2024 Xi’an Grand Prix – Day 3 – Ronnie advances to the Last 16 round

Here are the reports by WST on yesterday’s action in Xi’an

XI’AN GRAND PRIX DAY THREE

Mark Allen, determined to enjoy his status as world number one, booked a place in the last 16 of the Xi’an Grand Prix with a 5-2 defeat of Xiao Guodong.

Northern Ireland’s Allen took top spot in the rankings for the first time at the end of last season, and hopes to hang on to that status for an extended period, but admits that his position is under threat from chaser Judd Trump. The pair could meet in the semi-finals this week, and if Trump wins the title then he will take over at the top.

Breaks of 112 and 133 put Allen 2-0 ahead today, and he later made 76 and 82 to lead 4-2. Xiao led 52-1 in frame seven before Allen made a tremendous 64 clearance, picking off several balls from awkward positions.

“I started the match well and closed it out with a nice clearance,” said Allen, who now meets going Barry Hawkins. “Xiao played well today, his safety was better than mine and if it had gone 4-3 it was anyone’s game.

“I have had a few weeks of practice now, plus matches in Shanghai and at the qualifiers, so I feel I’m in good shape for a run of big events. I’m always trying to find ways to improve, but this season I am not going to change too much, unless I have something glaring wrong with my technique. And I’ll try to enjoy it more because if you can’t enjoy being world number one then you’re in the wrong sport.

“There’s a long way to go, but if I did play Judd in the semi-finals it would be a great match. Being honest, at some point this season he will probably go ahead of me because I have a lot of points to defend from two years ago, and he doesn’t have as much coming off. But if I win tournaments that will keep me ahead.“

Shanghai Masters champion Trump made it seven wins out of seven so far this season as he beat Lyu Haotian 5-1 with runs of 61, 68. 94, 57 and 54.|

China’s Gong Chenzhi has impressed so far in his debut season and, having beaten Tom Ford 5-1 already, the 17-year-old saw off Si Jiahui 5-3 with top breaks of 98 and 92.

Mark Williams looked sharp in a 5-2 win over Chris Wakelin, compiling breaks of 61, 102, 91 and 101.

Crucible runner-up Jak Jones made an excellent 88 in the decider to edge out Jack Lisowski 5-4.

Evening session

Ronnie O’Sullivan admitted that to win an eighth World Championship would be a “dream” after thrashing Yuan Sijun 5-1 to reach the last 16 of the Xi’an Grand Prix.

Snooker’s greatest ever player, O’Sullivan remains highly motivated, always looking for new methods. He won five titles last season and, just 16 months short of his 50th birthday, can still dominate tournaments when his game clicks.

“The key for me is to enjoy the game, so I’m always looking for ways to make that happen,” said O’Sullivan, who scored top breaks of 95 and 109 today as he set up a meeting with Hossein Vafaei in round four on Thursday. “I have started to play left-handed more because I really enjoy it and hopefully within that process I’ll be able to find some form playing right-handed.

“Over the last two years I have won a lot of tournaments, but not really enjoyed it. I don’t have to win any more, I have had an amazing career. If there is one thing I would love to do, it’s to win another World Championship. That would be eight, and then I would have every record there is.

“I’m tied on seven with Stephen Hendry which is still a great achievement, but it would be nice to have them all, that would be a dream story, to be able to look back on my career when it’s over.”

Dominic Dale plans to retire at the end of this season despite an upturn in form over in recent months. The 52-year-old has climbed to 40th in the world and a superb 5-2 win over Shaun Murphy could help him continue his rise.

“This is definitely my last season, I get a lot of aches and pains in my shoulder, and inflammation in my fingers,” said the Spaceman, who top scored with 96 as he earned a match with Daniel Wells. “It’s time to retire. It’s very difficult after 30 years to keep preparing for tournaments and playing matches, and having an opponent who is trying to take money out of your pocket. I’ll enjoy this season as much as I can.

“I was supposed to fly home tomorrow and I had even packed my bags, so I’ll need to change my flight and unpack now!“

Mark Selby survived a final frame decider to beat Pang Junxu 5-4, while World Champion Kyren Wilson was a 5-3 victor against Ricky Walden.

Matthew Selt pulled away from 2-2 to beat Hammad Miah 5-2 with a top break of 75.

DAY THREE HIGHLIGHTS

Ronnie did play, and score, much better yesterday than he had in his first two matches and it is great to hear him say that he wants more… Ronnie has had many mental struggles during his career, many ups and downs but he seems to be in a good place at the moment.

Here are the scores: