Snooker: Doherty eases into third round
Wednesday, 18 October 2000 21:37Ken Doherty eased his way into the third round, with a comprehensive 5-0 defeat of Northern Ireland champion Patrick Wallace, in the Grand Prix at Telford this afternoon. Doherty now tackles fellow Dubliner and practice partner Fergal O'Brien tomorrow morning for a quarter-final spot in the £440,000 world ranking event. The 1997 world champion claimed two low-scoring scrappy frames against the Dungannon man, before pulling away with breaks of 115 and 89.
Elsewhere, temperamental Australian Quinten Hann once again pressed the self-destruct button as he crashed to a 5-0 defeat against Ronnie O'Sullivan. O'Sullivan needed only 52 minutes to sprint into the last 16 of as Hann, after playing conventionally in falling 2-0 adrift, was then responsible for four shots which crossed the boundary between reckless and suicidal.
Hann, known for conceding frames in previous competitions when still in the running to win them, first displayed his temper in the third frame. He smashed the cue ball into the reds on the break-off, splitting them far and wide. A 98-break swiftly carried a bemused O'Sullivan 3-0 ahead and Hann did exactly the same thing with a safety shot early in the fourth frame and with his break-off in the fifth.
Those kamikaze shots directly led to runs of 86 and 83 from O'Sullivan, who can expect to face considerably sterner opposition against Gloucester's Rob Milkins. Hann, outscored 400-45 by snooker's swiftest potter, had only four visits to the table in the closing three frames and failed to pot a ball in four frames.
Earlier today, Terry Murphy had a walkover against Anthony Hamilton, to book a third round meeting with John Higgins tomorrow.
Filed by Shane Murray
