Snooker: Dott reaches last 16

Graeme Dott reached the last 16 for the first time in four visits to The Crucible with what he revealed had been an emotional 10-6 victory over Robin Hull.

The improving Scot, who has risen to number 14 in the world rankings, learned on the day he was due to travel to Sheffield that May Lambie, the wife of his manager Alex, had been diagnosed with cancer.

Dott’s girlfriend is the daughter of the Lambies and the Glaswegian is naturally very close to the family.

In the match, 24-year-old Dott had led 6-3 and looked to be cruising through when he took the first three frames of this morning’s session.

But Hull, the first player from Finland to appear at The Crucible, refused to lie down and recovered to 9-6 before a break of 67 sent Dott through to a clash with John Higgins or James Wattana next Sunday.

‘‘I got a bit nervous, but I still had a three-frame cushion and I would only have panicked if it had got to 9-8,’’ said Dott.

‘‘I could have dropped out of the top 16 if I had lost, but when you consider the amount of matches I’ve thrown away this season I could be in the top 10.’’