China Open 2011: Last 32 matches Preview - (Part 1)
The Bank of Beijing China Open 2011, which is going to be staged from 28th March to 3rdApril at the Beijing University Students Gymnasium, has thrown up plenty of mouth-watering matches.
This year’s China Open competition promises to be a classic, as the players have enjoyed more practice than ever, and most of them come into the event in top form.
Here is an overview of the last 32 matches:
Mark Williams vs. Stephen Lee
This is a great curtain raiser for this year’s China Open tournament since both players are very experienced. However defending champion Mark Williams, who has been in brilliant form this season, will be the favourite in this match. However, Lee cannot be
ignored, since he is a player who has the potential to turn the tables at anytime.
Ronnie O’Sullivan vs. Ryan Day
This match is going to be a real crowd puller and is a must-watch encounter. It is going to be a mouth-watering repeat of their final qualifying round clash at the Welsh Open, where Day beat Ronnie by a frame score 4-2.
Anything can happen in this match. Three-time world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan is capable of turning up and playing a championship winning game, but on the other hand he also has a knack of losing matches just as easily. The rocket has slipped to 10th place
in the world rankings after not taking part in a number of tournaments.
Meanwhile, Ryan Day has taken part in almost every tournament this season and is a very dangerous customer, so things are going to be quite difficult for Ronnie.
Stephen Hendry vs. Matthew Stevens
Another magnificent battle takes place between seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry and the Welsh Dragon, Matthew Stevens. Hendry made his record 10th 147 maximum break in the Welsh Open before losing four straight frames to his opponent.
However, Stevens recently booked his place in the winners group of the Snooker Championship League. Moreover, he has been playing in almost all the tournaments, whereas Hendry didn’t participate in any event after the Welsh Open.
So it’s hard to predict, who is going to be the winner but the King of Crucible, Hendry, will have to produce a high standard game to see off the Welshman.
Ding Junhui vs. Kurt Maflin/Cao Yupeng
Kurt Maflin, who dominated all the players in the qualifying rounds, will be a strong favourite in his wild card round against Cao Yupeng.
In the last 32 though, it’s Ding who is going to be fancied. The Chinese star is vastly experienced and is going to have the advantage of his home crowd. The 23-year-old Ding has already won the China Open and was the runner-up last year, so this time he
will try his best to overcome his mistakes.
However, it could turn out to be an exciting battle as Maflin played one of the best matches in the qualifying rounds.
Continued in Part 2
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