Local star Ding advances as Dott's title defense gets pinched

Local sensation Ding Junhui enjoyed a happy start at the Snooker China Open yesterday as he overcame a 2-1 deficit to beat world No 18 Joe Perry 5-3 at the Beijing University Students Gymnasium.

But Graeme Dott's defense of the tournament title was brought to a screeching halt with his loss to Barry Pinches.

Ding, who hadn't advanced past the quarterfinals in the 2007-08 season, looked sharp throughout the match and withheld a strong challenge from Perry thank to his solid defensive play.

"Generally it was a good match for me, I played at my level particularly on the defensive end," Ding said. "The first round is very tough, so I am really happy to go beyond the first round. I want to go further, for sure."

Dott, who knocked out the likes of John Higgins and Ronnie O'Sullivan to win the tournament last year, has had a poor run of form this season without any wins in his last 13 matches on the Main Tour. His touch was no better yesterday, losing to Pinches 5-1.

"I was very bad. I wasn't tired, I just played rubbish," he said. "You are disappointed when you lose any game. I need to play better."

Pinches opened with a break of 116 and then took frame two. And despite coming back with a run of 56 to reduce the deficit, Dott, the former world No 2 who will now slip to No 11, didn't display his winning desire.

The Scot believes that the loss of Alex Lambie, his father-in-law and former manager who died in December 2006, has had an effect on his performances, but he said it's high time he turns his hazardous game around.

"I've had a few personal problems this season, particularly losing Alex. He was such a big part of everything I did in snooker so it's been hard to deal with that," Dott said. "I just hope that I can get somewhere near the form I showed in Beijing last year, which was the best I've ever played.

"It's all about just trying to win one match, which could turn things around."

Pinches believes Dott will come back.

"He's been struggling this season but he's a terrific player and I'm sure he'll be back," Pinches said.

Former world No 1 Stephen Hendry also bowed out in the first round, losing to Barry Hawkins 5-1.

This is Hendry's fourth China Open trip. His best finish came in 2005 when he lost to Ding in the final.

"Barry plays very well, he plays better than me," Hendry admitted. "I didn't get a lot of chances. There is nothing you can do if you have an opponent like him."

Ken Doherty, a finalist in the Malta Cup, entered the second round with a 5-2 win over Mike Dunn while Nigel Bond is also through with a 5-3 victory over Stephen Lee.

Beijing mayor Guo Jinlong and the Deputy Director of the General Administration of Sport attended the evening session yesterday and officially opened the tournament by striking two cue balls on the match table before the start of the game between Perry and Ding.

(China Daily 03/26/2008 page24)