Indian Open: McGill outclasses Zhang to enter semis

Defending champion Anthony McGill was at his fluent best to outplay Chinese Anda Zhang 4-0 to enter the semifinal while former world champions Shaun Murphy, Stuart Bingham and Ken Doherty suffered defeats in the pre-quarterfinals.

Anthony Mcgill of Scotland in action Zhang Anda of China in the quaterfinals at the Indian Open world ranking snooker tournament in Visakhapatnam on Friday.

 

Defending champion, Anthony McGill of Scotland, was at his fluent best to outplay Chinese Anda Zhang 4-0 to enter the semifinal of the fourth Indian Open world ranking snooker tournament at Novotel Hotel here on Friday.

In another quarterfinal, Chinese Xu Si also notched up a similar 4-0 win over David Gilbert of England.

Though much was expected from Zhang, it became apparent that he was not equal to the occasion and his misery was compounded by the much fancied opponent as he never really gave him any chances.

McGill, who won the Indian Open last year in Hyderabad, was spot on with his potting, showing his class in building the crucial breaks. It was obvious that Zhang struggled a bit with his potting, especially potting the long reds close to the cushion.

"I am pleased with my game today. My safety play was good. I don't think Zhang, who is a tremendous player, never really got too many chances," he said.

In the other quarterfinal, Xu, former World under-21 snooker champion, also recorded an easy win over the more experienced David Gilbert.

Doherty, Bingham, Murphy bow out

Earlier in the morning session, three former world champions – World No. 5 Shaun Murphy, World No. 9 Stuart Bingham and Ken Doherty - crashed out in the pre-quarterfinals.

In another major upset, David Gilbert of England shocked teammate and World No. 11 Mark Allen 4-1 in a third round match.

Late in the night, four-time world champion John Higgins of Scotland defeated Liam Highfield of England 4-0 to set up a semifinal clash with Xu Si of China while Mark King of England notched up a 4-2 win over countrymate Elliot Slessor 4-2 in the other quarterfinal.

The results:

Quarterfinals: Xu Si (Chn) bt David Gilbert (Eng) 82 (72)-0, 66-15, 69 (52)-16, 82 (60)-9; Anthony McGill (Sco) bt Zhang Anda (Chn) 71 (57)-11, 65-28, 70 (62)-0, 120 (74)-0; John Higgins (Sco) bt Liam Highfield (Eng) 58-50, 56-38, 122 (122)-15, 70 (57)-8; Mark King (Eng) bt Elliot Slessor (Eng) 81-8, 56-44, 66 (51) -79, 61-15, 21-69 (68), 110 (110) -0.

Pre-quarterfinals: Anthony McGill (Sco) bt Hossein Vafaei (Irn) 89-0, 16-73 (70), 70 (54)-7, 95 (55)-1, 79-4; Mark King (Eng) bt Stuart Bingham (Eng) 5-98 (57), 56-72 (51), 79-0, 79 (72)-14, 71 (50)-32, 85 (84)-0, 65-63; Zhang Anda (Chn) bt Ken Doherty (Ire) 79-58, 19-68 (51), 82 (67)-27, 85 (85)-20, 37-69, 32-79, 70 (54)-13; Xu Si (Chn) bt Ricky Walden