Ding’s play serene as top-ranked struggle

SNOOKER: Chinese star bounces back to defeat compatriot

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 either Anthony Mcgill or Ryan Day next.

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 told worldsnooker.com: “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.

“Xiao is always looking to beat me. You could see in the first session he played quite well to lead 2-0. He’s a good player, but he doesn’t have that much experience of beating the top 16.”

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.

“Everyone is under pressure here, but Mark Selby had the most pressure because he was the defending champion. It surprised me that he lost in the first round.”

Stuart Bingham almost pocketed a £50,000 bonus during the first session of his clash with Jack Lisowski but ended up losing the match 10-7.

The 2015 world champion threatened to make a 147 maximum break in the final frame of the first session.

He sank 11 reds and blacks but rattled the 12th red around the jaws of a corner pocket, with the ball failing to drop. A perfect total clearance could have earned him the £10,000 high-break prize plus the £40,000 on offer for a maximum in Sheffield.

Seven-time champion Stephen Hendry remains the last player to make a 147 at the Crucible, achieving that feat in the first round against Bingham in 2012 at his final tournament before retiring.

Luca Brecel became the fourth top-16 player to be eliminated as he suffered a 10-6 loss to Ricky Walden.

Brecel was 8-3 down but won the next three frames to increase the pressure, only for qualifier Walden to hold off the comeback and get over the line.

Mark Williams, a former two-time world champion, was encountering no problems in his contest against Jimmy Robertson having built up a 7-2 lead.

The 2010 champion Neil Robertson trails Englishman Robert Milkins 6-3 and has work to do today to keep his Crucible quest alive.

Scot John Higgins begins his first round game with Thailand’s Thepchaiya Un-nooh this morning.

Picture: Getty Images. A smiling Ding Junhui after winning his first round match against Xiao Guodong on day four at the Crucible.

Stuart Bingham: Came close to making a maximum 147 break, which could have earned him £50,000, but bowed out to Jack Lisowski.