Snooker

Maximum man Robertson hammered in China

Neil Robertson recorded a maximum 147 break in the second round of the China Open today - but it was the only frame he won.

Robertson potted 15 reds, 15 blacks and all the colours to record his first maximum and earn a £20,000 bonus.

But the Australian managed just 99 more points in the next four frames as former world champion Peter Ebdon ran out a 5-1 winner to book his place in the quarter-finals.

Elsewhere, Stephen Hendry thrashed Ryan Day 5-0 to set up a quarter-final clash with Mark Allen in Beijing.

Day was completely out of sorts and managed a top break of just 16 as Hendry took full advantage.

Allen had earlier beaten Stephen Maguire 5-3, holding off a fightback from his Scottish opponent with a decisive break of 60 in the final frame.

Welshman Mark Williams won a high-class encounter of world champions, beating Scotland's John Higgins 5-2.

Higgins recorded breaks of 67 and 93 but Williams responded with runs of 73, 81 and 108 on his way to victory.

China's Ding Junhui gave the home crowd something to cheer with a 5-3 win over Mark Selby, despite almost suffering a case of the blues.

Leading 4-2, Ding missed a simple blue off the spot when he looked set to clear the table and win the match, and then suffered a complete miscue on the same ball in the next frame as well.

However, Selby was unable to take advantage and Ding held his nerve to seal the win.

Earlier in the day, Marco Fu reeled off five frames in a row to beat Nigel Bond 5-3.

Bond looked to be in total command of the match as he raced into a 3-0 lead, including a break of 74 in the third frame.

Hong Kong's Fu managed just 26 points in that time before a break of 71 in the fourth frame kickstarted his comeback.

All four morning matches finished 5-3, with Ali Carter, Mark King and Allen progressing to the next round.

Carter beat Joe Perry despite letting a 3-1 lead slip, the former World Championship finalist making breaks of 79 and 70 in the last two frames to seal victory.

King and Tian were also locked at 3-3 before King rattled in a break of 91, comfortably the highest of the match, to edge ahead.

And the left-hander won a scrappy final frame to seal the win, largely thanks to a break of 43.

 
RTÉ.ie Sport: Neil Robertson had a day to remember - and forget - in Beijing
Neil Robertson had a day to remember - and forget - in Beijing
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