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| April 30, 2003 | Wednesday | Safar 27, 1424 |
Williams sets record as quarterfinal line-up completed
SHEFFIELD (England), April 29: Mark Williams reeled off an incredible 13 frames in a row — a tournament record — to beat Quinten Hann 13-2 with a frame to spare in the second round of the world championship on Monday.
Paul Hunter, Marco Fu and Ken Doherty also won their second round matches to complete the quarter-final line-up at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre.
“It’s unbelievable to beat anyone 13-2 at the Crucible, especially someone as good as Quinten can be,” said Williams after blitzing the Australian.
“He kept missing easy balls and I kept punishing him.”
A shell shocked Hann said: “I just played bad the whole match. I don’t know why, I just wasn’t up for it.”
Williams insisted the pressure will be on seven-times world champion Stephen Hendry when the pair meet in the quarter-finals.
“He’s got a lot harder job than me,” the Welsh left-hander said. “If he doesn’t beat me he can’t get to number one in the rankings. If he beats me, he’s got a chance.”
Hunter, who went into the final session with a 12-4 lead over Matthew Stevens, completed a 13-6 win.
“I’m more determined this year because I’ve been beaten in the first round here before,” said Hunter.
A match against defending champion Peter Ebdon awaits Hunter who pointed out the omens were good.
“Every time I’ve played him in a tournament I’ve gone on and won it,” he said.
Stevens, a losing finalist in 2000, believes Hunter has a good chance of taking the title.
“He has definitely got the makings of a world champion,” he said.
Hong Kong’s Fu, who stunned firm favourite Ronnie O’Sullivan in the first round, enjoyed a comfortable 13-7 win over Scot Alan McManus who has failed to get beyond the second round since reaching the semi-final in 1993.
Resuming with a 10-6 lead, Fu lost the opening frame in the final session before sealing victory with breaks of 75, 57 and 51.
“Playing at this venue is like a boyhood dream for me,” said Fu. “To get to the quarter-finals is not so bad, considering that the first few matches I played here I didn’t win a match.”
Doherty, winner here in 1997, edged to a 13-12 victory over Graeme Dott in a marathon match lasting more than nine hours.
Dott, who had a 6-2 lead after the opening session, saw Doherty go in front for the first time at 10-9. He fought back to level at 12-12, but Doherty clinched a tense deciding frame to set up a quarter-final clash with John Higgins.
“It was really tough and there was an awful lot of pressure,” Doherty admitted. “I just found something down at the bottom of the well.”
Second round results
Paul Hunter (England) bt Matthew Stevens (Wales) 13-6
Frame scores (Hunter first): 59-68 82-1 81-15 110-0 78-34 0-84 74-61 112-17 67-7 65-56 71-42 14-79 77-50 62-69 91-0 107-0 33-68 1-128 78-38; Ken Doherty (Ireland) bt Graeme Dott (Scotland) 13-12
Frame scores (Doherty first): 27-61 25-59 36-59 72-60 7-96 0-98 0-80 68-2 38-59 76-10 92-0 56-55 84-0 69-32 50-72 18-80 68-66 75-30 62-32 69-41 41-59 64-1 8-66 1-90 62-30; Marco Fu (Hong Kong) bt Alan McManus (Scotland) 13-7
Frame scores (Fu first): 6-116 24-64 73-45 55-11 4-127 63-58 70-36 66-25 118-7 56-75 56-65 71-39 62-48 31-65 56-42 79-21 44-87 75-0 69-14 71-40; Mark Williams (Wales) bt Quinten Hann (Australia) 13-2
Frame scores (Williams first): 34-67 50-58 71-28 74-11 71-5 64-52 81-6 78-33 57-49 89-0 72-15 71-40 93-38 66-1 69-29—Reuters
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