RISKY ROCKET CRASHES TO FU

26 Mar 2008 14:35:00
Ronnie O‘Sullivan paid the price for his carefree style as he suffered a 5-4 reverse to Marco Fu at the Honghe Industrial 2008 World Snooker China Open.
A thrilling tie between Hong Kong‘s finest and crowd favourite O‘Sullivan went down to the last three balls.
O‘Sullivan twice went for extremely risky pots on the blue from distance, with little regard for safety. The first time he was lucky to leave the blue safe, but on the second occasion he left Fu a simple pot to secure the match and a last 16 tie with Mark Selby.
Both players were in fine break-building form as they shared the first eight frames, O‘Sullivan knocking in 74, 53, 77 and 99 and Fu responding with 58, 56, 88 and 121.
Chigwell‘s O‘Sullivan was first among the balls in the decider and made 50 before missing a straight-forward brown. Fu replied with a 50 of his own, then missed the last green and was fortunate to leave his opponent snookered.
Fu potted green and brown then played safe on the blue, and took advantage of his opponent‘s recklessness when he got the chance to repeat his victory over O‘Sullivan in the Royal London Watches Grand Prix final.
"I don‘t think Ronnie was totally focussed. His play was casual at times," said Fu. "But there‘s nothing I can do to control that. At 50-0 down in the last frame I didn‘t think I‘d get another shot, so when I got a chance I felt lucky to be at the table, and not nervous.
"I played well from the start and took all of the chances I had. I felt much more relaxed than I did in my first match."
O‘Sullivan, whose lead at the top of the provisional rankings is now sure to be narrowed following wins for Shaun Murphy and Stephen Maguire, said: "I tried to express myself and it was a good game because we both played open snooker. Marco made me go for my shots.
"I tried hard and I‘m very disappointed but there has to be a loser. I lost to the better player on the night so I‘ve no complaints. I played well but he played better.
"There have been times in the past when I‘ve won tournaments but I‘ve still been miserable and ended up crying. The most important thing it to enjoy the game. It‘s history now and good luck to Marco."
Selby, seeking his third major title of the calendar year, enjoyed a comfortable 5-2 win over Ricky Walden, pulling away from 2-2 with top breaks of 117 and 109.
Ulster‘s Mark Allen scored a 5-2 win over Neil Robertson in another fast-moving game.
Allen enjoyed runs of 65 and 118 in going 3-0 up. Robertson was on for a 147 maximum in frame four but partially snookered himself on the last red and narrowly missed it to a baulk corner.
The Aussie pulled another frame back with a 63, only for Allen to go 4-2 up with a 76, then he secured victory in the next.
"I‘m always happy to beat one of the top players, although I had a bit of luck on my side tonight which helped," said Allen. "I didn‘t do much wrong in the two frames Neil won, so I still felt confident."
Robertson said: "It would have been nice to make a 147, I was only one centimetre away from having a chance to pot the last red. It shows that I‘ve been playing well, but I‘ve had a lot of tough draws this season and run into players in form. Hopefully I‘m saving it for the World Championship."
Ali Carter saw off Essex rival Stuart Bingham 5-3 with top runs of 84 and 68.