Ding wins tense battle

Title-holder Ding Junhui came through a tense battle with Ryan Day to reach the last 16 of the Maplin UK Championship in York today.

The 19-year-old from China completed a 9-7 victory having only arrived in England late on Friday night following his exploits at the Asian Games in Qatar, where he won three gold medals.

And despite his gruelling schedule, the signs were ominous for the players hoping to dethrone Ding for the defending champion was back in the form that carried him to the title last year.

Back-to-back century breaks in the opening session were only good enough to secure a 4-4 scoreline however, and it remained close today as Welsh star Day showed why he is another emerging force.

Four consecutive frames went to the final black as the duo stayed deadlocked at 7-7, before Ding edged ahead by taking the scrappiest game of a high-quality session.

Day then got on a break of 62 and looked set to force a decider, but ran out of position when potting a blue about which he had thought long and hard and missed the next red into the middle.

Ding sank a superb long red to spark a clearance of 57 that pinched the frame by one point – the fifth in six to hinge on the black – and clinched a third-round clash with 2003 champion Matthew Stevens.

“I didn’t get to York until midnight on Friday so (I’ve had) no rest,” said Ding through his interpreter.

“I was worried about this match because my form at the Asian Games was not that stable, but my confidence is growing now.”

Joining Ding in the third round was Ken Doherty, who did not concede a point as he gained the two frames he needed today to oust Mike Dunn.

Resuming 7-1 up, the Irishman took only 22 minutes to complete a 9-1 victory that secured a last-16 date with Joe Perry tomorrow.

Dunn, who had beaten James Wattana in round one, struggled badly in front of the television cameras and apart from a break of 64 in the only frame he won, his highest contribution was a mere 23.

The Redcar player did not trouble the scorer at all today and it meant Doherty, a fervent Manchester United fan, could get the formalities out of the way well in time for the football.

“I just wanted to get it over and done with – I have a match to watch this afternoon,” said the world number two, who made no secret of the fact he would be supporting Arsenal against Chelsea.

“I got off to a good start. I don’t think Mike settled very well – there’s a big difference between playing on TV and the pre-TV stage.

“It’s just nice to settle in very quickly and play some decent stuff.”