Ronnie O’Sullivan and Stephen Hendry Face Tough Draws in China Open 2011
The Rocket, Ronnie O’Sullivan, and Scotsman Stephen Hendry have been handed tough draws in the upcoming China Open 2011. They will meet two Welshmen, Ryan Day and Matthew Stevens respectively, in the first round of the tournament at Peking University Students
Gymnasium in Beijing, China.
Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Ryan Day
Three-time world snooker champion Ronnie O’Sullivan has been drawn up against Welshman Ryan Day in the last-32. O’Sullivan has been struggling with his performance from the start of the current season. He faced several first-round exits in the ranking events
this year, including a couple of walkovers due to personal reasons. He faced his last first-round exit in the Wyldecrest Park Homes Welsh Open 2011 at the hands of the man he will face in the first round of the China Open 2011, Ryan Day.
Odds and Statistics
O’Sullivan has faced Day two times in the current season before. The first time the duo met was at the Star Xing Pai Players Tour Championship (PTC) 2010-11 Event 4, where O’Sullivan whitewashed Day 4-0 in the first round. Day beat O’Sullivan 4-2 the next
time the pair met at the first round of Wyldecrest Park Homes Welsh Open 2011. So the odds are fifty-fifty here but the Rocket could bounce back at the China Open 2011, as he warms up for the World Championships at the Crucible.
In the previous three editions of the China Open, the Welshman reached the semi-final stage twice in 2009 and 2008, while in the 2010 edition he crashed out in the second round. On the other hand, Ronnie could only reach the quarter-finals of the 2009 China
Open.
There are still concerns about O’Sullivan’s attitude towards the game in China, after he pulled out of the Shanghai Masters in 2010 due to personal reasons, and gave some controversial comments in the post-match interview after losing to Marco Fu in the
China Open 2008.
Stephen Hendry vs Matthew Stevens
Seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry will meet in-form Welshman Matthew Stevens in his first-round match of the China Open 2011. Hendry is seeded 13th out of the top 16 players in the tournament. The Scotsman Hendry has also been struggling with his
performance from the start of the season like his arch-rival O’Sullivan. He also faced a few early exits from the ranking events this season.
Stevens on the other hand, is improving day by day. His recent performances in the championship league have brought an outstanding maturity to his game. He not only topped his group but also clinched the winner’s group title and booked his spot in the PartCasino.com
Premier League Snooker. He will surely be a tough competitor for Hendry.
Odds and Statistics
Hendry and Stevens have faced each other three times before this season. Those meetings came at the Star Xing Pai PTC Event 5 and 6 and Snooker Championship League Group 4. Stevens Beat Hendry in all three competitions. In the Star Xing Pai PTC Event 5 and
6 he beat Hendry 4-1, while in the round-robin match of group four of Snooker Championship League 2010-11, Stevens defeated Hendry 3-2. So the odds are heavily stacked in Stevens’ favour.
The first-round matches of the China Open 2011 will start on Monday, 28th March. Both arch-rivals, Hendry and O’Sullivan, could potentially meet in the quarter-finals if they manage to win their next two games.
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