China Open 2011: Last 32 Preview - (Part 3)
Continued from Part 2
Graeme Dott vs. Ken Doherty
Both players are very experienced and won’t give each other an inch. Dott and Doherty have both won the World Championship once and have finished runner-up twice.
Dott though, is in better shape, as he finished runner-up in the World Championship last year. However, nothing can be said for sure as the darling of Dublin, Doherty, is a player who can produce a tournament winning game at any time.
Shaun Murphy vs. Joe Perry/Li Yan
Perry should come through his wild card round easily, but against Murphy he will have to produce a very high quality game. Shaun Murphy is playing on the top of his game right now and is one of the tournament favourites as well. He recently won the inaugural
Players Tour Championship (PTC) Grand Finals as well and is also playing pretty well in the Championship League Snooker, so he will be a heavy favourite for the match.
Stephen Maguire vs. Mark Davis
Another tough match this one. Both players are experienced and have the ability to go all the way. Maguire might have a slight edge over his opponent, as he is in much better form and has to participate in the upcoming Betfred.com World Championship as well.
Maguire has won the China Open once but lost his battle in the second round last year. So this year world number eight, Maguire, will look to build his confidence to play at the home of snooker.
Davis, who lost in the final qualifying round of the World Championship this year, will have to produce an extra ordinary game if he has to win.
Marco Fu vs. Judd Trump
Marco Fu, who has had a much better season than last year, will be the favourite in this match. Fu has a lot more experience than the 21-year-old Trump, so he will be happy with his first round clash. This match is going to be an appealing one for the crowd,
since both players have an attractive game.
Peter Ebdon vs. Gerard Greene/Yu Delu
Wild card round with Delu for a player like Greene should only be a formality.
However, his last 32 match will be a slow one, as Ebdon is famously known for slowing down the game. He has a lot of experience but Greene is also is a very tough competitor. This will be a close match and whoever wins it will have a real edge going into
the next round.
Neil Robertson vs. Barry Hawkins
Current world champion Neil Robertson will be a firm favourite for this match, even though Hawkins has the ability to turn the tables. Hawkins has also had a good season but will have to keep the standards pretty high to see off the world number three, Robertson.
This was an overview of the first round of the 2011 Bank of Beijing China Open tournament. Let’s hope we see some promising games.
Tags: