‘Disappointed’ Williams weighing up retirement after bowing out to Doherty

TWICE Masters champion Mark Williams revealed he may retire at the end of the season after crashing out of this year’s tournament.

The Welshman, a Masters winner in 1998 and 2003, looked in good shape as he raced into a 2-0 lead over Irishman Ken Doherty in their last 16 meeting.

But two-time Masters finalist Doherty hit back in sensational style to win six frames in succession for a deserved 6-2 victory and place in the quarter-finals of this year’s £460,000 event at the Wembley Conference Centre.

“You never know, that could be my last match here at Wembley,” reflected Williams, who has slipped to number 33 in the provisional world rankings.

“I’ve got to have a really good end to the season to give myself any chance of staying in the top 32. If I drop out of the top 32 then I would probably call it a day, that would be it (the end). It all depends on the last two or three months.

“I’m hitting the ball a lot better (than 12 months ago), but I’m still getting the same results. But hopefully I can get a few results in the last few ranking tournaments and it doesn’t come to that (retiring).’’

Williams added: “I started off all right. He played quite well, but from 2-0 I didn’t really do that much wrong. I missed a couple of balls, but nothing I can really beat myself up about. I felt quite good out there. Obviously I’d have liked to have won, so I’m very disappointed.”

An understandably delighted Doherty now goes on to meet Rotherham’s Shaun Murphy, the 2005 world champion, today.

But he does not think Williams is about to throw in the towel.

Doherty said: “Yes, of course it could happen, but I couldn’t see it happening. Mark is a proven quality player and yes, every player goes through highs and lulls, but you just have to play through it and believe in yourself. He’s won two World Championships and many tournaments, he’s still a great player.

“He started off so well and to be honest things were looking a little bit ominous, but at times like that you have to believe in yourself and dig deep. Luckily he missed a red when he could have gone 3-0 up, but I made a century break and it seemed a lot easier from then on.”