Ken Doherty significantly improved his chances of remaining among the top 16 players next season with a hard-fought 5-2 win over Australia's Quinten Hann at the China Open this morning but still left the venue ruing an expensive mistake.
In the opening frame, the Dubliner potted 15 reds and 14 blacks but, only seven shots short of his first maximum in tournament play, he failed to sink a straightforward black off the spot with the remaining colours ideally placed.
He said: "It's the same old story, missing a black cost me. Not making the maximum was really disappointing but the most important thing was the win."
Doherty previously jawed the final black for a 147 and the keys to a sports car during his defeat by Matthew Stevens in the final of the 2000 Benson & Hedges Masters at Wembley.
Doherty now faces Stephen Lee, who whitewashed Habib Subah, Bahrain's leading player, 5-0. Hong Kong's Marco Fu also reached the third round with an unconvincing 5-3 victory over Kobkit Palajin, of Thailand. Fu advances to meets Dave Harold, who received a walkover following the withdrawal of Ronnie O'Sullivan.
