In an exciting display of skill and resilience, China's Ding Junhui and Zhou Yuelong secured their places in the last 16 at the World Snooker Tour's World Open held in Yushan, Jiangxi Province.
Ding Junhui overcame Iran's Hossein Vafaei with a hard-fought 5-3 victory in the third round on Tuesday. Despite Vafaei taking early leads of 1-0 and 3-2, Ding demonstrated remarkable composure by winning three consecutive frames, including an impressive break of 119 in the third frame, earning him enthusiastic applause from the crowd.
Looking ahead, Ding faces a tough challenge against former world champion Shaun Murphy, who impressed with a maximum 147 break on the tournament's first day.
After the match, Ding commented, \"I had a good start in this match, and took the lead after the early frames. But I was lacking in concentration later, and committed several errors to let my opponent come back. Speaking frankly, I was not in my best form here, but I will try my best in the remaining matches.\"
In another highlight, Zhou Yuelong made a significant upset by defeating World No. 2 Kyren Wilson. Zhou began confidently, compiling two century breaks and two half-centuries to lead 4-0. However, Wilson made a strong comeback with back-to-back century breaks and a half-century to level the score at 4-4.
Remaining calm under pressure, Zhou secured a 5-4 victory, advancing as World No. 31 to face Scotland's John Higgins in the next round. Zhou reflected on his performance, stating, \"Whether I was leading or not, I remained calm, and I was not anxious or nervous when my opponent caught up to me. Both of us played very well here, and he put a lot of pressure on me. But I waited patiently, stayed calm, and finally, I won the deciding frame.\"
Reference(s):
Snooker: Ding edges Vafaei, Zhou upsets Wilson to advance to last 16
cgtn.com
