Junhui sails into the final

NEWPORT: China’s Ding Junhui swept past England’s Shaun Murphy 6-2 to reach the Welsh Open snooker final on Saturday.

The 24-year-old, who laid the foundations for victory by taking a 4-1 lead in the best-of-eleven-frame clash, will tackle Mark Selby, who defeated Ronnie O’sullivan 6-2, in the final.

It will be Ding’s first ranking final since he lost to Mark Williams in the 2010 China Open.

“The past couple of years have been difficult because I have been travelling to and from China so I haven’t been able to practise properly,” said Ding.

“If I stay here for two or three months then I miss home and I want to go to China for a week.