Higgins relieved after slow start in Sheffield
JOHN Higgins admitted he dodged a bullet to reach the second round of the Betfred World Championship. Higgins and Tian Pengfei were hauled off by match officials twice for slow play during their first round clash.
Four-time world champion Higgins looked destined for a first first-round upset since 2014 at 7-4 down before a sixframe streak to prevail 10-7 against the Chinese qualifier late last night.
“I’m very relieved,” stressed Higgins. “It’s embarrassing really when you play like that.
“Tian will be kicking himself. At 7-4 I was gone, totally gone. I dodged a big bullet there.
“I was poor and I was nervy. I should be going home really. I couldn’t pot a ball, I couldn’t breath sometimes because of the pressure this arena puts on you.
“It’s really tough out there, it’s the toughest arena we play at. When it’s going bad it’s soul destroying.
“I thought I was going to go out with a whimper, it felt embarrassing.”
Only seven of a possible nine frames were played in a horror first session for the Scot as he finished 4-3 behind – after being 4-1 down.
And world No.53 Pengfei left Higgins staring down the barrel with 61, 57 and 55 breaks to lead 7-4.
But Higgins won five frames on the spin, signing off with a vintage 127 break, to lead 9-7 when the players were pulled off again.
And he needed just one frame, a 135 clearance, after they returned to book his spot in the last 16.
Meanwhile, compatriot
Anthony McGill was spurred on by the return of fans as he dazzled to an impressive 10-5 victory over Ricky Walden.
The world No.16 sparkled at snooker’s spiritual Sheffield home to reach last year’s semifinals. And he’s desperate to prove that was no fluke this time around.
McGill resumed with a slender 5-4 lead and match breaks of 130, 119, 88, 83, 69, 61 and 58 did the damage as he set up a tasty last-16 clash with defending champion Ronnie O’Sullivan.
“It was brilliant to play in front of fans again,” said McGill. “It was amazing. I thought it might be worse playing in front of a small
number of fans instead of capacity.
“But it was absolutely brilliant to have fans back again.I’ve really struggled not playing in front of fans.”
Earlier, Last year’s runnerup Kyren Wilson fought back to trail Gary Wilson 5-4 following Monday’s morning session of the Betfred World Snooker Championship at the Crucible.
The 29-year-old, who lost to Ronnie O’Sullivan in the delayed 2020 final eight months ago, had trailed 5-1 to the world number 22.
After losing the opening frame, Gary Wilson, a former semi-finalist, produced two half-century clearances, before further breaks of 94 and 84 seemingly put him in command of the first-round match.
The world number six, though, found some composure to finally get another frame on the board with a break of 82.
After his opponent missed a pink into middle, Kyren Wilson reduced the defect further following a 115 clearance – which was backed up by a superb break of 139 to leave him with all to play for in Monday’s evening session.
On Table One, China’s Ding Junhui took a slender 5-4 overnight lead against former champion Stuart Bingham.
The 44-year-old from Essex, who won the title in 2015, had to come through qualifying after dropping out of the top 16.
Bingham showed his intent with a superb 131 break in the opening frame and another of 129 helped him move 3-1 ahead at the mid-session interval.
However, Ding, the world number nine and runner-up at the Crucible to Mark Selby in 2016, returned with intent, as clearances of 105 and 86 levelled the match, which will be concluded on Tuesday.
Another half-century break saw Bingham edge in front at 4-3, only for Ding to respond again – and then edge the ninth frame 54-45 on a fluked final black along the top cushion.
Fourteenth seed Jack Lisowski fought back from 3-1 down to fashion a 5-4 overnight advantage over former finalist Ali Carter.
Consecutive breaks of 121 and 75 hauled Lisowski level and he went on to establish a two-frame lead of his own before Carter rallied to take the ninth frame ahead of Tuesday’s conclusion.