The world snooker championship semi-finals are marathon affairs. With the playing arena reduced to one table, each match is played over four sessions, with one match following the other. This means it takes eight sessions in order to find out which two players will contest the final.
The three days of playing are contested over the best of 33 frames, with the first player to win 17 frames going through. Both matches have begun, played out in contrasting styles.
In the first match to be played, China’s Ding Junhui has been in fine form moving 5-0 up on Scotland’s Alan McManus, and ending the day 6-2 ahead. Ding’s performance was punctuated by four century breaks. He opened the match with a break of 100 (never an easy feat for the first frame of a match). This was followed by an 84 and then a second century of 131.
The Chinese player moved to a 4-0 lead with a break of 62, and then 5-0 with a second break of 100. By this stage McMnaus had scored only 47 points to Ding’s 477. McManus then pulled two frames back in steady but unspectacular style, before Ding closed out with a fourth century – 128 – to take a 6-2 lead. This was the most impressive play, from any competitor, in the tournament so far.
There were times in the match when McManus could do little other than to shake his ahead at the way Ding was playing. At one point, every time the Chines player came to the table, within a few minutes he was proceeding to a frame winning lead. Whether McManus can turn the tide remains to be see, but it will be a tall order and, assuming Ding maintains his form, it will take something special from the Scottish player to stem the tide.
The other semi-final was played a little more slowly and it was a more tactical, although equally absorbing, contest. Here England’s Mark Selby holds a 5-3 advantage over Hong Kong’s Marco Fu.
At one stage it appeared as if Selby was set to dominate the match as he moved into a 3-0 lead. This was helped by breaks of 56 and 63. In the early stages Fu was tentative, as if a little overwhelmed by the situation. Fu, however, pulled one frame back with a fine 72 break. Fu also won the next frame, a rather scrappy affair, to close to 2-3, before Selby moved to 4-2 after a 31 minute frame. Another big break from Fu, an 89, pulled another frame back, but Selby won the final frame of the session with a break of 69 to take the frame 73-0 and to hold a two frame advantage overnight.
The action continues.
