Junhui’s ding-dong encounter

TWO-TIME winner Ding Junhui survived a major scare to book his place in the second round of the UK Championship in York.

The 2 0 1 6 Wo r l d Championship snooker finalist cruised into a 4-1 lead against Brazilian world No 127 Igor Figueiredo but then lost the next four frames to sit on the brink of elimination.

Ding, the world No 5, levelled proceedings before a break of 74 saw him hit back from 61-4 down in a tense final frame decider t o seal a 6-5 victory.

The 2005 and 2009 champion said: “From 4-1 up to 5-4 down I kept telling myself it wasn’t finished and I just needed to carry on.

“I was still confident and I wanted to take it to a decider because I think I have played more of them than him.”

Ding admitted he needs to turn a blind eye to the weight of expectation on his shoulders during major championships in order to produce his best form.

He added: “I want to try and ignore the pressure, I don’t want to think ‘this is the UK Championship, this is a big event’. I just need to go in, try hard to win matches and play the best I can.

“Every time I make a mistake, I need to forgive myself and that is one of the hardest things for me. I still have some emotions and anger in the matches but I try to keep them down and just wait for my next chance.”

Judd Trump, champion in 2011, produced a run of five frames in a row to see off 46-year-old James Wattana 6-2 and join Ding in round two.

Ding Junhui