Ken Doherty excited upon beating Stephen Maguire – Australian Goldfields Open 2011
The Darling of Dublin Ken Doherty has beaten the current world number 8 Stephen Maguire by a frame score of 5-2 in a best-of-nine frames last-32 match of the 2011 Australian Goldfields Open tournament.
The 2011 Australian Goldfields Open tournament is being held in Victoria, Australia from July 18 to July 24.
Doherty, who previously shrugged off Scott MacKenzie in the final qualifying round, has put a shocker on the cards by ousting the heavy favourite Stephen Maguire.
The 41-year-old Doherty, who lifted the World Championship trophy back in 1997, was not able to impress people in the last couple of years but now after beating Maguire, he has shown everyone he is still one of the best players on the green baize.
A delighted Doherty shared his feelings with the media afterwards. He said he has played quite well after a long time and is feeling pretty confident now.
“I played pretty well and I'm delighted to have beaten such a tough opponent,” said Doherty. “It's been such a long time since I've beaten someone of Stephen's standard, a top eight player.”
Doherty beat Mark Selby and Neil Robertson and therefore he thinks this win will give him a boost in the season.
While speaking on his inclusion, he stated, “I can't remember when it would've been but it wasn't last season. I beat Neil Robertson to get to the quarter-finals in the Shanghai Masters the year before last and beat Mark Selby in the Grand Prix.”
Doherty was in Bangkok, Thailand recently for the 2011 PTT-EGAT Snooker World Cup, which was brought back to the calendar after 15 years.
The Irishman, who participated with his teammate Fergal O’Brien, admitted his performance was not satisfactory in the Snooker World Cup but on the same note, he remarked the win has given him a lot of confidence.
“I didn't perform last week in the World Cup and was disappointed. I didn't help Fergal (O'Brien) as much as I would've liked and that was disappointing as we didn't play to our potential,” Doherty said.
Doherty added, “I'm delighted to have won this game and certainly feel a lot better.”
Tags: