In-form Ding sweeps past countryman
DING Junhui underlined his Betfred World Championship ambitions by closing out victory over Chinese compatriot Xiao Guodong in little more than an hour in the first round.
The world number three held a healthy 6-3 overnight lead and quickly reeled off four frames in a row to clinch a 10-3 win, setting up a clash with Anthony McGill or Ryan Day.
It was an encouraging opening display from Ding, whose bid to become the first Chinese player to go all the way in this competition saw him bounce back from an early 2-0 deficit yesterday, notching one century and seven 50-plus breaks along the way.
He said: “I played well in the end. I just went for my shots and made some breaks. I didn’t play a lot of safety, I just went for the shots without caring, it surprised me.”
Ding’s serene progress is in stark contrast to the fortunes of those above him in the rankings, with world number one Mark Selby already eliminated and Ronnie O’Sullivan labouring before eventually coming through.
Ding added: “I’m confident in my form but I try not to worry about form too much, I’m just looking forward to another chance. It’s good to smile out there, it takes the pressure away if I play some bad shots.
“Everyone is under pressure here, but Mark Selby had the most pressure because he was the defending champion. It surprised me that he lost.
“I’d like to play Ronnie O’Sullivan in the tournament because I want to improve and I want to play the hardest ones to beat, to test myself.”
Stuart Bingham almost pocketed a £50,000 bonus during his clash with Jack Lisowski.
From 5-2 down, Bingham fought back to trail 5-4, and the 2015 world champion threatened to make a 147 maximum in the final frame of the session. He sank 11 reds and blacks but rattled the 12th red around the jaws of the pocket.
Luca Brecel became the fourth top-16 player to be eliminated as he suffered a 10-6 loss to Ricky Walden.
Mark Williams, a former two-time world champion, was encountering no problems in his contest against Jimmy Robertson having gone 7-2 up.