Ken Doherty has been dumped out of the Regal Masters after Hong Kong's Marco Fu upset the odds to win 6-3 and become the first player into the semi-finals in Glasgow this evening. The Dubliner was 2-1 on favourite to reach the last four, but the Irish number one always played second best to his 23-year-old opponent, who will now meet either defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan or Matthew Stevens for a place in Sunday's final.
Fu, the world number 17, followed on from his 5-2 win over world number seven Peter Ebdon with a deserved win, despite Doherty taking a 2-1 lead early in the session. However, the 1993 and 1994 champion punctuated a disappointing evening with some erratic play, and it was no surprise when Fu knocked in breaks of 48 and 90 to lead 3-2. Doherty levelled the match at 3-3 but then lost the next three as Fu confirmed his place in Saturday's semis.
A disappointed Doherty conceded after the defeat: "I just never got motoring, though it wasn't a great performance by either of us. Sometimes you get days like these. You've got to try and grind out results and I just didn't do that. Marco won some good frames and good luck to him."
Filed by Shane Murray
