Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Ronnie Rockets into lead
RONNIE O’Sullivan took command of his World Championship semi-final against John Higgins in ruthless fashion at the Crucible.
The Rocket made breaks of 99, 91, 70 and 73 to open up a 10-6 lead, but it was the manner in which he won the last frame of the session which will have hurt Higgins the most.
Higgins looked set to limit the damage – and make his highest break of the match into the bargain – only to miss a black off the spot which would have left O’Sullivan needing a snooker.
The six-time champion produced a stunning positional shot to get on the black from the penultimate red and a 43 clearance levelled the scores at 58-58 – then potted the respotted black.
Earlier in the day Judd Trump was in the box seat in his semi-final against Mark Williams.
EMMA Raducanu won 11 of the last 12 games to defeat Tereza Martincova for the second time in a fortnight in the opening round of the Madrid Open.
Czech Martincova was Raducanu’s opponent for her first professional match on clay in the Billie Jean King Cup tie in Prague earlier this month, with the US Open champion battling to a 7-5 7-5 victory.
She found herself 5-2 down in the opening set at the Caja Magica but turned things around impressively, saving two set points on the Martincova serve at 5-3 before running away with the second set in a 7-6 (3) 6-0 victory.
Speaking in her on-court interview, Raducanu said: “It was a tricky first set. I think it’s always tough playing on a brand new court, so it took me a little bit to adjust to my surroundings.
“And, of course, if you’re low or lacking in your own game then an opponent at this level is going to take advantage of that.”
She added: “I’m just glad that I stuck through the first set and then definitely relaxed in the second.”
Naomi Osaka, back on clay for the first time since pulling out of the French Open amid mental health struggles, made a confident start to her campaign with a comfortable 6-3 6-1 victory over in-form Anastasia Potapova. Andy Murray, meanwhile, was handed a high-profile first-round clash with former US Open champion Dominic Thiem, who is working his way back from a long-term wrist injury, in next week’s men’s event.
It will be the first tournament since the French Open last year featuring both Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, who has recovered from a fractured rib.