Tournament favorite Ronnie O'Sullivan wrapped up his unfinished
business in under an hour to knock Ding Junhui out from the world
snooker championships 10-2 on Monday.
Ding had a chance to stage a fight-back worthy of heroes of yore
such as Leonidas. This was not to be as the young Chinese star
could only gain one more frame before capitulating, after being
down 8-1 after the first session yesterday.
Ding pulled a frame back in the 10th but the Rocket came back
with two rapid-fire 87 and 72 breaks to seal the victory and move
on to face Ryan Day or Neil Robertson.
O'Sullivan, having already triumphed 10-3 over young Ding during
the SAGA Insurance Masters final, went for the jugular in even more
emphatic fashion this time, shaving a frame off his last
victory.
The victor shed no tear for his fallen foe after the first-round
trouncing.
Ronnie
O'Sullivan
"There is no place for feeling sorry for anyone, but I am a big
fan of Ding, he is a friend of mine," the two-time world champion
told BBC. "I just hope that match stands him in good stead
for next year. I was up for it from the beginning. I got off to a
good start."
Despite the defeat, Ding kept his chin up and praised the
experience he garnered, a marked difference from the crying fit
that shook him after his last victory.
"I tried 100 per cent but Ronnie played very well. The match I
lost at Wembley did not affect me," the 20-year-old said. "The
Crucible is the best arena I have ever played in. I'm still very
young and I hope I will have a lot more chances to win here."
17-year-old Judd Trump shared the spotlight as he made 2005
world champion Shaun Murphy dig deep for his eventual 10-6
victory.
Murphy led 5-4 going into the second session but the young Trump
showed surprising skill and grit to claim the next two frames and
take the lead. Murphy dug deep and used his experience to clinch
the last five frames to move on to the last 16 where he will face
John Parrott.
Qualifier Fergal O'Brien pulled off the upset of the first round
by knocking out world number 12 Barry Hawkins 10-9.
(Xinhua News Agency April 24, 2007)
