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RONNIE O'Sullivan cruised into the semi finals of the UK Open here in Telford with a 9-3 demolition of Mark Selby.
It capped a rotten day for the Leicester man who had had his Mercedes car stolen overnight together with other property- and on the table O'Sullivan was busy ripping Selby off to the tune of nine frames. After an initial nervy start from both players who both came up with schoolboy errors. O'Sullivan a sitter of a yellow to the corner while Mark contrived to leave an easy red hanging over the corner pocket when he caught a safety far too thinly. Gift chances like that and you are generally going to be filling your seat for quite a period of time, and Mark was to experience it as O'Sullivan dropped in the red and in the space of five minutes knocked in a break of 82.
Mark's safety continued to let him down in the second frame as he playing from baulk caught a red too thickly, which left the Rocket a mid length red to the corner. The ball was duly dispatched to the corner as Ronnie posted a break of 61, only to run out of position. As he tried to play safe he caught the cue ball too thinly leaving a red along the top cushion. At last a chance for Mark- but despite dropping the red into the top corner pocket he was only able to score 29, before comitting another error of a missed red along the cushion. But O'Sullivan while sinking red and black wasn't too keen on taking any unecessary risks and left the cue ball tight behind the black with the final red up at the baulk end. For Mark it was hit and hope and he fluked the snooker into the top pocket, bad news for him as he needed a snooker, which he wasn't to get as Ronnie took yellow and green to wrap up the frame and with it a 2-0 lead.
Mark badly needed the third frame to stay in touch with the Rocket and he did. Getting in with a long powerful red to the corner to run up a break of 63. But the couldn't finish the frame off in one visit and having run out of position he was forced to play safe. He did though lay a snooker that Ronnie fluked his way out of. But the run of the cue ball had taken him away from the black and the pink which left him with a difficult blue to the centre. A shot he missed and it was a relieved Selby who potted a red to the centre and rolled in a break of 45 to reduce his arreas to 2-1.
Clearly fed up of sitting down and watching Mark pot balls Ronnie was goaded into devastating form in the fourth frame as he rolled in a long red from tight under the baulk cushion and proceeded to stroke in an effort of 104 to give him a 3-1 advantage at the mid session interval.
Then the frame that just about decided the outcome of the match. A shot to nothing was to pay an early dividend for Ronnie as he pieced together a break of 71 to leave Mark needing a snooker with five reds still left on the table. A long red from the Leicester man helped him to ammass 32 of those points, and then laid a snooker with the cue ball firmly hidden behind the pink with red in open play. The Rocket's escape sailed round the red. Now Mark could pinch the frame if he potted the remainder of the balls. Negotiating the red the cue ball finished in the worst possible place - stuck between the pink and the black. Mark knew he had to pot the pink- if he didn't he would need a further two snookers, and that became a reality in deciding not to risk the pink. Instead he chose to try for snookers, and when Ronnie presented an easy yellow to the "yellow" pocket Selby grabbed his chance. Dispatching the yellow and the green he then snookered Ronnie on the brown behind the black. The Rocket looked for an escape route and finally tried to make the thinnest contact with the brown. As it hit the pink the frame threatened to turn on it's head as Selby also had the benefit of a free ball. Taking the black as his free ball Selby potted it and then followed with a long brown. All he needed now was to negotiate the blue. It was a cut to the centre but still pottable. Selby cued the blue only to see it wobble in the jaws and stay out. And it was a relieved Ronnie who stepped in and sank the all important blue to lead 4-1, and breathe a huge sigh of relief.
To come so close to pinch the frame and then lose it might have scrambled a few players brains. And it certainly seemed to be playing on Mark's mind as he missed a blue to the corner- and knocked a red in in the process. Neither player could string a break together as they just scraped the odd point here and there before Mark's snooker behind the green on the two reds on the cushion forced a foul from the Rocket- and with it a miss. Electing to take the miss Mark then asked referee Eiron Williams to replace the balls. This took up a few minutes before the positoning of the balls was agreed upon and it might have relaxed Mark's mind a bit. With a red just on the lip of the corner pocket Selby fired it into the top pocket and with it a 90 break to close to 4-2.
Selby though couldn't continue as Ronnie re-asserted his authority to take the next frame with a 94 break to ead 5-2 and then wrapped up a 6-2 lead with the help of runs of 24 and 25. Back though came Mark with a break of 55 only to miss the final blue allowing the Rocket to sink blue, pink and black to leave Selby in desperate trouble.
But Mark is not one to yield easily and kept Ronnie formly in his seat in the first frame on the resumption with a total clearance of 136. Reducing his arreas to 6-3 he then had to sit and watch his comeback hopes snuffed out as Ronnie rolled in a break of 92 to lead 7-3. And yet again Selby was the archietect of his own downfall as he missed a simple red to the corner allowing the Rocket the sort of table of his dreams. And as if to kick a man when he is down the Rocket pounced on Selby's missed red to the green pocket to fire in a break of 69 to put him one frame short of victory.
Selby was having plenty of practice in getting in - converting was proving more difficult and a break of 39 ended when he missed an easy pink to the centre. Ronnie's effort of 42 came to a conclusion when he opted not to take on the green that was trapped on the side cushion. Playing safe he clipped the green and took the cue ball back to baulk. Now it was down to Selby to produce something very special. Selby though did force Ronnie into two straight misses at extricting himself from a snooker but he was merely delaying the inevitable as with the green just off the top cushion close to the top pocket the Leicester man nudged it into the jaws of the pocket. With the green at his mercy Ronnie sunk it, followed with brown and blue to put him on the precipice of victory that he rubber stamped when he sank the pink to the "yellow" pocket for a 9-3 victory and set up the dream clash with John Higgins.
A word of advice everyone don't miss it - it is sure to be a cracker
Suzy Jardine
It capped a rotten day for the Leicester man who had had his Mercedes car stolen overnight together with other property- and on the table O'Sullivan was busy ripping Selby off to the tune of nine frames. After an initial nervy start from both players who both came up with schoolboy errors. O'Sullivan a sitter of a yellow to the corner while Mark contrived to leave an easy red hanging over the corner pocket when he caught a safety far too thinly. Gift chances like that and you are generally going to be filling your seat for quite a period of time, and Mark was to experience it as O'Sullivan dropped in the red and in the space of five minutes knocked in a break of 82.
Mark's safety continued to let him down in the second frame as he playing from baulk caught a red too thickly, which left the Rocket a mid length red to the corner. The ball was duly dispatched to the corner as Ronnie posted a break of 61, only to run out of position. As he tried to play safe he caught the cue ball too thinly leaving a red along the top cushion. At last a chance for Mark- but despite dropping the red into the top corner pocket he was only able to score 29, before comitting another error of a missed red along the cushion. But O'Sullivan while sinking red and black wasn't too keen on taking any unecessary risks and left the cue ball tight behind the black with the final red up at the baulk end. For Mark it was hit and hope and he fluked the snooker into the top pocket, bad news for him as he needed a snooker, which he wasn't to get as Ronnie took yellow and green to wrap up the frame and with it a 2-0 lead.
Mark badly needed the third frame to stay in touch with the Rocket and he did. Getting in with a long powerful red to the corner to run up a break of 63. But the couldn't finish the frame off in one visit and having run out of position he was forced to play safe. He did though lay a snooker that Ronnie fluked his way out of. But the run of the cue ball had taken him away from the black and the pink which left him with a difficult blue to the centre. A shot he missed and it was a relieved Selby who potted a red to the centre and rolled in a break of 45 to reduce his arreas to 2-1.
Clearly fed up of sitting down and watching Mark pot balls Ronnie was goaded into devastating form in the fourth frame as he rolled in a long red from tight under the baulk cushion and proceeded to stroke in an effort of 104 to give him a 3-1 advantage at the mid session interval.
Then the frame that just about decided the outcome of the match. A shot to nothing was to pay an early dividend for Ronnie as he pieced together a break of 71 to leave Mark needing a snooker with five reds still left on the table. A long red from the Leicester man helped him to ammass 32 of those points, and then laid a snooker with the cue ball firmly hidden behind the pink with red in open play. The Rocket's escape sailed round the red. Now Mark could pinch the frame if he potted the remainder of the balls. Negotiating the red the cue ball finished in the worst possible place - stuck between the pink and the black. Mark knew he had to pot the pink- if he didn't he would need a further two snookers, and that became a reality in deciding not to risk the pink. Instead he chose to try for snookers, and when Ronnie presented an easy yellow to the "yellow" pocket Selby grabbed his chance. Dispatching the yellow and the green he then snookered Ronnie on the brown behind the black. The Rocket looked for an escape route and finally tried to make the thinnest contact with the brown. As it hit the pink the frame threatened to turn on it's head as Selby also had the benefit of a free ball. Taking the black as his free ball Selby potted it and then followed with a long brown. All he needed now was to negotiate the blue. It was a cut to the centre but still pottable. Selby cued the blue only to see it wobble in the jaws and stay out. And it was a relieved Ronnie who stepped in and sank the all important blue to lead 4-1, and breathe a huge sigh of relief.
To come so close to pinch the frame and then lose it might have scrambled a few players brains. And it certainly seemed to be playing on Mark's mind as he missed a blue to the corner- and knocked a red in in the process. Neither player could string a break together as they just scraped the odd point here and there before Mark's snooker behind the green on the two reds on the cushion forced a foul from the Rocket- and with it a miss. Electing to take the miss Mark then asked referee Eiron Williams to replace the balls. This took up a few minutes before the positoning of the balls was agreed upon and it might have relaxed Mark's mind a bit. With a red just on the lip of the corner pocket Selby fired it into the top pocket and with it a 90 break to close to 4-2.
Selby though couldn't continue as Ronnie re-asserted his authority to take the next frame with a 94 break to ead 5-2 and then wrapped up a 6-2 lead with the help of runs of 24 and 25. Back though came Mark with a break of 55 only to miss the final blue allowing the Rocket to sink blue, pink and black to leave Selby in desperate trouble.
But Mark is not one to yield easily and kept Ronnie formly in his seat in the first frame on the resumption with a total clearance of 136. Reducing his arreas to 6-3 he then had to sit and watch his comeback hopes snuffed out as Ronnie rolled in a break of 92 to lead 7-3. And yet again Selby was the archietect of his own downfall as he missed a simple red to the corner allowing the Rocket the sort of table of his dreams. And as if to kick a man when he is down the Rocket pounced on Selby's missed red to the green pocket to fire in a break of 69 to put him one frame short of victory.
Selby was having plenty of practice in getting in - converting was proving more difficult and a break of 39 ended when he missed an easy pink to the centre. Ronnie's effort of 42 came to a conclusion when he opted not to take on the green that was trapped on the side cushion. Playing safe he clipped the green and took the cue ball back to baulk. Now it was down to Selby to produce something very special. Selby though did force Ronnie into two straight misses at extricting himself from a snooker but he was merely delaying the inevitable as with the green just off the top cushion close to the top pocket the Leicester man nudged it into the jaws of the pocket. With the green at his mercy Ronnie sunk it, followed with brown and blue to put him on the precipice of victory that he rubber stamped when he sank the pink to the "yellow" pocket for a 9-3 victory and set up the dream clash with John Higgins.
A word of advice everyone don't miss it - it is sure to be a cracker
Suzy Jardine
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