Dismal Dott in China crisis

Graeme Dott’s miserable season continued as the defending champion crashed out of the Honghe Industrial China Open at the first hurdle.

The defending champion was hammered 5-1 by Englishman Barry Pinches in the first round of this year’s week-long tournament at the Beijing Sports Gymnasium.

And with the defeat Dott has now failed to win his last 15 matches, the worst run of his professional career.

“I don’t know what’s the matter with me, I’m just playing terrible at the moment,” admitted Dott.

“I’m still practising hard, but I can’t get my head around it at the moment. It’s difficult to take.

“For some reason I was just very bad. I wasn’t tired, I just played rubbish.

“You are disappointed when you lose any game. I know I need to play better, especially at the World Championship (next month).”

Norwich potter Pinches, who beat Chinese wildcard Zhang An’Da in his opening match yesterday, started the better of the two players.

A superb break of 116 saw him win the opening frame, before he held his concentration to win the next frame – which lasted nearly half an hour – on points 65-34.

Dott, who beat Stoke’s Jamie Cope in last year’s showcase final, responded with a break of 56 to reduce his arrears, but Pinches won the next with runs of 58 and 40 for a 3-1 interval.

And it got even better following the resumption as a composed break of 52 made it 4-1, before Dott faltered on a break of 44 in the sixth frame and Pinches won it on points 62-53 to progress to the last 16 phase.

Next up for the world nuimber 56 is a meeting with Nigel Bond on Thursday.

“I was very good, I played pretty well,” reflected a delighted Pinches. “Graeme didn’t play well to be fair and I was pretty solid all the way through the match.

“He’s been struggling this season, but he’s a terrific player and I’m sure he’ll be back.

“You have to take one match at a time, any player can win any tournament these days. Any player can win if they have a good week and a bit of luck.”

Meanwhile, Derbyshire’s Bond impressed with a battling 5-3 victory over this season’s SAGA Insurance Masters finalist Stephen Lee.

Breaks of 44, 56, 55 and 56 did the bulk of the damage, while Lee mustered two breaks of 52 as he slipped to defeat in just over three and a half hours.

In the other afternoon matches Glaswegian Stephen Maguire beat Dubliner Fergal O’Brien 5-3 in a repeat of this season’s Northern Ireland Trophy final, while former world champion Ken Doherty beat Cleveland cueman Mike Dunn 5-2.

O’Brien had breaks of 86, 70, 62 and 128, but former World Championship semi-finalist Maguire had breaks of 126 and 70 to progress.

Doherty pocketed a tournament high run of 140 in the opening frame against Dunn, but slipped 2-1 down after his opponent won a scrappy second frame and then knocked in a 91 run.

But breaks of 42, 40, 64 and 63 made sure Doherty made sure of his place in the last 16 phase.