Deadly Ding dumps Dott out of Masters
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Ding Junhui of China plays a shot during his quarter-final match against Graeme Dott of Scotland in 2011 Snooker Masters held at the Wembley Arena in London, Britain, Jan. 13, 2011. Ding won 6-2 to enter the semi-finals. (Xinhua/Zeng Yi) |
Chinese wunderkind Ding Junhui saw off former world champion Graeme Dott 6-2 at Wembley Arena on Thursday, becoming the first player to advance into the semifinals at the Snooker Masters.
Ding, 23, cruised into the interval with a 3-1 lead, as he took victories in the first, second and fourth frames all with centuries.
Dott, who knocked out world No. 1 John Higgins in the first round on Monday, managed to take one back after an entangled fifth frame but lost the following three frames quickly with too many unforced errors.
"It feels good. I haven't got any pressure. It's just like practice," said Ding, whose best result at Wembley was a runnerup in 2007 as he only lost to "Rocket" Ronnie O'Sullivan.
"Maybe my three centuries in the first half gave him too much pressure," said Ding. "He got few chances to hit the balls, then he probably lost his sharpness and was under pressure."
Ding is going to face the winner between debutant Jamie Cope and veteran Mark King, but he had no mood to study his semifinal opponent.
"I don't know too much about them and I don't need to," said Ding. "I will just focus on my game on Saturday."
