Snooker
Doherty through to Shanghai quarters
Thursday, 10 September 2009 13:37Ken Doherty has reached his first ranking quarter-final in two and a half years with a 5-4 victory over England's Barry Hawkins at the Shanghai Masters in China.
The last time the Irishman reached the last eight was at the 2007 China Open in Beijing, when he lost to Hawkins by the same scoreline.
Today's match was a tight contest with never more than one frame in it. Former World champion Doherty compiled breaks of 79, 49, 41 and 51 in the first eight frames, while Dartford's Hawkins responded with 64 and 50.
The deciding frame saw Doherty build a 52-0 lead before missing an easy red. Hawkins had a chance to counter but failed on a simple pink to a centre pocket and Doherty added 50 to clinch a quarter-final meeting with Shaun Murphy.
