Shaun Murphy edges past Li Hang in a thrilling final frame –
Bank of Beijing China Open 2011
Shaun Murphy beat Li Hang by a frame score of 5-4 in the last-16 of the Bank of Beijing China Open 2011, being held at the Beijing Students University Gymnasium, Beijing, China.
The only Chinese player to come through the wild card round, Li Hang, who shocked everyone by knocking out the likes of former 1997 World Champion Ken Doherty and former 2006 World Champion Graeme Dott, finally crashed in the second round after a hard-fought
competition. It was a well stretched battle with the overall score-line of 14-95, 30-69, 76-0, 1-115, 65-4, 100-1, 61-12, 55-66 and 66-2.
Hang stormed into the opening two frames with superb breaks of 91 and 54 respectively to lead 2-0 before Murphy responded with a couple of quick fires, 64 and 12, in the third to come within one frame at 2-1. However, Hang restored his two-frame lead at
3-1, with a dominant break of 59 in the fourth.
There was a shocker on the cards though as Hang was again dominating the frame against one of the strongest contestants for the China Open tournament. But his nerves got the better of him when the Magician, Murphy, bounced back into the game, with all his
strength, and won three frames in a row to turn the two frames deficit into a one frame advantage at 4-3.
He pocketed the fifth with a carving break of 64, followed by another magnificent 85 in the sixth. Hang had a chance to be on the table in the seventh frame but he only managed a break of 12 and was punished by his opponent, who led by one frame with two
more to play.
The match was almost through, as Murphy now needed only one frame to reach the finish line. Hang had other plans though as he brought life back into the match by winning the next. Although Murphy was again the first one to be among the balls in the eighth
but this time he lost control of his emotions, breaking down on 39, and when the chance presented itself, Hang slotted a fabulous break of 40 to force the decider. In the final deciding frame however, he could only roll in 2 points, as Murphy showcased his
flawless safety skills to secure his place in the last four.
Shaun Murphy, who recently won the first PTC title, has now set up a promising match against the current World no. 1, John Higgins, in the quarter-final. Owing to the fact that both players are playing on the top of their game, the match promises to be an
enthralling contest.
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