Classy Hamilton too good for O'Sullivan
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Shanghai Daily, September 9, 2011
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Ronnie O'Sullivan looks on as Anthony Hamilton cues a shot during their Bank of Communications Shanghai Masters second round game yesterday. |
Anthony Hamilton ended Ronnie O'Sullivan's bid for a second Bank of Communications Shanghai Masters title after completing a classy 5-3 win in the last 16 of the event yesterday.
O'Sullivan opened with a run of 92, but found Hamilton a tougher proposition than James Wattana, who he drubbed 5-1 in the first round.
A 49 helped Hamilton level at 1-1 before a break of 107 saw him edge 2-1 clear. O'Sullivan knocked in a 65 in the fourth frame to restore parity at the mid-session interval, but Hamilton continued to look the likelier figure among the balls.
A 73 saw O'Sullivan lead by the odd frame in five before Hamilton moved one up with a possible two to play courtesy of a 94 and a 72. Both men missed chances in the eighth frame, but Hamilton kept his composure as a solid 63 provided him with his passage to the last eight.
O'Sullivan did not play badly in a high quality match, but Hamilton was back to the sort of form that helped him reach the finals of the British Open in 1999 and the China Open three years later.
Hamilton will face Mark King after he outlasted Ireland's Fergal O'Brien 5-3 in a contest that ran for three hours and 21 minutes.
Top break
King's top break was a 60 in the third frame that gave him a 3-0 lead with O'Brien making 54 and 43 to level at 3-3. A 45 and a 47 helped King over the winning line.
Mark Williams also rode roughshod over Robert Milkins to seal his spot in the quarterfinals with a thumping 5-1 win. The world No. 1 Williams was rarely troubled by Milkins in waltzing through in just over an hour, while world No. 2 Mark Selby overwhelmed Jamie Cope 5-0 to join Williams in the last eight.
Selby will face Shaun Murphy, who won the final three frames of an epic clash with Mark Allen to complete a 5-4 victory, with Williams set to meet Matthew Stevens for a place in the semifinals after his fellow Welshman completed a comfortable 5-1 win over Martin Gould, who was brought back down to earth with a bump after his 5-3 win over home favorite Ding Junhui on Wednesday. Williams rolled in breaks of 54, 57, 130 and 82 as Milkins wilted under the strain of the Welshman's carefree scoring.
