So let's take a look back to the opening afternoon at the Ally Pally in London:
Neil Robertson Vs Ding Junhui
Neil Robertson knocked in a brilliant long red to start off the 2013 Betfair Masters, which gave him first chance of this best-of-11 frames match. He made 20 before missing a tricky plant, but Ding went in off after potting the red which Robertson left. Robertson was soon back in again though with an easy long red, and a good split of the reds left the frame at his mercy and a break of 76 made it 1-0 to the Australian. Robertson had the first chance of the second frame knocking in a good red before missing a trickier black on 17. Ding had the next chance after a decent long pot of his own, but missed a red to the green pocket on 34 after opening the reds. Neil got the next proper opening after a badly misjudged snooker escape from Ding. He levelled the scores before having to play safe with 3 reds remaining. Robertson potted the next red but couldn’t get on a colour, but he doubled the penultimate red landing nicely on the green to get on the final red. He then cleared up to and including the pink to lead 2-0 and he gave it an early double fist pump to show how much he was up for the fight today. Neil had the first chance in frame as well after Ding left a red on escaping from a snooker, but Neil could only make 6. Ding knocked in an excellent long red of his own after a poor safety from Robertson, and the Chinaman now had an excellent chance with the reds already nicely spread. A brilliant and also very timely run of 103 from Ding pulled the score back to 1-2. Ding had the first chance of the fourth frame, after Robertson left a red over the corner. A good break of 53 gave the Chinaman a nice lead in the frame, but Neil knocked in a nice long pot straight away, giving him a nice opportunity to close the gap in the frame. He made 10 before having to play safe with 3 reds left, before Robbo then knocked in another good long one but couldn’t pot the yellow meaning he could only tie the frame. Ding then potted the penultimate red and the pink to leave Robertson needing 4 snookers. He couldn’t get the snookers though as Ding levelled the game at 2-2 at the mid-session interval.
A really, really careless safety at the start of frame five
from Ding gave Robertson a brilliant early opening to regain the lead. The
break ended on 46 though after a cannon on the reds went slightly wrong and
didn’t leave Neil on a colour. A good long pot from Neil left him another
chance and he was able to do enough to win the frame with an additional 24 to
put the Aussie 3-2 in front. Ding Junhui knocked in an amazing long red early
in the sixth frame, but he missed an easy black straight after though to
squander the position. A bad safety left Ding a chance at a plant, which he
made in standard Ding style to give him a decent opening to win the frame. A
good split of the reds from the black taking the break to 31 turned it into a
golden chance that the former Masters champion had to take if he had any chance
of winning. A wonderful century of 127 levelled the match up once more at 3-3
with Ding starting to look much better. A poor safety again early in frame
seven from Robertson gave Ding the first proper chance of the frame, as we came
into a period of 2 or 3 key frames in the contest. However, he missed an easy
red on 6 and left the Aussie in with an opportunity. Although, Neil could only
make 4 before returning the chance back to the Chinaman. Ding split the reds
well from the pink Neil missed over the pocket and a great plant to the middle
kept the break going and made it a brilliant opening to win the frame, but he
couldn’t missing another fairly easy red. An unconvincing safety shot soon
after gave Neil another opening, but he couldn’t make many either after having
an unlucky spread of the reds near the pink. It quickly turned into a scrappy
frame as the reds started to go safe, and the pink and black both ended up on
the side cushion. Neil knocked in a terrific long red, but he missed the green
and didn’t leave anything for Ding Junhui. Another good long red from Ding gave
him the next opportunity after a lacklustre safety from Neil and a
fantastically well worked break to clear the remaining reds up to and including
the pink to take a key frame and move 4-3 ahead. Neil Robertson’s safety game
was starting to tail off at this important stage of the match, and it was
giving more opportunities to Ding, who got the first proper chance of frame
eight as well. He made 25 before missing a blue to the top left corner, this
left Neil in but he missed a long black to the same pocket which certainly
looked to drift away from the pocket. This let Ding back in with a good chance
to go 2 clear, and a good recovery red early on put him back in position, and
another good red with the rest two shots later kept things going once more. A
great split of the reds from the next black made it into a golden frame winning
opportunity and one that the 2011 Masters champion couldn’t afford to miss.
Another good long Pink left him just a few pots away from reaching the winning
line in the frame, and that was exactly what he did with another good break of
54 making it 3 frames in a row from Ding putting him 5-3 ahead and one frame
from a place in the quarter-finals.
Neil Robertson had the first chance of the ninth frame after
a missed long red from Ding left him in amongst the reds. A perfect split of
the reds from the blue took the break onto 25, and leaving the defending
champion with a golden chance to take the frame. A good recovery red a few
shots later repaired things after a big bounce left him in a tricky spot, but
once he was back in great position that was frame over, as he made his first
century of the match, a flat 100 pulling the score back to 4-5. A brilliant red
from Robertson to the middle gave him the first chance of the tenth, but a bad
positional shot nearly cost Neil, but he recovered by taking the more difficult
red, but that meant he had a trickier black which he missed ending the break on
9. This left Ding a match winning chance, and a good early smash into the reds
made that into a brilliant match winning opportunity. His break was onto 50
when he ran out of position after a really unlucky split of the 5 reds in the
bunch by the pink, so Ding had to play safe with a 41 point lead, so close from
winning the match. Robertson got the next chance of the frame, and with the
reds nicely spread it was one that the Australian certainly had to take to keep
his hopes alive. A pressure break of 62 made sure he did just that, completing
the comeback and taking this brilliant contest into a deciding frame.
Neil Robertson had the first chance of the decider, making a
good cut to the centre pocket, and getting on the yellow. He picked the early
loose reds off well in building a good lead, that lead went to 43 when Robbo
split the reds from the black, and a cracking recovery red to the yellow pocket
turned it into a frame and match winning opportunity. He split the reds up
again to reach 59 and this time he made sure that everything was there for him to
secure victory. Once Robertson potted the match winning red he pulled out
another double fist pump and shouted “You Beauty” and giving another double
fist pump to the crowd at the very end of the match as a break of 90 made sure
that his title defence continued for another round at least, and his
celebrations showed how much it meant to him and that he wasn’t just going to
give away his title. What a comeback from Neil Robertson, in what was yet
another brilliant contest, and the first of many as it turned out during
Masters week at the Alexandria Palace.
What a match that was with 2 brilliant players who've already featured against each other in the countdown, but that's just a warm up as things really get serious tomorrow when we enter the top 3 with an absolutely stunning match. But who will take 3rd on the countdown? Be sure to pop in tomorrow and find out.
No comments:
Post a Comment