Day four and we are down to the last sixteen in Shanghai as the likes of Mark Selby, Neil Robertson, Dave Harold and Marco Fu are in action this morning. Click below to read how the matches have unfolded:
Mark Selby 5-0 Mark King
World number four Mark Selby became the first man to reach the quarter-finals this morning as he gained a measure of revenge over Mark King for that round one defeat at the Crucible this April. It is fair to say that nothing went right for King as a number of loose safety shots and missed pots combined to give Selby the chances he needed, but Selby maintained his concentration and was clinical when in amongst the balls.
Just about every frame had the same pattern, Selby getting in first, putting 50-60 points on the board before a short safety exchange that he would win and wrap up the frame from. King will be disappointed as it is in such safety exchanges that he usually excels, but it just did not happen for him today.
Admittedly it is early days this season but having seen Selby play three times now I have been very impressed as his revised technique appears to have made him a more fluent, more entertaining player to watch. This in turn is helping his performances which although very good last season, took a lot of energy out of him given the slower, fighting nature of them. With Shaun Murphy out of the tournament early on he now has not only a good chance to make the final, but also one to leapfrog the former world champion in the provisional rankings and move up to number three.
Elsewhere
Next up Selby will face Hong Kong star Marco Fu who defeated Andy Hicks 5-2 this morning. Leading 3-1 at the interval it did not take Fu long to complete the victory though Hicks managed to steal the sixth frame on a re-spotted black to give himself a bit of hope.
Ricky Walden caused a sensation however by completing a terrific comeback over the struggling Neil Robertson to continue his good form this season. In control for much of the match, it looked like Neil would progress comfortably into the quarter-finals as he moved just one frame away from the match at 4-1. Ricky had other ideas though as he coolly hit back with breaks of 62 and 66 to force a decider, before completing the comeback with a break of 89.
This will be a huge disappointment for Neil who has not played as well as he can do for a while now and could do with a boost to his provisional ranking that currently places him outside of the top 16 for next season. Ricky however has followed up his Belgian Open victory with his best result in three years and will be hoping to reach his first semi-final tomorrow.
Awaiting him in the next round is veteran Steve Davis who like Walden completed a great fightback from 4-1 down to beat Dave Harold 5-4. Unsurprisingly this was by far the longest match of the day but following an epic final frame which Harold led comfortably at one stage before letting it slip, Davis eventually fought back to take it on the final pink. This makes Steve the oldest man to reach the quarter-finals of a ranking event since Doug Mountjoy in 1994, a terrific achievement.
Last 16
Dave Harold 4-5 Steve Davis 60-55(54), 73(65)-54(49), 71(64)-0, 0-98(97), 69(38)-36, 1-86(55), 13-81(81), 51-64
Neil Robertson 4-5 Ricky Walden 61(55)-14, 90(76)-0, 49(39)-90(60), 64(50)-1, 59-26, 31(30)-72(32), 0-79(75), 41(41)-79(66), 0-89(89)
Mark Selby 5-0 Mark King 61(48)-29, 68(68)-13, 89(53)-39(39), 90(48,34)-26, 112(44,68)-12
Marco Fu 5-2 Andy Hicks 87(36,30)-38, 80(74)-29, 6-111(85), 82(54)-33, 69-65, 68(41)-75, 102(54)-10