Reanne Evans was defeated by Ken Doherty in qualifying for the World Snooker Championship, but the 29-year-old from England believes she could have won and had the Dubliner “twitching a bit.”
Evans was handed a discretionary place in the qualifying rounds for the Crucible after winning 10 consecutive ladies' world titles, but fell to a 10-8 defeat against Doherty, despite leading 4-3 at one stage.
"It was a struggle, the whole game was scrappy but I just dug in there," Evans told the World Snooker website.
"I'm happy to have stuck in there with a player who has been world champion and has so much experience, and to have given him a fright.
"I'm not used to playing these long matches so it's good experience for me.
"From the start I could see that he was under it, he was twitching a bit. I just couldn't manage to take control of the match.
"I didn't play my best today, I just scrapped and fought all the way. There's no reason why I can't beat people like Ken if I play a bit better.
"If I could play in events like this more often, you never know. The ladies game is very different. I've got to take the positives.
"If it had gone 9-9 I think I would have won. I felt really good out there, although there were a few nerves. I just kept losing position because I'm not used to the tables."
Forty-five-year-old Doherty returns to Ponds Forge in Sheffield on Sunday to face Lee Walker, needing two more wins to reach the final stages.
