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Neil Robertson eased into the quarter final draw of the Grand Prix with a 5-2 victory over Ken Doherty.
Robertson never looked on top of his game but his all round ability to pot and keep it tight was enough to keep Doherty in his chair for long periods of time that made it difficult for the Irishman to establish any kind of rythym on his own game.
Both players, mindful of the opportunity that success in tonights game would bring struggled initially to settle, but Robertson finally took the initiative and sank a long red and made a break of 94 only to miss the final red along the top cushion when looking placed to make a century.
Ken had no reason to berate himself for the first frame when all he really had were half chances. But he certainly would have been dismayed at letting two decent chances slip through his fingers in frame two. Robertson too after nearly hitting a century in the opener saw his game go scrappy as neither player strung any meaningful breaks together- and it was only few early flurries from the Australian, combined with the final red to pink clearance of 30 that saw him move 2-0 up.
It was looking even grimmer for the Irishman when Robertson stroked in a long red and was going well on a break of 45 only to run out of position. Choosing discretion over valour Neil chose to keep it tight and Ken under pressure as he put the cue ball on the baulk cushion. Ken's safety was effective as he forced an error from Robertson, who in trying to hit his safety too thinly cannoned into the blue and left the white in the jaws of the middle pocket. Doherty was only able to make 6, and in what was a low scoring frame promptly handed the initiative back to Robertson who eventually crawled over the line to move 3-0 ahead.
Doherty was desperate to win the final frame before the intermission and had a helping hand in doing so from Robertson who missed an easy black when in on 14. Doherty who already held a narrow lead soon had the Australian in further trouble when he managed to hide the white behind the yellow with the green guarding the escape route on the "green" cushion. One escape went wrong- the second was even worse as Robertson hit the red far too thickly to leave Ken with the simplest chance he had had of the match. Dispatching the red Doherty made 27, and pieced together a run of 39 to leave the arena 3-1 down
Encouraged Ken returned and with Robertson now starting to miss a few shots- with some poor shot selection thrown in. A misjudged safety left Ken in at mid range and the Irishman strung together a break of 49 to close out the frame and leave Ken trailing by just 3-2.
Robertson though heeded the wake up call and powered in a long red to the top corner pocket and followed with the black to put himself in prime position only to almost throw the chance away by snookering hiself on his chosen red by the black. There was still a red to the centre and Neil rolled it in- Robertson was in no mood to let his chance of extending his lead slip and compiled a frame winning break of 77 before missing a red to the centre to go two up with three to play.
But Doherty's failure to take full advantage of two decent chances in the sixth frame was to cost him the match as after catching his safety too thinly left Neil with a red to the centre. The Australian grabbed his chance with a clearance of 88 to book his place in the quarter final draw.
Meanwhile Barry Pinches endured a wretched night against Joe Perry who beat him comfortably 5-2 without ever really looking too impressive himself.
It was the classic case of after the Lord Mayor's show comes the dustcart as Pinches who played so well to beat Shaun Murphy saw his form disintergrate before his very eyes against the Cambridge professional.
Pinches, a bunndle of nerves managed to scatter the reds all over the table at the baulk end and allowed Perry in from short range to make 46 before Piches gifted him another chance by leaving a long red to the "green". The red flew in but still Joe couldn't string anything resembling a frame winning break together and after scraping a few extra points together he wasn't best pleased to miss the frame ball green with the rest. Barry still had a chance ifhe could clear from the final red to black. The first part of the combination he managed the second ended in failure as he went in off in potting the pink to hand Perry the first frame.
Perry upped his standard of breakbuilding in the second as he made a break of 54- only to miss a red to the corner by cueing over the brown. Once again Pinches failed to counter when he left the green in the jaws of the corner pocket to leave him needing a snooker. He couldn't find one and Perry was left to sink the yellow to wrap up a 2-0 lead. Barry badly needed the third frame to stay in touch, but even after a 53 effort he left the black dangling over the corner pocket. Barry was no doubt preparing himself to see Perry clear with the balls in pottable positions. Except Perry had obviously been drawn into his world of bad errors when he powered at the red and saw it wobble in the jaws. And Perry was a very relieved man to get another bite of the cherry when a bad safety shot from Barry left Joe in prime position to pot the final two reds and make a frame winning break of 64.
A bizarre fourth frame had followed the error strewn pattern with both players struggling in the early stages. Perry though with the help of a 26 beak had managed to eke out a 48-13 lead before the surreal kicked in with the pink in the jaws of the corner pocket- circled by the remaining five reds. As Barry and Joe traded 40 shots in the space of 14 minutes without potting a ball the run finally came to an end when Barry's safety was just a fraction too hard and the pink dropped in. Perry knocked in a red and the pink for six to leave him leading 61-13 before missing a simple red. Pinches needed the lot to force a respotted black but instead was soon staring down the barrel of 4-0 down when after potting a red failed to pot the black to cap a miserable opening four frames.
Barry surely couldn't play any worse than he did in the opening four frames but now had the luxury of having nothing to lose. And after Perry left a red in jaws when in prime position Barry strung together runs of 36 and 26 but twice missed frame ball opportunities, firstly on a red and then on a blue. Perry required the four reds, blacks and the colours to tie- and with the black at the baulk end of the table it seemed a tall order. But Perry removed the red and got the black back on it's spot with the remaining reds leaving the colours. He cleared yellow, green and brown. The blue was out of commission on the side cushion with the pink as a safety battle ensued that was only resolved when Pinches potted a length of the table blue to stave off the dreaded whitewash.
All of a sudden Pinches looked a far more positive player and stroked in a long red, negotiated a tricky split of the balls and put together a frame winning break of 71 to leave Perry needing a snooker that he was not to get and Barry closed to 4-2.
Perry's nerves were being tested but to Joe's credit he waited patiently for a mistake from Barry and it duly came when Pinches caught his safety too thinly and left Perry in amongst the well split pack of reds at close range. With each red bar one Perry took a blue as moved into a 47-13 lead. Two reds remained and Perry pieced together a 58 break to leave Barry needing a snooker. The Norwich man tried in vain for the penalty points he needed but it was to no avail as Perry potted the yellow to claim his place in the quarter finals and end the Pinches's challenge.
Suzy Jardine
Robertson never looked on top of his game but his all round ability to pot and keep it tight was enough to keep Doherty in his chair for long periods of time that made it difficult for the Irishman to establish any kind of rythym on his own game.
Both players, mindful of the opportunity that success in tonights game would bring struggled initially to settle, but Robertson finally took the initiative and sank a long red and made a break of 94 only to miss the final red along the top cushion when looking placed to make a century.
Ken had no reason to berate himself for the first frame when all he really had were half chances. But he certainly would have been dismayed at letting two decent chances slip through his fingers in frame two. Robertson too after nearly hitting a century in the opener saw his game go scrappy as neither player strung any meaningful breaks together- and it was only few early flurries from the Australian, combined with the final red to pink clearance of 30 that saw him move 2-0 up.
It was looking even grimmer for the Irishman when Robertson stroked in a long red and was going well on a break of 45 only to run out of position. Choosing discretion over valour Neil chose to keep it tight and Ken under pressure as he put the cue ball on the baulk cushion. Ken's safety was effective as he forced an error from Robertson, who in trying to hit his safety too thinly cannoned into the blue and left the white in the jaws of the middle pocket. Doherty was only able to make 6, and in what was a low scoring frame promptly handed the initiative back to Robertson who eventually crawled over the line to move 3-0 ahead.
Doherty was desperate to win the final frame before the intermission and had a helping hand in doing so from Robertson who missed an easy black when in on 14. Doherty who already held a narrow lead soon had the Australian in further trouble when he managed to hide the white behind the yellow with the green guarding the escape route on the "green" cushion. One escape went wrong- the second was even worse as Robertson hit the red far too thickly to leave Ken with the simplest chance he had had of the match. Dispatching the red Doherty made 27, and pieced together a run of 39 to leave the arena 3-1 down
Encouraged Ken returned and with Robertson now starting to miss a few shots- with some poor shot selection thrown in. A misjudged safety left Ken in at mid range and the Irishman strung together a break of 49 to close out the frame and leave Ken trailing by just 3-2.
Robertson though heeded the wake up call and powered in a long red to the top corner pocket and followed with the black to put himself in prime position only to almost throw the chance away by snookering hiself on his chosen red by the black. There was still a red to the centre and Neil rolled it in- Robertson was in no mood to let his chance of extending his lead slip and compiled a frame winning break of 77 before missing a red to the centre to go two up with three to play.
But Doherty's failure to take full advantage of two decent chances in the sixth frame was to cost him the match as after catching his safety too thinly left Neil with a red to the centre. The Australian grabbed his chance with a clearance of 88 to book his place in the quarter final draw.
Meanwhile Barry Pinches endured a wretched night against Joe Perry who beat him comfortably 5-2 without ever really looking too impressive himself.
It was the classic case of after the Lord Mayor's show comes the dustcart as Pinches who played so well to beat Shaun Murphy saw his form disintergrate before his very eyes against the Cambridge professional.
Pinches, a bunndle of nerves managed to scatter the reds all over the table at the baulk end and allowed Perry in from short range to make 46 before Piches gifted him another chance by leaving a long red to the "green". The red flew in but still Joe couldn't string anything resembling a frame winning break together and after scraping a few extra points together he wasn't best pleased to miss the frame ball green with the rest. Barry still had a chance ifhe could clear from the final red to black. The first part of the combination he managed the second ended in failure as he went in off in potting the pink to hand Perry the first frame.
Perry upped his standard of breakbuilding in the second as he made a break of 54- only to miss a red to the corner by cueing over the brown. Once again Pinches failed to counter when he left the green in the jaws of the corner pocket to leave him needing a snooker. He couldn't find one and Perry was left to sink the yellow to wrap up a 2-0 lead. Barry badly needed the third frame to stay in touch, but even after a 53 effort he left the black dangling over the corner pocket. Barry was no doubt preparing himself to see Perry clear with the balls in pottable positions. Except Perry had obviously been drawn into his world of bad errors when he powered at the red and saw it wobble in the jaws. And Perry was a very relieved man to get another bite of the cherry when a bad safety shot from Barry left Joe in prime position to pot the final two reds and make a frame winning break of 64.
A bizarre fourth frame had followed the error strewn pattern with both players struggling in the early stages. Perry though with the help of a 26 beak had managed to eke out a 48-13 lead before the surreal kicked in with the pink in the jaws of the corner pocket- circled by the remaining five reds. As Barry and Joe traded 40 shots in the space of 14 minutes without potting a ball the run finally came to an end when Barry's safety was just a fraction too hard and the pink dropped in. Perry knocked in a red and the pink for six to leave him leading 61-13 before missing a simple red. Pinches needed the lot to force a respotted black but instead was soon staring down the barrel of 4-0 down when after potting a red failed to pot the black to cap a miserable opening four frames.
Barry surely couldn't play any worse than he did in the opening four frames but now had the luxury of having nothing to lose. And after Perry left a red in jaws when in prime position Barry strung together runs of 36 and 26 but twice missed frame ball opportunities, firstly on a red and then on a blue. Perry required the four reds, blacks and the colours to tie- and with the black at the baulk end of the table it seemed a tall order. But Perry removed the red and got the black back on it's spot with the remaining reds leaving the colours. He cleared yellow, green and brown. The blue was out of commission on the side cushion with the pink as a safety battle ensued that was only resolved when Pinches potted a length of the table blue to stave off the dreaded whitewash.
All of a sudden Pinches looked a far more positive player and stroked in a long red, negotiated a tricky split of the balls and put together a frame winning break of 71 to leave Perry needing a snooker that he was not to get and Barry closed to 4-2.
Perry's nerves were being tested but to Joe's credit he waited patiently for a mistake from Barry and it duly came when Pinches caught his safety too thinly and left Perry in amongst the well split pack of reds at close range. With each red bar one Perry took a blue as moved into a 47-13 lead. Two reds remained and Perry pieced together a 58 break to leave Barry needing a snooker. The Norwich man tried in vain for the penalty points he needed but it was to no avail as Perry potted the yellow to claim his place in the quarter finals and end the Pinches's challenge.
Suzy Jardine
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