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So, it's the semi-finals today...
Ding Junhui v. Joe Perry: This promises to be a really high-quality match. They met in the opening ranking event of the season, the Wuxi Classic, when Perry had just won a PTC title, and Perry played superbly to win 5-1. They met for a second time this season just a couple of weeks ago, in the German Masters, and this time Ding played very well to settle the score. Apart from the loss I mentioned, Ding has a pretty strong record against Perry. Their biggest match was probably the semi-final of the UK Championship way back in 2005, when Ding was still a teenager. They weren't far away from meeting in a big match in the International Championship this season, but they were in the opposite halves, and Perry only just lost in the SF.
Amazing season for Perry really, he has acknowledged it himself as probably his best ever in the post-match comments yesterday. Selby was poor against him, but Perry still had to punish his mistakes, and he did that very well. He is the kind of player who just scores those three of four big breaks without doing anything flashy, and he can quickly find himself a few frames ahead when he is playing well. It could be dangerous for Ding if he has another slow start, because Perry doesn't really struggle to get over the line. He is also good enough tactically to compete whichever way the match goes, although I do suspect he would prefer to keep it open.
Ding's season is the best he has ever had as well, no matter what happens in the last four events. He has scraped through his share of close matches this season, showing his class yesterday with two centuries in the last two frames. But the thing is, whenever he has found himself at this stage of an event, he has always gone on to win the title. He is the successor to John Higgins in many ways, winning by default unless someone plays really well against him, and he has that habit of raising his game at the business end of tournaments. He has also won most of the close matches this season, winning the crucial frames with big breaks more often than not. He can't win every title, so defeats will come. Maybe today, maybe tomorrow, maybe next week, but for now he is the favourite. Perry is playing well enough to make it close though, 6-4. :smile:
Ronnie O'Sullivan v. Barry Hawkins: It's hard to say which match I'm looking forward to more... These two always seem to produce great matches whenever they play each other. It's the repeat of the World final of course, a really high-quality match where both players played their best snooker. They also played in a couple of good matches back in 2005, including the SF of this tournament, O'Sullivan winning 6-4 on that occasion. O'Sullivan has won five of their six major matches, but Hawkins has made it close every time, and I guess you could say he has been unlucky to never find O'Sullivan off his game.
If we are being super critical, Hawkins' season hasn't been as successful as the last one, but it's still probably been his second best ever, and he has every chance to make it even better. This is his second major semi-final. He lost the first one to Ding in Shanghai, and I guess he is unlucky to get one of the worst possible opponents again, but on the plus side, he has probably played slightly better snooker than O'Sullivan, particularly yesterday when he made two centuries to whitewash the in-form Marco Fu. He plays as well as anyone on his day and, funnily enough, he almost did the same thing as O'Sullivan to Ricky Walden at the Masters, playing almost perfect snooker to lead 4-1, but unfortunately couldn't keep up that standard and ended up losing the match 6-5. I think he can match O'Sullivan in every element of the game, but the problem is, he needs to play really well to do that, while O'Sullivan doesn't really need much form to be competitive.
Well, O'Sullivan hasn't been at his best here, but he has been close enough to establish himself as the man to beat, allowing just one frame to each of his opponents so far. He beat Selby in the Masters final, the player to cause him the most problems in recent years, and he recorded a rare win over John Higgins yesterday and a convincing one at that, so he must be feeling pretty untouchable at the moment. He gets harder to beat with each round, especially for players he has a strong record against. When he lost to Bingham in the UK, it was more a case of him not playing all that well, but this time I think it's O'Sullivan who will play predictably well and Hawkins is the mystery. Looking back at the World final, O'Sullivan won 18-12, which means he won six frames for Hawkins' four on average, and I think the balance is similar today. So O'Sullivan to win 6-4. :smile:
Bring it on!Leave a comment:
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I always love to see old vs new matches. Bring on O'sullivan vs Ding!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHAOkDamRzULeave a comment:
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It will make for great viewing, for the record i don't think Ding will beat Ronnie, but he could.Leave a comment:
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Yes he does. But if Ronnie is on form and his long game is intact then Ding's game isn't going to be enough.Originally Posted by scottley View PostLeave a comment:
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Indeed.Originally Posted by coomsey76 View Post
It's looking much more likely now that Ronnie is going to win the Welsh Open.Leave a comment:
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Fair play to Perry, i just hope we get the Ronnie v Ding final that we all want.Leave a comment:
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Well played Joe Perry......
That's the worst I've seen Selby play in ages!!Leave a comment:
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