Chris Wakelin is determined to put an end to Zhao Xintong’s World Championship winning party, with the pair meeting in the second round of the Shanghai Masters after the Englishman scored a 6-3 win over Zhou Jinhao.
Wakelin is competing in the invitational version of this event for the first time in his career, having earned a place in the top 16 of the Johnstone’s Paint World Rankings. He went on a fine run to the quarter-finals of the World Championship, where he beat Mark Allen and Neil Robertson before losing out to Zhao.
That came at the conclusion of a landmark season for Wakelin, which saw him qualify for the Masters for the first time and make the final of the International Championship. He’s now keen to press on and further cement his place among the world’s elite tier.
This afternoon’s game saw Wakelin fire in breaks of 83, 61 and 54 on his way to victory over his 17-year-old wildcard counterpart this afternoon. He now turns his attention to a blockbuster showdown with Zhao on Wednesday evening.
“It is probably one of the most ground breaking, eye catching matches there has been for a long time. This will be the first time we have seen a Chinese World Champion. He’s a great World Champion and a phenomenal player. He has buckets of style on and off the table. Even the way he walks round the table is something very special. I was really below par when he beat me at the World Championship. I know I will have to play a lot better, but we know what is in the tank. I’m very confident in what I can achieve so I’m looking forward to it,” said 33-year-old Wakelin.
“Zhao was super beatable in that match. It was probably the only match in the World Championship where he was beatable. I was just super fatigued. It catches up with you at some point in the tournament and it happened to be quarter finals for me. I’ve made a lot of positive changes in my life over the last few months. I said after the World Championship I would get fitter and I’ve upped my mileage a lot, dropped nearly a stone in weight and stopped smoking as well. The reasons why I lost in the World Championship were nothing to do with on the table. It was the fitness side and that is something I’m working on.
“He’s the first person to do it from China. It is incredible what he has achieved, but I won’t be going out there and bowing down to him and let him have the show. It is my job to put an end to the World Championship party. He has a lot of challenges ahead as World Champion and a lot of pressure. For me, I just want to go out there and give it my absolute best. I want to prove why I made it here in the first place.“
Barry Hawkins booked a repeat of the 2018 final, which he lost to Ronnie O’Sullivan, with a fine 6-4 win over two-time ranking event finalist Wu Yize.
Hawkins hammered home contributions of 102, the 500th century of his career, 86, 79, 66 and 63 during this morning’s victory. He’s now relishing facing the Rocket, who he beat in their previous meeting at last season’s UK Championship.
Hawkins said: “I lost the final in 2018, but it was a great atmosphere playing him here in a big tournament. The last time I played him was at the UK Championship and I won. Hopefully I can carry on with that sort of standard of form against him in the next round.“
Masters Champion Shaun Murphy thrashed wildcard Han Fuyan 6-0 to earn his second round. The Magician compiled five breaks over 50 and will now face close friend and long time on table adversary Mark Selby.
Murphy said: “We’ve been playing each other since we were ten years of age and we always have great matches. We had a good one here in Shanghai last year and I’m sure we will put on a good show for the crowd.“
Neil Robertson fired in a 137 during his 6-2 win over Pang Junxu and set up a mouth watering meeting with world number one Judd Trump.
Zhang Anda came through 6-5 in a firecely contested clash with compatriot Yuan Sijun. He now faces Chinese legend Ding Junhui in the second round. Meanwhile Si Jiahui beat Wang Xinbo 6-4 and now plays Kyren Wilson.
Hawk Clinches Victory
For once the report reasonably exhaustive. Barry Hawkins played well but Wu Yize wasn’t at his best. He never looked confident during that match. I didn’t watch the whole Robertson v Pang match, but in that one as well at had the feeling that the Chinese player wasn’t quite the best version of himself. Maybe playing in China adds pressure because they don’t want to disappoint their “home” fans and put too much pressure on themselves.
Also, it’s hard to estimate how full … or empty … the arena actually was. In the early sessions it certainly didn’t look full to say the least. It’s a pity for the players in action. During the last matches of the day however it looked different. There were rather large groups of fans watching. Of course, during the week days, most people will be at work during daytime. Also, the seats close to the table are the most expensive. Maybe retired persons and those without a job can’t afford them1. It doesn’t look great on television though.
In the UK, if the front rows are empty, often fans are invited to fill them even if they have bought a “cheaper” seat, but my experience in China, in Shanghai in fact, was different. Fans had to sit on their “assigned” seats even if the front rows were empty and it didn’t look good on television. ↩︎
Ronnie O'Sullivan 
Worth noting that the upcoming match against Barry Hawkins will be Ronnie’s first career match as a married man…