Nigel Bond sets up John Higgins clash in round one: China Open 2011
Englishman Nigel Bond set up a first round clash with John Higgins in the Bank of Beijing China Open 2011 after beating Jin Long 5-3 in the Wild Card round of the event on Tuesday. The match will take place on Wednesday, 30th March at the Peking
University Students Gymnasium in Beijing.
The 45-year-old from Derbyshire overcame Long brilliantly after the Chinese clinched the first two scrappy frames. Jin Long – a two-time ACBS (Asian Confederation of Billiards Sports) Asian Championship winner in 2005 and 2008 – took the first frame 34-75
with a couple of decent breaks of 32 and 27, followed by the second 0-64 in which he smashed a 63 break.
The 1996 British Open winner Nigel Bond took control of the game when he was 2-0 down against Long. The Englishman swept the table instantly and grabbed the scrappy third frame 101-0. He pocketed two smashing breaks of 44 and 45 to reduce the Long’s two-frame
lead to one.
Bond struck in the next frame too as he clinched it 64-52 to level the game score 2-2. The 29-year-old Chinese then took a one-frame lead again after the former Asian champion cleared the table with a stunning break of 70 in the fifth frame. He grabbed the
frame 9-79.
After the fifth frame the Englishman Nigel Bond did not give his opponent a chance as he snatched three consecutive frames. The 2011 Snooker Shoot-Out winner Bond levelled the score 3-3 as he took the sixth frame 63-62 by a single point. The next two frames
were quite easy for Bond as he took them 69-5 and 57-23 respectively to confirm his victory and a place in the opening round against the world number one John Higgins.
The frame scores of the match were 34-75, 0-64, 101-0, 64-58, 9-79, 63-62, 69-5 and 57-23.
Bond is playing Higgins for the first time this season. In the last five matches they played against different opponents, Higgins has won all of them while Bond has clinched just one. Higgins definitely has a better chance of winning as he has been in fantastic
form since the 2011 Welsh Open in February, which he won 9-6 against Stephen Maguire.
The match between Nigel Bond and John Higgins will be played on 30th March at the Peking University Students Gymnasium in Beijing.
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