China

Ding, defending champ Williams ousted at China Open

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-03-29 09:19

Defending champion Mark Williams and China Ding were all knocked out off the 2007 China Open snooker tournament here on Wednesday.

Jamie Cope fired in breaks of 134, 68, 72, 104 and 86 as he cruised to a 5-1 win to end the reign of Mark Williams in this tournament.

China's Ding Junhui reacts during the 2007 World Snooker China Open in the first round game against Barry Hawkins March 29 in Beijing. [Xinhua]

Williams, who beat John Higgins 9-8 in last year's final, has slipped to the tenth in the latest world rankings.

"That's one of the best performances I've ever seen against me. He hardly missed a ball and I didn't get much of a look-in." said the former world champion.

The only disappointment for the 21-year-old Cope was his failure to convert either of two chances to deliver 147 points.

"That's the best game I've played for a long time, If I keep playing like that I can beat anyone, so maybe I could be the champion," said Cope.

He missed a tricky red on 72 in frame four then a much easier penultimate red on 104 in the next.

"I make a lot of 147s in practice so I always go for?them when I have a chance, it's a shame I couldn't make one this time," added Cope.

Cope faces Stuart Bingham in the last 16 after he beat veteran Steve Davis 5-4 with a tight final-frame decider.

Barry Hawkins signaled his intent from the start with a wonderful 116 clearance, before breaks of 134, 77, 59 and 73 to help him seal a 5-3 win over "China Ding" in a more then three hours-match.

"Clearly, Ding was under pressure, and he still did his best," said Hawkins.

Ding Junhui refused to open his mouth after the match despite dozens of journalists flooded the conference room.

In the previous matches, Li Hang of China was beaten by former world champion Ken Doherty 5-1, and his team mate Mei Xiwen was also eliminated out of the tournament.

Former world champion Shaun Murphy cruised to a 5-1 win over Chinese wildcard Mei Xiwen with a breaks of 67, 58, 43, 43 and 54.

"I didn't score that heavily, but it was my first professional victory in China, so it meant a lot to me," said Murphy.

"Clearly, I was not in the same level with British professional players, such as Murphy. I hope next time I could do better," said Mei Xiwen.

Murphy faces Stephen Maguire in the next round after the Scotsman defeated Mark King 5-3.