby held his nerve with a 65 break in what turned out to be the final frame. Davis' high break was 66 to level the scores at 3-3. Selby also made a 60 in taking a 2-0 lead, but Selby did control large amounts of the match and deserved the victory
Neil Robertson 5-2 Joe Perry - Neil Robertson pulled out his best performance of the tournament so far in beating his practice partner Joe Perry 5-2. Robertson started magnificently making 2 centuries, a 102 and a 111 to take an early 2-0 advantage. Perry took the next with a 51 break, before Robertson took a tight fourth to lead 3-1 at the interval. Perry got back into the match with a 50 after mid-session to make it 3-2. However, Robertson finished with breaks of 81 and his highest break of a 125 to seal the victory. He has to be the favourite of the remaining 4 to take his the win in his home event.
Semi- Final matches and previews:
Robert Milkins Vs Marco Fu - Both of the semi-finals will be very close, and both of these two guys are playing very well. Milkins is going for his first ranking event win, while Fu is going for his first for many a year. Marco will be very tough to beat if on the same form of his last 2 matches. Meanwhile, Milkins will need to keep it tight, while also having to turn on his own scoring form. It will be really close but I fancy that Fu may just make it through.
Mark Selby Vs Neil Robertson - These two seem to be playing all the time at the moment and every game is close between the two. Robertson is in much better form in my opinion, but he'll be under a lot more pressure than Selby understandably. I still expect him to take that in his stride. If Selby can try and grind the result out and keep the match tight he has a good chance but he will need to take his chances when they come along. I expect Selby to make it scrappy and as tough as possible for Robertson, but Robbo will score heavy and get a tight win.
Despite all of the big names missing from this tournament I don't think anyone could argue with this semi-final line-up and we are now heading for an exciting weekend of snooker, where a new Australian Open champion will be crowned.
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