Swail faces uphill battle as O'Sullivan leads

Friday, 4 May 2001 22:15

Ronnie O'Sullivan has raced into a 10-6 lead against comeback king Joe Swail in this morning's session of the Embassy World Championship semi-final. O'Sullivan capitalised on a Swail error, putting together an impressive 108 clearance for his fifth century of the tournament in the ninth frame this morning. He followed this up with another century just eight minutes later, reaching 119.

Swail looked out of sorts at this stage and he made another basic error in frame nine, but this time, O'Sullivan broke down on 27. The Northerner responded by producing some inspired long-range pots during a 51 break which ended his six-frame losing streak. World number 16 Swail had suddenly come to life and he knocked in two superb reds down the rail into the black pocket in a decisive run of 32 to the final blue in the final frame before the interval. However, O'Sullivan was revitalised by the sojourn, knocking in a 51 break followed by another half-century. Swail has won the last two frames on the trot, including an impressive break of 92, to send a warning that the master of comebacks may be down, but he is certainly not out.

Earlier in the tournament, Swail came back from difficult situations to defeat world champion Mark Williams and qualifier Patrick Wallace. The match will resume at 6.45pm this evening. The winner of this semi-final will take on either Matthew Stevens or John Higgins, who will take are tied at 8-8 following this afternoon's second session.

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Ronnie O'Sullivan 15-9 Joe Swail (Best of 33)

Filed by Greg McKevitt