David Grace
David Grace scored what he described as the best win of his career as he beat John Higgins 5-4 to reach the last 32 of the Shenzhen Open.
Grace, who first turned pro back in 2008, had lost all of his five previous meetings with Higgins but this time the Englishman turned the tables on his legendary opponent to set up a match with Stephen Maguire on Wednesday at the £850,000 event in the Guangdong province of southern China. If world number 75 Grace wins that tie it will be only the second time he has reached the last 16 of a ranking event in China and first since the 2015 Shanghai Masters.
The result extends a slow start to the season for four-time World Champion Higgins, who has won just four matches in ranking events so far this term, and he joins fellow ‘Class of 92’ members Ronnie O’Sullivan and Mark Williams as opening-round losers this week.
Higgins opened with a break of 116 and soon led 2-0, but Grace then took four frames in a row with runs of 60, 64, 93 and 68. Another century, 101, helped Higgins back to 4-4, but a break of 60 put Grace in charge of the decider and he eventually won it on the pink after his opponent had battled for snookers on the colours.
“It’s probably my best ever win, John is the hardest player of all time to play against,” said Grace. “He has bashed me up so many times, he never gives you anything. I had chances to win 5-3, then John did what he always does and cleared up. At 4-4 I thought I’d had it but fortunately he gave me one more chance and I made a good break.”
Ricky Walden sprang another surprise as he beat Chinese favourite Ding Junhui 5-4, coming from 2-0 down to win with top breaks of 115 and 133. It’s a much-needed victory for three-time ranking event winner Walden as he is 63rd in the projected end of season rankings so the threat of relegation is looming.
“I’m buzzing, it was a good match to be involved in,” said Walden, who now meets English Open champion Ali Carter. “I showed some courage and grit in the end. I have a long way to go to get back to the ranking position that I want, but I have been working hard, my game is good. It’s not easy out there, you run into players in better form than me with more confidence. I have been stuck in the qualifiers which is tough to say the least. I feel I am rebuilding. I feel incredibly low when I’m playing badly and incredibly high when I’m playing well. Results will give me a boost and hopefully things can turn for me.”
World Champion Wu Yize beat Jamie Clarke 5-4 with top breaks of 67, 143, 88 and 123. “I played very well in this match,” he said. “After going 3-0 up, I made two mistakes in the fourth frame and didn’t really react to what was happening, so before I knew it, I was behind. I was a little worried that the situation might affect my confidence, but overall I think I handled it pretty well.”
Kyren Wilson top scored with 100 and 122 in a 5-1 defeat of Sam Craigie while Shaun Murphy saw off Marco Fu by the same scoreline with a top break of 111. Michael Holt edged out Xiao Guodong 5-4 while China Open champion Mark Selby enjoyed a 5-3 success against Andrew Higginson.
The last-32 round got underway in Tuesday’s evening session and Neil Robertson was among those to progress to the last 16 as he beat Lei Peifan 5-1 with a top break of 94. Jiang Jun couldn’t capitalise on yesterday’s win over Ronnie O’Sullivan as he lost 5-3 to Zak Surety, who made breaks of 83 and 118 in the last two frames.
Scott Donaldson knocked out Zhao Xintong on Monday and he followed up with a 5-4 win over Pang Junxu, taking the decider by clearing from the last green to black. Jimmy Robertson was in fine form in a 5-1 defeat of Ben Mertens, compiling runs of 121, 55, 62, 117 and 82.
RESULTS
Round Two
Barry Hawkins (Eng) bt Liam Highfield (Eng) 5-3
Kyren Wilson (Eng) bt Sam Craigie (Eng) 5-1
Shaun Murphy (Eng) bt Marco Fu (Hkg) 5-1
David Grace (Eng) bt John Higgins (Sco) 5-4
Michael Holt (Eng) bt Xiao Guodong (Chn) 5-4
Mark Shelby (Eng) bt ANdrew HIgginson (Eng) 5-3
Ricky Walden (Eng) bt Ding Junhui (Chn) 5-4
Wu Yize (Chn) bt Jamie Clarke (Wal) 5-4
Round Three
Scott Donaldson (Sco) bt Pang Junxu (Chn) 5-4
Neil Robertson (Aus) bt Lei Peifan (Chn) 5-1
Jimmy Robertson (Eng) bt Ben Mertens (Ger) 5-1
Zak Surety (Eng) bt Jiang Jun (Chn) 5-3
